Critical Areas On Which You Will 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?

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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.

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Common Questions:

• Tell me about yourself.
• Why do you want to be a teacher?
• What is a good teacher?
• Tell me about your student teaching experience.  What was your greatest challenge? What would you do differently? Have you observed elsewhere?
• What is your focus for professional growth?
• What would be your ideal teaching assignment?
• How did/can you make a difference in the lives of children?
• How did/do you meet the needs of a diverse student population?
• How did/do you assess student learning?
• What teaching strategies do you use that you find particularly effective?
• What's your philosophy of classroom management?
• How proficient are you in technology?
• Why should we hire you?
• What is your philosophy of education?
• What are your feelings on extra curricular activity duties?
• What are your strengths as a teacher?
• How do you handle stress at work?
• What are your professional plans for the future?
• What do you have to offer as a candidate that no other candidate might offer?
• What do you consider the ideal learning environment?
• How do you expect to motivate students?
• How would you handle a wide range of learning abilities/disabilities?
• How would you start the year off?
• How do you deal with students who are often absent and need to make up work?
• How would you involve parents?
• What is your experience working with parents?
• What is the most important characteristic of a successful teacher?
• Based on your student teaching or past experiences, how would you rate yourself as a teacher?
• What's the most important thing for your students to learn?
• How will you develop yourself as a professional teacher?

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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?

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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.

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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:

• Describe a two week unit that you have taught.
• Tell me about a lesson on ___________ that went well.
• Describe a lesson that didn't succeed and how you would change it for a future class.
• Describe a lesson that exceeded your expectations.
• Describe an experience you have had becoming established with a new group of students.
• Describe a conflict you encountered with a student and how you dealt with it.  (or a conflict with a parent or another teacher)
• How have you assessed student achievement informally without grading?
• Tell me about a typical homework assignment in your class.
• How have you modified assignments for gifted or special education students?
• Describe an experience where you identified a student's special need and modified a lesson for that individual.
• Share an example of a communication with a parent that helped you to 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.
• What parts of your teacher education training do you use on a regular basis?
• What have you read recently that led to an improvement in your classroom?

This behavior-based interview information is from Journal, Spring 2004, pp 28-33