FOR NEW TEACHERS OUT THERE...

If you were a new teacher who just got finished your studies , clueless about what you should do, here are some tips that you would want to follow:

1. They say without Kursus Induksi or BTN, you can’t get an interview. But that is not true. After you got your posting letter, make sure you go to the posting briefing. If you receive no letter, just phone your JPN to take note of the place and date for the briefing. Usually, this briefing, together with your posting, will be done, approximately between 2 weeks to a month after you finished studying. Make sure you received your Surat Tawaran GST. There are 4 pages all together. Make sure you make a copy of these 4 pages as these documents are necessary when you want to apply for your interview.

2. Now that you are posted to the school, make sure you give every documents needed to your school’s clerk. I remembered giving copies of my IC, Birth Cert, SPM Cert, my posting letter (make sure you asked for your Principal’s Signature to authenticate the date of your posting to the school), Surat Tawaran GST, and all the forms that come with your posting envelope (during the briefing, they will give you an envelope with the Surat Tawaran GST, and some forms that need to be returned to SPP).

3. As a government servant, you need to open up a KWSP account. They will give you a piece of paper with your account number. Keep a copy of this form and give one copy to your school’s clerk in order to complete your documents checklist.

4. After you settled everything with the clerk, now you need to apply for SPP interview for permanent position. Just go to www.spp.gov.my and register online. Take your time and make sure you fill in the correct info required. You need to get your scroll first, meaning you have to graduate and go to convocation first, because in the online form, it will ask for your date of graduation which is stated in the scroll that you have received. As for me, I got posted in July, graduated in October and got my SPP interview in March. The date varies from state to state. Some of my friends already got the interview in January. So, you need to check the website regularly and prepare beforehand for the interview.

5. Alright, now you have applied and the last time you checked online, you got the interview!

About a week before the interview, they will send you a letter, informing your Principal about your interview. If the interview falls on a working day, make sure you make a Surat Kebenaran KJ untuk Menghadiri Temuduga. Get your principal to sign it. It will give you more credential for the interview. There are 2 forms that you need to download for the interview, which you can download at the SPP website. One is a form detailing your tasks at school, another is a Laporan Sulit about your performance in school. Your Principal must fill it up and put in an envelope, seal it and give it back to you. Take note of the word “Sulit”, only your principal can see it and the interviewer.

6. Aside from those 2 forms, for the interview you need to bring original documents and copies of these documents, certified, of course. You will need to bring your IC, Birth Cert, SPM Cert, Scroll, Transcript, Surat Tawaran GST, qualification approval from JPA, which you can print from here http://www.interactive.jpa.gov.my/frmMainIktiraf.asp, and lastly, a copy of Kew. 8 (ask from your school’s clerk).

7. Please bring ALL original documents and copies that are certified. And make sure the Laporan Sulit is SEALED. Put all documents in a file according to the list in your call letter. And oh, don’t forget to bring your call letter!

8. Confirm the date, time and venue for your interview. If your interview falls on a Thursday, wear batik. You don’t need to wear a blazer if you wear batik. However, if the interview falls on any other day, wear suitable clothes with a blazer. Don’t forget your name tag. For ladies, court shoes in black, please. And for guys, please put gel on your hair so there won’t be any stray hair on your forehead or whatnot.

9. The key is confidence and the way you carry yourself. Avoid wearing too much make-up and striking colours as these will put off the interviewer. Just be yourself but at the same time, act whenever appropriate. Tackle and handle questions tactfully. It’s like MUET, speak your mind and be prepared with current issues and pedagogy knowledge as well as your experience in school. Avoid answering with negative response like, “Saya tak tahu, tuan.” Or “Saya kurang pasti, tuan”. If you got the group interview, avoid repeating what the other candidates have said, come up with your own idea, preferably something concrete and new to the discussion. As for me, I worked with the candidate seating next to me, I agree with what she said but at the same time, I added up my reply with my own ideas. And yes, the interview is in Bahasa Melayu and also English. So for TESLians, you have to be bilingually good.

10. Before entering the room, knock first and greet your interviewer. Sit comfortably and keep a good eye-contact with the interviewer. He/she will ask you to introduce yourself. Speak loudly and clearly. Tell him/her about yourself, your education, and your roles in school. It is a little bit like public relations. You are trying to sell an image of yourself, but be humble and don’t come across as a snob. He/she will probably ask you about a current issue, so make the TV, newspaper, and the internet your close buddy. Also, familiarize yourself with National Education Philosophy and other current policies in education. It would also be safe to remember the names of important public figures in education. Make sure you know who is the Head of your JPN, PPD, what more, the Head of your school. The name of Ministers should be at your fingertips. Try to recall all those learning theories you have studied as he/she would probably ask you about your approach in the classroom and all those Watson and Bandurra will come in handy.

So, fellas, those are 10 tips to survive yourself in teaching profession. I like to rephrase what the interviewer said to me, the interview is just one tiny bump in your profession, what is more important is the P&P in the classroom. As teachers, we need to be creative and avoid being too idle in a comfort zone. Innovate yourself in order to attract your students to the lesson. Guess I have a long way to go!