Review these career change interview tips if you plan on making a career transition into education. Preparing for a teaching job interview will require you to formulate different responses not used when interviewing for a business industry position you wish to leave.
As I am sure you know, there are diverse reasons that may trigger a career transition, and it’s a fact that some industries are more adaptive to hiring career changers than others.
Non-profits and the education field are both known for being receptive to career changes from other industries and occupations. Changing a career in these uncertain times can be a little daunting if you are unsure how to prepare an effective career change resume or prepare for the job interview.
The fact you are swapping industries makes it difficult to compete in the interview room unless you understand your new field and what to expect from interviewers. Career change interview tips for those job applicants who desire to make teaching a second career are essential to quickly transition from a business career to the teaching sector.
Career Transition Interview Tips to Switch to Teaching
It is relativity easy to adapt to the education sector as a teacher with a concentrated effort. Whether we know or not, there are teaching skills inherent in all of us. There is a lot of competition in the education industry, and you need to have something strong to offer to get the job.
Discover tips for professionals seeking to transition into teaching.
Research the School and Position
To catch the interview panel’s attention, you have to communicate you understand what the job entails.
Correctly introducing yourself at the job interview could make or break your chances of landing a job offer. Research the particular institution: their history, challenges, mission statement, and new initiatives. When questions are being asked, answer them clearly, connecting your skills and experiences to tailored solutions to fit your interviewers’ concerns.
Market Your Teaching Transferable Skills
Uncover skills or strengths common to both your former industry and the education sector. During your job application process and interview, your task is to communicate to the hiring manager or committee how your strengths play well to those required for your new teaching role.
Explain to the interviewer how you intend to transfer these skills and make them work for you in your new role. Be sure to paint an accurate, realistic picture of how your previous experience will help you to excel as you support students in your classroom.
Describe What You Have to Offer the School
Because you are new to the education industry, you have a unique skillset and employment history that other candidates won’t have; take advantage of this and express what you have to offer from a different perspective. Explain why somebody with your experience and exposure will be a better teacher than someone with more traditional training and experience.
During the teaching interview, you may be asked the question.
“What career and other professional skills would you bring to teaching to assist students in making real-life connections?”
When they ask this interview question, they wonder what types of experiences and knowledge you will bring to the classroom from your prior professional career to enhance instruction.
Use your real-world career experience to give examples of how a learning concept is used in a professional setting, to provide students with stories, demonstrations, experiments, resources, and other similar items to make learning more engaging and provide students with real-world examples of how they can use physics as a career choice.
For instance, if you wish to become a biology, chemistry, or physics teacher and worked in a lab, you could provide students with proper lab techniques, experiments to use, and knowledge/stories of what working in a lab environment is like. Communicate these experiences effectively in your resume and during the interview.
Don’t Discuss Irrelevant Job History.
Refrain as much as possible from mentioning irrelevant tasks or accomplishments in your past jobs, except when asked. Instead, focus on transferable skills and career accomplishments.
An adaptable candidate who has thrived in various environments can work with a diverse group of students, colleagues, and community stakeholders. Make your history a positive aspect of your candidacy, but make sure it’s a success story whose next logical step involves your transition to teaching.
Emphasize Cultural and Environmental Adaptability Capacity
If you are entering a new field, make new professional relationships, attend all sorts of education-related seminars and workshops. Familiarize yourself with different teaching practices through self-study and courses.
Gain as much knowledge as you can about the new field and understand its language, terminology, and policies. Convince the interview panel you can adapt to the new teaching position by sharing relevant success stories.
Express Your Willingness to Improve Upon Your Knowledge
No matter how much you may claim to know, convince them you will not mind attending teachers’ workshops or even sit for a professional examination in your new field.
Communicating you are a lifelong learner will indicate you are serious about a career change and be available for long-term employment. If you can convince your interviewers you are genuinely interested in staying in the teaching field, this will be a positive aspect of your candidacy.
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