Throughout my 16+ years as an interview coach, I have found that the most challenging task for job seekers is finding and explaining their teaching accomplishments during a teacher interview.
Faced with an interview panel of professionals who will critique your every word, I can certainly understand how this can be one of the most gut-wrenching processes one will ever go through within a lifetime.
The best advice I can provide is to ensure you know what you can offer to the school district and its students. Know the school district and its strategic goals and objectives and match how you can help them achieve them.
The most vital thing to remember is to remain calm before entering the interview. In many cases, the interviewer may be as nervous as the interviewee.
Within the competitive job-seeking area of a classroom teacher, it is essential to sell your teaching accomplishments, student successes, and ability to help students realize their full academic potential.
Within the Assistant Principal area, you must sell your leadership, administrative experience, community involvement, and critical strengths to enhance collaboration and strengthen school-community initiatives. It is also exceedingly necessary to mention your relevant educational work or volunteer experience.
Share Your Teaching Accomplishments Throughout the Interview
Most people dislike speaking about their accomplishments and have difficulty showcasing what they can bring to the table. Add to that a bundle of nerves and the anxiety of wanting to land the job, and you can have a melting pot for disaster.
This is why preparation, research, and practicing selling your teaching skills are essential to interview success. Prepare, practice, and conquer!
When entering the interview room, it would help if you remained calm, relaxed, and collected. Introduce yourself with a smile and firm handshake, and be sure to maintain good eye contact during your conversation. Touch on specific accomplishments and stay clear when providing generic, job description-like duties.
Should you be faced with a question such as “Do you have any experience with…” and you do not have any experience with that specific duty, continue to sell yourself by offering an answer such as “No, however, I do have experience with…”,… and turn the potentially harmful mark into a positive one.
As an aside, interview questions will often be geared toward assessing how well you think on your feet. Keep in mind, expect the unexpected.
If you make a career change to teaching, you will have specific questions regarding the transition.
In your mind, you should have thought through what you would do if you were asked a question that would otherwise catch you off guard. Your response should be calm and calculated in such circumstances – never rush to respond to a question you are not confident about, as a wrong response could reduce your chances of getting the job.
