Last year Lauren secured a role as a Computer Science Teacher with Teach First, and will be starting in July. She took the time out to have a chat with us about her experiences in the application process, and to offer any advice to other bright students looking to follow in her footsteps.
What was it that attracted you to Teach First?
I’ve worked with children quite a lot before in various pieces of work experience, so I’ve known for a while that Teach First would be a good sort of company for me. I came across them after seeing the American equivalent, and then coming across the role for a Secondary Computer Science Teacher on the Bright Network website. Teach First offer a challenging environment, which also really appeals to me.
What was the most memorable part of the application process?
It was quite a long process and included lots of different components, but the most memorable was when I was asked to teach a five-minute lesson to some assessors. There was a choice of pre-set topics, and I chose computer science because that’s what the job was. It was challenging to condense all the necessary parts of a lesson into a five-minute period, and wasn’t easy to work out exactly what the assessors were looking for.
Were you surprised by any part of the application process?
Not really. I’d been fortunate in attending quite a few workshops and other things held by Teach First, so came in prepared and with a good idea of what to expect.
Do you have any words of wisdom for your fellow Bright Network members?
Go in confident. I was well prepared for my interviews which helped, and was also in a nice position as I applied for the role really early in my university career, so wasn’t feeling any pressure to secure a job.
