Now that you’ve learned about building a teacher resume and teacher portfolio, it’s time to talk interviews. The interview obviously follows the resume portion. The school district or teacher interviewer will contact you through the contact information you provided so make sure to answer any calls that may seem unfamiliar!
Feeling prepared for a teacher interview is basically impossible, because everywhere you go to interview will have different expectations. I have a few tips for teacher interviews in this podcast episode that I think are a little bit different from what you will read elsewhere.
What to Wear for a Teacher Interview
There’s no reason to dress completely abnormally from what you’d normally wear. You want to give an idea of who you are through your clothing. But your clothing should also spell out that you are professional! I suggest wearing solid colors – nothing too busy or patterned. Wear something that is modest. I also suggest that you pull your hair back and away from your face. No need for a tight cinnamon style bun on the back of your head. I take one of these clips and pull my hair into a “half up, half down” type of look. It keeps my hair out of my face so the interviewer can see me, and also I’m not tempted to play with my hair.
Before Your Teacher Interview
I suggest you show up 20 or so minutes early. Give yourself 5 minutes to park your car in the right spot, pass through the security desk and get a visitor badge. Then you’ll likely sit in the main office under the watch of the school secretaries. They run the school, so make sure to be polite! They are secretly interviewing you!
While there, be sure to look around, smile and engage with people who pass in and out. They are either your future students, coworkers or people within the community. I like to put my phone into airplane mode so I can’t be disturbed. I usually have a book I can read, but I prefer to read the literature available in the office. If there are flyers for an upcoming event, a sports schedule or a school newspaper – I read those. It’s a two fold thing. It shows the secretaries that I’m interested in the school, but it is also a way that I can interview the school and make sure it’s the right fit for me.
Teacher Interview Questions
- Tell us about you: This is where you will go over the parts of your resume. Essentially you are giving a verbal version of your cover letter, outlining what the components are all about. Don’t go on too long! This is supposed to be an easy question! Throw in a little about you as a person and share your school appropriate hobbies as well. For all you know, the school has a jigsaw puzzle club that you’d be an excellent fit for!
- Answer all your questions honestly. If your real answer doesn’t work for this school, you’re better off knowing now than finding out half way through the school year that you aren’t happy here.
- Your weakness as a teacher: You’re probably not completely miserable with one of the aspects of teaching so this can be hard to identify. Share something that you are “just okay” at, and share how you are committed to getting better at it. If you’re not so great with parent contact, then explain how you are going to call one parent a day, or at least five a week to give a report (both positive and ‘needs to improve’) to parents. During your teacher interview, they want to learn that you are a human being. They aren’t going to expect a perfect person in front of them. They are looking for a teacher that is willing to grow and change.
Questions You Should Ask at Your Teacher Interview
The last thing you should do is get up from the table without asking any questions. And no, now is not the time to ask about how many sick days you are allotted, or what the pay is. There is time for that later. I have a list of questions that you should ask at your teacher interview here.
Teacher Interview Tips
Silence is better than um. Record yourself answering some basic interview questions at home before you go. Then listen back to it. I bet you will be surprised by the number of “um”s and “like”s you throw in to fill space. Practice silence instead! It’s really hard to do, but it is a worthwhile practice. Too many fillers words and you can come off unprepared and like you don’t know what you’re talking about. Lastly, what feels like 5 minutes of silence to you, is really only a second or two. Don’t worry about it being awkward. And if you need a minute to think, just ask for a second or two. Nobody will mind! You are speaking in a room full of educators! We ask our students to take time to think as well!
