Interviewing 102 - There should be a class for that
I interviewed for a job this week, and it was nerve wracking and exciting and intimidating.
My current contract ends this week so I’ve been busy applying for jobs. So after applying for three or four different jobs, I finally got called in to interview. Yay hurray.
It’s amazing how much you forget in two years.
I arrived to the interview a few minutes early, apparently just as school was letting out, only to find that I couldn’t park my car. I drove around the block a few times before finally finding a space in a nearby cul-de-sac. I wasn’t about to let the drizzling rain, or a traffic jam get in my way, so I quickly took off my sweater in the car and grabbed my portfolio, running through puddles to get to the school and the front office.
The principal wasn’t there; she was outside doing supervision, so I needn’t have worried about being late.
When she did come inside she needed to have a short meeting with a teacher at the school. So I ended up standing at the counter in the office for probably five or six minutes, waiting for the principal.
Eventually the interview did start, but she confused me for someone else.
“I’ve heard such great things about you,” she said.
“Really?” I replied.
“Yeah, aren’t you with Jeff (something)?”
“No,” I responded, my palms beginning to sweat.
“Oh,” she laughed. “Who are you with right now?”
So I responded. We managed to laugh it off, but still, quite an awkward beginning.
In teaching the interview questions are almost always the same, but they’re very specific and the principal looks for specific answers. They want you to use keywords that are “educational hot words” like” assessment of, for and as learning” then explaining how you’d implement those things in your classroom. When I got to that question, I stumbled only slightly trying to remember exactly what I was supposed to say. I managed to pull it off though.
There were more questions, I answered them all honestly but it’s hard to try and sell yourself like that.
How would I deal with the difficulties of a classroom in a low income neighbourhood? What personal and professional experiences qualify me for teaching this class? Where would I start if I was offered the position? What would assessment, evaluation and reporting look like in my classroom? What are my classroom management strategies?
There were times when she prompted me, which was great. She was a really lovely lady, and I think that I would be a great fit for her school, but still.
The interview was like a reawakening for me. Reminded me of all the things in teacher training that I’d incorporated and those things that I still needed to work on a little bit.
The interview ended with her telling me a bit about the makings of the class. She told me that I was her first interview for the job and that one of her current employees had also applied because she was in a situation similar to my own, not knowing when the current contract was going to end. She told me that I would hear something from HR within the next few days.
It’s been two days now. The longer it takes the less likely I am to be offered the position, but I’m looking at it as a good experience for myself. It was good to get back into the swing of things and practice my interview skills a little.
So Reflectologists, tell me all about your interview experiences. How did you handle being unemployed? The stress of job hunting or never knowing what’s to come for the week ahead?
My current contract ends this week so I’ve been busy applying for jobs. So after applying for three or four different jobs, I finally got called in to interview. Yay hurray.
It’s amazing how much you forget in two years.
I arrived to the interview a few minutes early, apparently just as school was letting out, only to find that I couldn’t park my car. I drove around the block a few times before finally finding a space in a nearby cul-de-sac. I wasn’t about to let the drizzling rain, or a traffic jam get in my way, so I quickly took off my sweater in the car and grabbed my portfolio, running through puddles to get to the school and the front office.
The principal wasn’t there; she was outside doing supervision, so I needn’t have worried about being late.
When she did come inside she needed to have a short meeting with a teacher at the school. So I ended up standing at the counter in the office for probably five or six minutes, waiting for the principal.
Eventually the interview did start, but she confused me for someone else.
“I’ve heard such great things about you,” she said.
“Really?” I replied.
“Yeah, aren’t you with Jeff (something)?”
“No,” I responded, my palms beginning to sweat.
“Oh,” she laughed. “Who are you with right now?”
So I responded. We managed to laugh it off, but still, quite an awkward beginning.
In teaching the interview questions are almost always the same, but they’re very specific and the principal looks for specific answers. They want you to use keywords that are “educational hot words” like” assessment of, for and as learning” then explaining how you’d implement those things in your classroom. When I got to that question, I stumbled only slightly trying to remember exactly what I was supposed to say. I managed to pull it off though.
There were more questions, I answered them all honestly but it’s hard to try and sell yourself like that.
How would I deal with the difficulties of a classroom in a low income neighbourhood? What personal and professional experiences qualify me for teaching this class? Where would I start if I was offered the position? What would assessment, evaluation and reporting look like in my classroom? What are my classroom management strategies?
There were times when she prompted me, which was great. She was a really lovely lady, and I think that I would be a great fit for her school, but still.
The interview was like a reawakening for me. Reminded me of all the things in teacher training that I’d incorporated and those things that I still needed to work on a little bit.
The interview ended with her telling me a bit about the makings of the class. She told me that I was her first interview for the job and that one of her current employees had also applied because she was in a situation similar to my own, not knowing when the current contract was going to end. She told me that I would hear something from HR within the next few days.
It’s been two days now. The longer it takes the less likely I am to be offered the position, but I’m looking at it as a good experience for myself. It was good to get back into the swing of things and practice my interview skills a little.
So Reflectologists, tell me all about your interview experiences. How did you handle being unemployed? The stress of job hunting or never knowing what’s to come for the week ahead?