Interviews

From the Star


So being the new teacher at my school with only one year of experience and the last one hired, there has not been good news for me lately. As you all can imagine I am the first to go on the chopping block. Hearing this news made me very uneasy and nervous... until recently. I found out that both of the schools that I want to go to next year offered me interviews in Pre-K Varying Exceptionalities. I could not believe it. Not only was I getting a chance for a job next year but I was getting a chance at a job that I have trained and longed for the past six years. It was a miracle! I guess good things do come to those who wait. I guess that I should not be this excited yet I have not yet heard anything back. from either of the interviews. They cannot hire until all of the allocations are in which is sometime in May. Don't forget to keep your fingers crossed for me.

Being a new teacher with little experience can be nerve wrecking when going into an interview. You are most likely interviewing against others who are highly qualified and more experienced then you are, not to mention that the interview is just a scary thing since your job and future depend on it. One thing that I have learned is that you just need to relax. Take a breath and relax, because I can tell you from experience that nothing good comes from stressing and being uptight. You just have to go in and imagine that you are talking to one of your colleagues instead of the big boss lady. You may think that I am crazy but trust me it really works. Another thing that I have learned is to never answer too quick. Collect your thoughts and put them together before you respond so that you do not repeat yourself and your answers comes out like you want it to. The last thing is to always tell them how excited you would be to join their team and that you look forward to hearing from them soon. You always want to sound interested because this makes them more confident in their choice if they are considering you.

Now onto the more intense part of the interview - the questions. I have had two interviews recently and they have both been completely different which tells me that you never know what you are going to get. I would like to share with you some of the questions that I was asked. Some questions are worded weird or may have big words in them. If this happens just ask them if they can repeat the question and they will usually explain what they want to hear.

I hope this helps. :) Questions:

• Why did you choose our school?


• What can you bring to our school that no one else can?


• Why should we hire you?


• What goals do you set for yourself and how do you reach your goals?


• How will you help your students reach their goals?


• What have you done in a classroom that other teachers have liked and actually tried?


• What have you learned from other teachers and use in your classroom?


• What is an IEP? (For ESE Majors) and what does it mean to set goals?


• What do you do if a child doesn't reach goals that you have set for them?


• How can you make sure that children are reaching the goals set for them?


• What do you expect from the Principal?


• What do you expect from your colleagues?


• How would you set your classroom up?


• What would you do with a child who just won't follow directions?


• What kind of behavior plan would you use?


• What would a normal day in your classroom look like?


• What do you feel should be the relationship between the teacher and the students?


• How do you use literacy in the classroom?


• How would you manipulate the 90 minute reading block?


• What characteristics make you a great teacher?

Don't forget keep those fingers crossed!