Critical Areas of Judgment	Questions You Ask
Interview Suggestions	Interview Tips
Common Questions	Behavior-Based Interview Questions
Tips Straight from the Principals

 

 

CRITICAL AREAS ON WHICH YOU'LL BE JUDGED :

In the interview, you will be assessed on your answers, on the impression that the interviewer gains of you and on your past record.  The critical areas are...

• Acceptability:  will you work well with colleagues and with pupils?
• Qualifications/Experience:  Have your courses and teaching practice given you the right background and experiences to do the job?
• Ability/Flexibility/Stability/Toughness:  Will you be able to cope or discipline? Could you teach other subjects? Could you change fuses, cue up a video, deal with a flood?  Do you accept changes?
• Motivation/Interest:  Do you really want to work here and why?  Do you really want to teach?
• Circumstances:  Can you work here?  Are there personal reasons why you might move after a short time or always be keen to get away as soon as school finishes to your family and friends?  Are you geographically flexible?

 

INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS:

• Be honest in evaluating yourself and don't attempt to oversell yourself.
• Exhibit your concern for other people.
• Be friendly, courteous, and relaxed and do not assume that you have all the answers.
• If you are interested in the position, be enthusiastic and ask intelligent questions about the school, its politics, basic philosophy and the educational program.
• Give your own views, not what you think you are expected to say.
• Listen carefully to each question.  Determine what the interviewer is asking and ask for clarification if necessary.

 

COMMON QUESTIONS ASKED OF YOU:

• Tell me about yourself (answer it by giving professional information about yourself and professional qualities)

• Why did you decide on teaching as a career?

• Why are you interested in our school / community?

• How do you encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning?

• Speak to your knowledge of the curriculum.

• What are your feelings on extra-curricular duties?

• What are your strengths?  Weaknesses?  What three words would you use to describe yourself?

• What would I see in your classroom if I were to drop in any given day?

• What do you have to offer as a candidate that other candidates might not offer?

• How would you individualize the learning process in the classroom?

• Why did you choose to teach ______ (your subject)?

• What do you consider the ideal learning environment?

• What methods of instruction do you feel you can use which will help provide the most desirable learning situation for students?  How do you engage a class of diverse learners?

• How do you expect to motivate students?

• What is your philosophy in regard to discipline?  What is your approach to classroom management?

• What type of classroom atmosphere would you attempt to organize and establish?

• How would you handle a wide range of learning abilities / disabilities?  How do you reach out to struggling students?

• A student’s final average is 2 pts below passing.  What do you do and why?

• Here’s your classroom – what would you do with it?  How would you start the year off?

• What frustrates you?  How do you handle stress?

• What do you expect of the administration as a classroom teacher?

• What worked well in your classroom this semester?

• When you teach, what do you use to guide your instruction? (NC Standard Course of Study, etc)

• How do you deal with students who are often absent and need to make up work?

• How would you involve parents in school activities?  What is your experience in working with parents?

• Tell us your views on assessing learning.  How does assessment drive instruction?

• Talk about your experience integrating technology in your classroom / lessons?

• Talk to me about the most current topics in education (or current education reforms).

• How do you assign students to groups?  How do you hold students accountable for group assignments?

• How do you determine the impact your instruction has on students?

• What is the role of parents in the instructional process?

• How do you encourage effective home-school communication?

• What are the elements of a good elementary reading program?

• In telephoning your references, what would they say are your assets?

   

QUESTIONS YOU ASK:

• Tell me about your supervision visits?
• How will I be evaluated?
• How does the administration work with teachers to improve instruction?
• What types of media resources are available?
• What textbooks are used in this subject area?
• What professional skills do you expect of the person you hire?
• How active are teachers in working with community organizations?
• Tell me about the students who attend this school.
• What is the student-teacher ratio?
• What professional development is offered for the teachers?
• Is there any kind of mentor program for new teacher?
• What are the next steps?  What is your hiring timeline/process?

 

INTERVIEW TIPS:

• Keep a log of your interviews: dates, people talked to, follow-up, addresses and phone numbers, etc.
• Smile!
• Practice! Practice! Practice! but not on a real employer.  Make an appointment with a career counselor for a mock interview or interview discussion.
• Don't forget to send a thank you letter immediately.
• Be patient! Vacancies occur at odd and unexpected times.
• Bring copies of your resume along with a reference page (list reference names, titles, places of employment, work address, work phone).
• Follow-up immediately with any required paperwork, such as applications.
• Be honest and be yourself.

 

BEHAVIOR BASED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

As school systems become more selective in their hiring process, they need to be able to assess the skills of a potential new hire quickly and effectively.  This sophistication in teacher education interviewing techniques has led some districts to embrace behavior-based interviewing.  Based on the premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future performance, a behavior-based interview relies on questions that elicit responses about the candidate's previous work.

Here are some sample behavior-based questions:

• Tell me about a lesson plan, task, or assignment that went very well.
• Tell me of a time when a lesson plan didn’t go well and how you handled the situation.
• Tell me about your student teaching experience.  What would you do differently now?
• Describe a conflict you had with a student and how you handled the situation.
• Describe a lesson that exceeded your expectations.
• How have you modified assignments for gifted or special education students?
• How have you assessed student achievement informally without grading?
• Tell me about a typical homework assignment in your class.
• Describe an experience where you identified a student’s special need and modified a lesson for him / her.
• Share an example of a communication with a parent that helped you understand a student in your class.
• Describe a time when you team-taught or co-planned with a colleague.
• Tell me about a time when you asked a teacher or administrator for help.
• Describe an experience you had at becoming established with a new group of students.
• What parts of teacher education training do you use on a regular basis?
• What steps do you follow to study a problem before making a decision?
• Give an example of when you had to go beyond the call of duty to get a job done.
• Describe t time when you were not satisfied or pleased with your performance.  What did you do about it?
• Tell me about the most difficult situation you faced in your last teaching assignment and how you resolved it.
• Tell me about a specific instance you collaborated with colleagues and the result of that collaboration.

 

TIPS (STRAIGHT FROM THE PRINCIPALS)

1. Dress professionally, both for the interview and the job. 
2. Clearly indicate your certification area and desired position on the resume
3. Always provide a list of your references with their contact information.  Do NOT list “references available upon request” on the resume.  It slows things down.
4. Complete all your paperwork with the county office.  Follow the guidelines for applying for jobs as posted on the counties’ web sites.  Fill out the online application before sending your resume.
5. Preferred method of contact is email or U.S. mail.  Many principals do NOT like to be called by candidates asking for interviews or when they can stop by for a visit
6. Some principals prefer candidates drop off the resume at the school.  “…some of my best hires were willing to do an interview after walking into the school office to deliver their resume – shows confidence, preparedness, and eagerness for getting a job.”
7. Do NOT appear to be “all-knowing.”  Understand that you will need to continue to learn and grow in your teaching career.
8. Be careful about name dropping in an interview.  Principals will look for familiar names on the reference page
9. Most new teachers won’t have much professional experience and that’s okay.  Principals look for related experience such as volunteering at schools, camp counseling, church youth group leader, tutoring, etc.

UNCW