The passion to teach is already inside your heart, but you need to secure a position you truly want and work in the district that best meets your needs. To reach that goal, you need to prepare for the interviews you will receive.— Robert W. Pollock, Ed.D.
Feeling prepared and ready for your upcoming interview is a surefire way to boost self-confidence and increase your chances of being hired for your dream teaching position. A prepared job candidate will be ready to address any question in an interview. Certainly, there will be an unexpected question or two, but the effective candidate will always be able to respond to interview questions in a thoughtful and deliberate manner. Proper preparation consists of ongoing reflection, research, and practice.
To start, reflect on your experiences and training that have brought you to this point. Reflect on the coursework and books that have inspired you, and think back on your student teaching / practicum experiences. This exercise will help you realize that you are fully prepared and worthy to start your journey as a teacher.
Photo by Jose Aljovin on Unsplash
Find Teacher Interview Questions
Next, research frequently asked questions for a teacher interview, especially for the grade-level or subject-area you are applying for (see Teacher Interview Questions). A worthwhile starting point is with your career counselor and education network. Someone in your network may have knowledge of- or access to the school or district interview questions. Be mindful that while some schools or districts share their interview questions, others may not. Therefore, please be ethical in your approach.
Also, you can find a comprehensive list of over 100 interview questions in Pathway to Teaching: A Guide to Teacher Training, Student Teaching, and Finding a Job. These specific interview questions were curated from dozens of educators with real-life experiences applying for teaching jobs, from all around the country. In general, most teacher interview questions typically relate to one or more of the following topics:
Assessment
Classroom management
Cultural competency and diversity
Discipline
Family communication
Educational technology
Instruction
Philosophy or your pedagogical approach
Subject-matter or grade-level specific
Practice, Practice, Practice
A logical next step after securing a list of sample interview questions is to practice repeatedly and often. To begin, select one to two interview questions that relate to the aforementioned topics and jot down your how you will draft response to these questions. Bulleting your key responses works just fine, but also consider creating flashcards with these questions and your responses to help you practice. Check out the article on how to frame your response.
Once you have created an outline of your answers for the chosen interview questions, you are now ready to start verbally practicing your responses by recording yourself. You can start by doing a simple audio recording using an audio recorder or an app (likely there is one on your smartphone or there is an audio record feature on Evernote). Record yourself reading the interview questions and saying your responses. Feel free to reference your notes during your first few attempts as it will help to build confidence as you practice. After each audio recording, intently listen to yourself, taking the time to analyze and reflect on the substance of your response, voice inflections, and delivery. Consider these questions:
How satisfied are you with your response?
Was your response succinct?
To what degree did you show confidence and passion in your responses?
Does your desire to teach children come through?
Did you avoid saying “um” a lot?
Are you speaking loudly enough for the interviewer to hear you?
Do you convey confidence that you are the “right one” for this job?
Continue practicing until you feel mostly satisfied and confident in your answers and are able to respond to the interview questions with a good amount of automaticity. To be clear, it may take recording yourself a dozen times or more times to feel good about your response for a single interview question.
Record Your Responses
Another technique to prepare you is to videotape yourself in a mock interview. With a family member or a friend, find a quiet spot to set up a video camera to record your answers to your practice interview questions. While this may seem awkward at first, by reviewing the videotape you will see yourself from the point of view of the interviewer and catch non-verbal nuances. A further benefit to practicing with someone else is feedback. Ask your family member or friend to provide feedback on your performance. They may find something to improve on that you may have overlooked.
Pathway to Teaching: A Guide to Teacher Training,
Student Teaching, and Finding a Job
Read Pathway to Teaching to gain additional interview tips & strategies on how to land your dream teaching job. Here are some valuable strategies on how to:
Shine After Student Teaching
Craft a Resume
Jumpstart Your Job Search
Attend Teacher Career Fairs and Open Houses
Answer Teacher Interview Questions
Practice Teacher Interview Questions
And more…
