Teaching Tip: Learn How to Survive Your Interview Without Dying!
Today, I was lucky enough to have lunch with one of my past students who is starting to do interviews for a teaching job. (Yes, I am that old.) Between having interviewed MANY teachers in my past and my job of teaching public speaking, I felt I should give her some tips for her interviews. When I got home, I started thinking of other tips I would have given her. Here are my top ones:
1) Dress for Success! Even if you are interviewing at a school, and you know the teachers will be in shorts and t-shirts because it is the last day of school, we still expect you to be dressed up. Wear something that is comfortable but business-like.
2) Learn your nervous habits and do what you can to take them away. If you tend to play with your hair, wear it back. If you play with the ring on your finger, don’t wear a ring that day. If you play with your sleeves or clothes, don’t wear anything. Kidding. Wear something that you can’t play with during the interview. If you end sentences with “And yea” or “Sooo…” work on completing your thoughts. If you don’t know your nervous habits, ask a friend or family member. I always tell my students to ask their siblings because they are honest with you, whether you like it or not.
3) Study the school’s website. Nothing drives me more crazy than when someone asks about something that is blatantly on our website. That tells me they may want a job, but they aren’t dying to work at OUR school.
4) Once you learn about the school on the website, develop questions that you are curious about when it comes to THAT school. I like an interviewee who comes in prepared with questions. I once interviewed someone who remembered what each of us did when we introduced ourselves, and then asked each of us a question that pertained to what we did at the school. Now, THAT was impressive!
5) Walk in thinking that they will be lucky to get you as a teacher at that school. Remember, you are interviewing them also to see if you really want to work at their school.
6) Before you go in, practice your “Power Poses.” They help to build your confidence. I teach my public speaking students to say this before their speech, “I am going to ROCK my speech, and the audience is blessed to hear me.” If you don’t know about Power Poses, I highly recommend this video by Amy Cuddy, “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.” Now, who can do a GREAT Wonder Woman pose?
7) I don’t know if everyone will agree with me, but I like when the interviewee shakes my hand when he/she comes in. If you don’t have a strong handshake, learn how to do one. A wimpy handshake sort of freaks me out.
8) It’s okay to use humor in your answers; it makes you a little more likable. However, don’t overdue it (unless you are interviewing for a comedy class). When I was interviewing to be a language arts teacher, the first question was, “Tell me about yourself in three adjectives.” I asked them what an adjective was (yes, to be funny). The principal wrote down that I had a sense of humor, and it helped all of us to relax.
9) If they ask you about a weakness that you have, always turn it into a positive. Don’t say that you sweat like a horse on Back to School Night because you get so nervous, or that your weakness is playing Words With Friends while you are at work. If you are a detailed person (which isn’t a bad thing), you could say that sometimes you spend too much time on the details of your job, and it means giving up some time with your family. If you are someone who can’t sit still, you could say that you have your students up and moving a lot because you know that you can’t sit still for very long either.
10) Be prepared to know what you are passionate about when it comes to teaching. I am passionate about making sure students have choices when they read, making sure all of their writing is done for a real audience, and teaching them public speaking/communication skills many times throughout the year. When you know what you are passionate about, direct their questions toward your answers. If they asked me about the last time I had a problem with a parent and how did I handle it, I could say, “There was a time that a parent didn’t like the book that their child was reading for my class. Luckily, since I do book clubs only, I was able to give that child another book and put them in a new group.” I turned that question into a positive, AND I was able to work in one of my passion spots.
Lastly, remember that it’s okay to be a little nervous. As I tell my students, if you aren’t a little nervous before a speech, it means that you don’t care. Take some deep breaths before you go in, know that it’s okay to pause and think about your answer (rather than starting your answer with “um….”), and smile a lot. Oh, and don’t forget to mention the kids in your answers. I actually keep a tally of how many times interviewees mention the kids. That is the reason we are there!
What advice would YOU give to new teachers?
(Thank you A.S. for being my inspiration today. I KNOW you’ll make a wonderful teacher and any school will be lucky to have you.)
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