Teacher Interview

rocky raccoon

I'm not sure if there is already an open tread but post here and see.

In a few days I have my first interview for a post primary teacher and was hoping to get advice on how to prepare, do's/don'ts, what to bring, etc. I live on the other side of the country so the only information I have been able to get is from the schools website. Are there any tricky questions that interviewers might throw at me. I teach practical subjects. I have been trying to find out the school ethos, it's values and if it has a hidden curriculum.

I would appreciate any advice available.

bearhugs

From what I remember, typical questions in any teaching interview I've had were:
•what are the qualities of a good teacher?
•what is your best quality as a teacher?
•what is your worst quality as a teacher?
(hard to answer, usually said something like I tend to spend a little too much time on a topic to make sure everyone understands it)
•what problems do you think face the education system?
•how do you keep students interested in your subject?
•how would you use technology in your classroom?
•how would you discipline a student?
•how would you make sure your class was suitable for different learning styles?

Hope these are useful!

bdoo

rocky raccoon wrote: »

I'm not sure if there is already an open tread but post here and see.

In a few days I have my first interview for a post primary teacher and was hoping to get advice on how to prepare, do's/don'ts, what to bring, etc. I live on the other side of the country so the only information I have been able to get is from the schools website. Are there any tricky questions that interviewers might throw at me. I teach practical subjects. I have been trying to find out the school ethos, it's values and if it has a hidden curriculum.

I would appreciate any advice available.

You may get subject specific questions also. be prepared for questions on health and safety and your approach to it. Be familiar either new syllabi and your opinion of them.

be prepared for a question on how you would introduce a certain topic also .

Also. Be passionate about your subject, if you show this in the interview the panel will see that you will be passionate in the classroom.

Inspector Coptoor

I had an interview last week.

Make sure you know the ethos of the school, who founded it etc if it's a denominational school.

How would you introduce a topic?
Why did you get into teaching?
What are your interests outside school & have you any skills you could bring to the schools extra curricular activities?

rocky raccoon

Thanks for all the advice, sounds like I've alot of prep to do. I cancelled my interview for next week, the location/hours weren't ideal and I would have spent a day getting there and a day getting back. I'll spend the time brushing up and start thinking about how I should answer the questions ye have suggested. Generally how long could an interview last?

km79

rocky raccoon wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, sounds like I've alot of prep to do. I cancelled my interview for next week, the location/hours weren't ideal and I would have spent a day getting there and a day getting back. I'll spend the time brushing up and start thinking about how I should answer the questions ye have suggested. Generally how long could an interview last?

You should have done the interview anyway for the experience. Even when I started out and jobs were more plentiful interviews were rare so I did a few just to get idea of questions asked and get the mistakes out of the way
Generally speaking if it is indeed a real interview and you are not there just to make up the numbers expect to be there for approx 45 mins.
Also expect a series of questions on your subject area, ethos and discipline/classroom management.
You will nearly always get asked why should you get the job. Have this prepared and don't be shy about selling yourself. It might be your only chance.
Generally interview ends with them asking have you any questions. Have the school researched and ask a question related to a specific area of that school e.g. School musical , sports team , etc

lestat21

Ive found interviews can last anywhere between 10 minutes and 40 minutes... Just cos its short doesnt mean you're not in the running. You can usually tell from the questions they ask and the way they describe the position whether youre really in the running or not. At this stage of your career, as long as you have enuf money to rent a flat and some disposable income then you have to consider whatever hours are going.

Questions that used to trip me up... How could you become involved in extracuricular activities? How would you feel about teaching SPHE/CSPE/resource? What resources do you find useful in the teaching of your subject? How could you improve literacy in your subject? How do you set and correct homework? Describe a serious discipline issue that you had to deal with. How would you prepare for open days? What would you contribute to the staffroom/department. Tell us what you know about child protection guidelines/whole school evaluations/subject and whole school planning.

I tend to ask questions about my specific subject area which is maths. What range of maths resources are available within the school? How has the maths department adapted to the challenges of project maths? Could I have more info on the position - what year groups or subject levels will I be teaching? However they answer you turn it round and show them how your experience is perfectly suited to their situation. You can also show that you've done your research if youre able to include info on their code of behaviour, IT facilities or info from WSE or subject inspections.

rocky raccoon

km79 wrote: »

You should have done the interview anyway for the experience. Even when I started out and jobs were more plentiful interviews were rare so I did a few just to get idea of questions asked and get the mistakes out of the way
Generally speaking if it is indeed a real interview and you are not there just to make up the numbers expect to be there for approx 45 mins.
Also expect a series of questions on your subject area, ethos and discipline/classroom management.
You will nearly always get asked why should you get the job. Have this prepared and don't be shy about selling yourself. It might be your only chance.
Generally interview ends with them asking have you any questions. Have the school researched and ask a question related to a specific area of that school e.g. School musical , sports team , etc

I did intend to go to the interview just for the experience but it was a bit of a way to go from Sligo to Dublin to experience an interview and I felt that I could lose out on a couple other posts which suit me better. I also felt I was very unprepared.

rocky raccoon

lestat21 wrote: »

Ive found interviews can last anywhere between 10 minutes and 40 minutes... Just cos its short doesnt mean you're not in the running. You can usually tell from the questions they ask and the way they describe the position whether youre really in the running or not. At this stage of your career, as long as you have enuf money to rent a flat and some disposable income then you have to consider whatever hours are going.

Questions that used to trip me up... How could you become involved in extracuricular activities? How would you feel about teaching SPHE/CSPE/resource? What resources do you find useful in the teaching of your subject? How could you improve literacy in your subject? How do you set and correct homework? Describe a serious discipline issue that you had to deal with. How would you prepare for open days? What would you contribute to the staffroom/department. Tell us what you know about child protection guidelines/whole school evaluations/subject and whole school planning.

I tend to ask questions about my specific subject area which is maths. What range of maths resources are available within the school? How has the maths department adapted to the challenges of project maths? Could I have more info on the position - what year groups or subject levels will I be teaching? However they answer you turn it round and show them how your experience is perfectly suited to their situation. You can also show that you've done your research if youre able to include info on their code of behaviour, IT facilities or info from WSE or subject inspections.

From what you say it looks like preparing for an interview is pretty much like a career in itself.

bdoo

In a time where jobs are tight you may be lucky to get shortlisted even so it can't hurt to be prepared!

the only way to get good at interviews is to do them, you may also find that your application form improves when you consider it in light of the type of questions come up at interviews.

I know of a job advertised recently for 15hours that had almost 100 applicants. And have heard that some of the applications were pure drivel.

I have seen cvs come into school over the past week which are badly laid out, poorly presented and littered with spelling and punctuation errors.

An application form or cover letter is the first impression you give. A poor one gets pushed aside easily when its among 90 others where the applicant has made an effort.

I think that this should be borne in mind when applying for jobs.

rocky raccoon

As I said I did want to do the interview for experience. However, logistic issues and the number of hours (too many) involved were two of the reasons for me not going for it. The main reason was that there were other jobs posted in the past couple of days which suited much better and I wanted to spend extra time on the likes of the cover letter so as to give myself the best possible chance. I have been spending a lot of time trying to improve my cover letter but have yet to get feedback on it.

rainbowtrout

rocky raccoon wrote: »

As I said I did want to do the interview for experience. However, logistic issues and the number of hours (too many) involved were two of the reasons for me not going for it. The main reason was that there were other jobs posted in the past couple of days which suited much better and I wanted to spend extra time on the likes of the cover letter so as to give myself the best possible chance. I have been spending a lot of time trying to improve my cover letter but have yet to get feedback on it.

Fair enough, but Sligo is only 3 hours from Dublin, it's not the other side of the world, and not much opportunity to get feedback for your cover letter if you don't attend an interview. There are people on this forum who have posted last summer saying they applied for 200 jobs last year and got called for 0/1/2 interviews. Getting called for interview in itself at this stage is nearly an achievement. The fact that you got called for interview would suggest that your CV and letter were of a good enough standard, without knowing much else, when you consider bdoo's post above.

Take every chance you get, the north west has a low population and not a huge number of schools, so therefore less likely to have many jobs available. If you have no major ties (mortgage, married, kids etc) you should probably consider a far wider area.

bdoo

rocky raccoon wrote: »

As I said I did want to do the interview for experience. However, logistic issues and the number of hours (too many)

Had to do a double take there! Dont be afraid of full hours or close to it in a first job, tough going but all the better in the long run imo.

rocky raccoon

bdoo wrote: »

Had to do a double take there! Dont be afraid of full hours or close to it in a first job, tough going but all the better in the long run imo.

Ok I seem to be receiving a little bit of criticism for not attending the interview. By the way I did let the school know in advance that I would not be attending.

This might shed a bit more light on why I did not attend the interview and why I can't do full hours. It's not that I am afraid to do full hours, it is due to the fact that in recent years I have been unable to work due to serious illness and I am only now kicking off my teaching career. Should I bring this up in an interview if no none asks why there is a two and a half year break in my CV? The main way this affects me is fatigue hence the reason I am only capable of doing part time hours.

ViveLaVie

rocky raccoon wrote: »

Ok I seem to be receiving a little bit of criticism for not attending the interview. By the way I did let the school know in advance that I would not be attending.

This might shed a bit more light on why I did not attend the interview and why I can't do full hours. It's not that I am afraid to do full hours, it is due to the fact that in recent years I have been unable to work due to serious illness and I am only now kicking off my teaching career. Should I bring this up in an interview if no none asks why there is a two and a half year break in my CV? The main way this affects me is fatigue hence the reason I am only capable of doing part time hours.

I can't advise you on whether to divulge that information or not in the interview but I do know the law is on your side. You are not obliged to tell your employer of any illness you have as long as you are capable of doing the job. If adjustments have to be made to accommodate your illness then IMO wait until you are offered the job before you ask for them. You could always explain away your gap years by saying you had to help out at home etc.

rocky raccoon

ViveLaVie wrote: »

I can't advise you on whether to divulge that information or not in the interview but I do know the law is on your side. You are not obliged to tell your employer of any illness you have as long as you are capable of doing the job. If adjustments have to be made to accommodate your illness then IMO wait until you are offered the job before you ask for them. You could always explain away your gap years by saying you had to help out at home etc.

That is how I would like to approach it, on a level playing field with the others going for the job. However visible scars and large patches of thinner hair are likely to have them wondering. I have spent the past four months subbing, clocking up almost 90 hours with no problems so my past school can verify that I am capable. For that reason I think it might be best to lay my cards on the table early on and let them ask what they want.

spurious

rocky raccoon wrote: »

That is how I would like to approach it, on a level playing field with the others going for the job. However visible scars and large patches of thinner hair are likely to have them wondering. I have spent the past four months subbing, clocking up almost 90 hours with no problems so my past school can verify that I am capable. For that reason I think it might be best to lay my cards on the table early on and let them ask what they want.

I would tend to agree. It will be obvious to them from your work in the other school that you are physically up to it and on the mend.

Naaoise

km79 wrote: »

You should have done the interview anyway for the experience. Even when I started out and jobs were more plentiful interviews were rare so I did a few just to get idea of questions asked and get the mistakes out of the way
Generally speaking if it is indeed a real interview and you are not there just
to make up the numbers expect to be there for approx 45 mins.

Also expect a series of questions on your subject area, ethos and discipline/classroom management.
You will nearly always get asked why should you get the job. Have this prepared and don't be shy about selling yourself. It might be your only chance.
Generally interview ends with them asking have you any questions. Have the school researched and ask a question related to a specific area of that school e.g. School musical , sports team , etc

Km79, I've been to interviews that have lasted about 20 minutes(the norm) and have been offered the job....just wondering why you think that you're only in the running if you're kept in a interview for 45 mins?
Having said that, I was keep for longer than 45 minutes once but it was an interview for a UK teaching job but never here.