7 Interview Tips and Tricks for Landing Your Dream Teaching Job
It’s that time of year! Time to start thinking about where you want to be next year. Do you enjoy the building you're in and the grade level you are teaching or are you thinking about something new? Maybe you’re a new teacher looking for your very first teaching position. Well, we are here to help you through the process with 7 tips and tricks to a successful interview using both our teaching and administrative experience.
Tip #1: Highlight your best lesson and what made it so.
Whether you are entering your first year of teaching or have been teaching for a few years, odds are pretty good that your interview team is going to ask you to share about a lesson that went really well for you. Be sure you have something in mind that you can easily talk about and try to recreate the scene. Were students solving a problem? Did you use a form of technology? Were in-person students collaborating with online students? What was the magic that made your students so engaged in this lesson?
Tip #2: Be able to discuss a lesson that didn’t go so well and what you learned about that experience.
You might be thinking, “Why in the world would I want to share about a lesson that didn’t go so well? I’m trying to get hired.” Believe it or not, administrators love hearing about these lessons because it shows that you took the time to reflect on what you would change. Maybe you read an article or saw a new method on Instagram that you would implement next time. Reflection like this shows that this is more than “just a job” to you. You want to improve and you want the best for your students.
Tip #3: Know how you will communicate with parents.
This is HUGE! One of the key components to student success is working to create a relationship with the families. Be ready to share how you communicate with parents. Do you send home a newsletter? Do you call home throughout the school year? Do you use an app such as Remind or Dojo? Also, be sure to focus on communicating with parents about positive behavior and not just reaching out due to a poor test score or inappropriate behavior. Focusing on the positive will help parents to trust you as the educator.
Tip #4: Share your views about technology and how comfortable you are with it.
After this school year, administrators are probably going to be asking what your experience was like teaching during the pandemic. Explain your relationship with technology. My guess is that you had good days and days that were rough, but you never gave up. Share about using technology as a tool to enhance student learning. Think of an example of this and be prepared to share about it. This might also be a great time to mention the 4 C’s of 21st century learning. If you’re unsure about what those are, then be sure to tune into the blog next week when we share all about them.
Tip #5: Know your classroom management style.
Now that we are in the 21st century classroom management styles have changed from the rigid raising your hand to speak to becoming more student centered. Will students need to raise their hands at times? Yes, but teaching students to have a conversation is a critical component of 21st century learning. Focus on setting up systems and routines with your students so they know what is expected of them which will allow your classroom to flow more smoothly. If a student acts out or is off task, then you want to share what the consequence will be and how you will handle the situation. Know your management style so well that when you speak about it it comes across with confidence.
Tip #6: Be familiar with the school you are interviewing.
You read that right. You are interviewing the school just as much as they are interviewing you. You want to know about the community and what makes this school so special. If you get a tour of the building, then try to see if you pick up the vibe in the building. Are teachers collaborating with one another or is everyone pretty isolated? You might mention any awards the school earned or something that is going on in the school to show you did your research.
Tip #7: Have at least 2-3 questions for your interview team.
Most administrators will end the interview with asking you if you have any questions. This is actually my favorite part of the process because we never know what the candidate will ask. Come prepared with 2-3 questions and it is totally okay if you have these written down. You might ask something about teacher duties beyond the classroom, how often do they hold parent conferences and what do they look like, or even what professional development opportunities are available to the staff.
BONUS TIP: Stress the 4 C’s of 21st century learning.
Have you learned about the 4 C’s of 21st century learning? No, well this is definitely something you want to learn about before your interview. Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking are the components of education our students will need to develop as they prepare for their futures. Next week’s blog is going to review each of these in detail so be sure to check it out. For now, focus on any project based learning or STEM assignments that you have done with your students and how the 4 C’s came into play. Focus on learning becoming student centered with you as the teacher serving as a scaffold.
It is our hope that you can take these tips and score your dream position as an educator. Once you find that job, school will not feel like work but rather a hobby. This is a big decision and we are thrilled you took the time to give this a read to help you through the process. Encourage any other teachers you know to skim over our tips and tricks because as educators we know the importance of finding that dream job. As much as we usually focus on primary educators, these interview tips could probably help any teacher at any grade level.
As always, you are more than welcome to reach out to us one Instagram (@lessonplantoolbox) or email ([email protected]). We are happy to serve you however we can.
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