Going on interviews can be a very stressful and nerve-wracking experience. The best way to eliminate the stressors and feel confident in yourself as a teacher is to prepare in advance. I have mapped out all of my interview tips for new teachers to help you prepare.
My degree is in secondary English education so I could only interview for middle and high school English positions. A lot of my tips focus more on secondary teachers, so some may have to be adapted to fit elementary teachers needs. Thinking back to my teaching interviews, I must have interviewed at over 20 schools and applied to over 50. At the time, I was living in Pittsburgh and applying to any position that was open in either the surrounding Pittsburgh area or the Philadelphia suburbs. I can speak from lots of experience, interviews can be very stressful, but they are totally worth it once you land your dream teaching position!
Interview Tip #1: Dress to Impress
Look good, feel good, am I right!? Interview outfits can be expensive but its 100% worth investing the money in an outfit that you love and feel confident in! For my first few interviews, I wore an outfit that I already had and borrowed things from my friends, but I didn’t always feel like myself. Was that the deciding factor in whether or not I advanced in my interview? No. But it did alter how I felt! Some of my favorite places to buy interview outfits are Loft, Jcrew, Express, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, and even Target has great and affordable options! Make sure you save your school ID from student teaching so you can use it to get teacher discounts at some of the stores. I bought two pants, two nice blouses, and a blazer so I could mix and match for my interviews. I was able to wear them on multiple interviews (even for the same schools) and I still wear the tops and pants to school now as a teacher.
Tip #2: Talk About Examples
At any school, they are going to ask you questions about your management, philosophy, plan, and overall experience as a teacher. It’s really important to pinpoint your experiences and discuss them with examples. As a student teacher, I had to create a teaching portfolio and I always brought it with me to interviews. This allowed me to give specific examples and discuss what I taught and how it looked in my classroom. Giving examples will make you stand out and will really show who you are as a teacher + the impact it had on your students!
Tip #3: Do a Drive-By
I know this may not be an option for everyone, but if you can, I strongly suggest to drive-by the interview site. Interviews can be held at the school, administration building, or even at a different school in the district. (Sometimes, especially with summer interviews, the interview site can change too!) It can be stressful trying to figure out where to go on the day of, and you want to make sure that you know exactly where you are going. If this isn’t an option, double-check and make sure that you have an address for the interview and look it up on Google Maps so you have a really good idea of where to go. In addition to knowing where to go, be sure to leave early on the day of your interview and leave time for unexpected traffic/construction/etc. You will never regret getting to an interview early!
Tip #4: Bring Personal Notes from Students/Parents
In addition to bringing examples that showcase your teaching experience, it can also be helpful to bring personal notes/messages from students and parents. This can be a written card, a printed email, etc. It’s a great opportunity for you to not only tell the principal about the impact you had on students, but really show them. In my portfolio, I brought two hand-written notes from students that I received during my student teaching and my yearbook (full of signatures and notes from students). I was able to reference these in my interviews when I was asked, “tell us about a time that you made an impact on a student.”
Tip #5: Double-Check Your Social Media
Double-check your social media, and then double-check again. Your administration will most likely look up your name! If they stumble across your page, what are they going to see? You want to make sure that yours is appropriate and fits what they want in a teacher! That doesn’t mean that everything has to be public and available for the world, but you want to make sure that it’s appropriate for an administrator to see (even if that’s just a private page). On the other hand, if you have a teacher Twitter, teacher Instagram, YouTube channel, etc., show them off! Give them your handles and let them know! Social media can be such a resourceful tool for teaching, but it can also bring up some red flags if your posts aren’t appropriate. Always double-check everything before going on an interview!
Tip #6: Research the School
This one goes without saying, but get yourself acquainted with the school! You can find out a lot online – mission statement, beliefs, clubs, technology, extracurriculars, etc. Learn about the school so you can incorporate it into your interview. You want to make sure that you know what they believe in as a school because you also want to see it’s a good fit for you! In addition to researching the school, research the interviewers. You might be able to find where they went to college, previous schools they’ve worked at, etc. You might have something in common with them and be able to highlight that in your interview!
Tip #7: Look Up Interview Questions
There are so many sites online that offer mock interview questions for elementary and secondary interviews. It’s a great way to get yourself prepared for questions that you may be asked. A lot of them will be pretty standard (example: what’s your teaching philosophy, describe your classroom management, etc.) We Are Teachers has a great page with lots of questions to practice and prepare with! If you’re unfamiliar with some of these questions or not quite sure how you would answer it, reach out to your cooperating teacher to ask when he/she saw this during your time of student teaching. In addition, if you also are not sure about a question in your interview, be honest! It’s okay to admit that you don’t know the answer, especially if you’re a brand new teacher, but it’s important to show that you’re willing to grow and learn.
Tip #8: Be Yourself!
As cliche as this sounds, it’s so important to be yourself! You want your school to hire you for who you are, so you want to make sure that shows in your interview. Be honest with your answers and show them who you are as a teacher, but also as a person. If you love theater and know that you like to bring that into the classroom, tell them! If you love music and know that you incorporate it into your lessons because it’s something you’re passionate about, tell them! All of these things are so important because they want to hire you for who YOU are!
Tip #9: Follow-Up After Your Interview
After your interview, follow-up with a thank you email. This is a way for you to offer a closing impression on administration outside of your interview. Even if it’s something quick to say thank you for taking the time to interview you, it could go a long way! A few of my teacher friends wrote a hand-written thank you and left it with a secretary, but if that’s not an option for you, take the time to write an email once you get home.
Tip #10: Prepare Your Own Questions
Just as the school is interviewing you, you are interviewing them. Even if this is your very first teaching job, you want to learn as much as you can about the school in your interview. After doing your research, take notes on a few things that stick out to you. Some examples may include…Are they 1:1 with technology devices? Do they encourage collaboration amongst colleagues? Do they expect teachers to be involved in the school outside of just the classroom? All of these questions are important for you to know so you are fully aware of what your administration would be expecting if you were hired at their school.
Good luck on your interviews! Take a deep breath, remind yourself of why you became a teacher in the first place, and go in feeling confident!
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