NYC Teaching Fellows. Interview Guide June 2011

Transcription

1 NYC Teaching Fellows Interview Guide June 2011

2 NYC Teaching Fellows Interview Guide Interviewing Overview Interacting with Principals and Hiring Representatives Interview Tips Interview Questions After the Interview 2

3 INTERVIEWING OVERVIEW As a Teaching Fellow, you bring a broad range of experiences and skills to the teaching profession. While interviewing can be a stressful experience, be confident you were successful during one of the Teaching Fellows most selective seasons to date. Keep in mind the diversity of New York City Schools. Each school is unique and every school administrator and teacher is different. Interview questions from principals or school hiring representatives may range from the very broad to extremely specific. You never know what type of school might be a good fit for you. Therefore, you should remain open to different schools and settings and explore all options. Principals expect Fellows to raise student achievement during the first year. Thousands of Fellows have already met these expectations. We are confident that you can also be successful as a first-year teacher. The assigned Teaching for Student Achievement materials prior to pre-service training will give you language common to teaching that will help answer hiring representative questions. Participating in pre-service training will provide you with a comprehensive framework of knowledge and skills essential for effective teaching. 3

4 INTERVIEWING OVERVIEW: TIPS ON TALKING THE TALK Like most professions, education is full of jargon, acronyms, and abbreviations. Because you are only beginning the process of becoming a teacher, you may not be familiar with teacher terms, such as classroom management system or kinesthetic learning. Because principals and hiring representatives will expect you to be comfortable with these terms, be sure to use the materials in this guide and on the suggested websites to understand the basic challenges of classroom teaching and learn best practices for communicating with hiring representatives using terminology familiar to the teaching profession. The Glossarist ( has a comprehensive directory of education terminology that may be of interest. The website for the Council of Disability Rights ( provides a glossary of terms specific to special education. Prospective special education teachers in particular need to be familiar with some of the definitions that are specific to their field when interviewing. Education Week ( will help you stay current on what's happening in education. This weekly magazine publishes information about hot topics in education and teaching. 4

5 NYC Teaching Fellows Interview Guide Interview Overview Interacting with Principals and Hiring Representatives Interview Tips Interview Questions After the Interview 5

6 Fellow Rate of Hire INTERACTING WITH PRINCIPALS AND HIRING REPRESENTATIVES You will have opportunities to interact with principals at your field training site, teacher recruitment fairs, open houses, and school-based interview events before, during, and after pre-service training This year, hiring representatives will likely be making offers in August and September this is no different than past years. However, we strongly encourage you to start researching schools and networking before training begins. The more proactive you are earlier in the hiring season the wider your network will be when principals are ready to begin hiring. Once hiring representatives are ready to begin interviewing, you may be asked to: Visit a school Have a phone interview Interview with a school administrator Interview in front of a panel of teachers Give a demonstration lesson Your interviewers may represent a variety of school staff, including: Principals Assistant Principals Personnel Directors Hiring Committees composed of teachers, students, and other school staff Other district or school administrators 6

7 INTERACTING WITH PRINCIPALS AND HIRING REPRESENTATIVES Teaching Fellows teach in nearly 90% of the 1,600 NYC public schools. It is likely that the person or persons you interview with will have some knowledge of the Fellows program. One of the main questions these individuals will have is: How will you be able to translate your past successes into raising student achievement? You should highlight any experiences relevant to working in a school setting, such as any experience working with children, and leadership or entrepreneurial experience. You will also want to include any information that may relate to extra-curricular activities, such as sports, drama, arts, technology, etc. Quick Tip for Interviewing: Ask the principal what s/he expects or is looking for in a new teacher, so that you can speak directly to his/her desires and beliefs. 7

8 INTERACTING WITH PRINCIPALS AND HIRING REPRESENTATIVES You may want to emphasize the following when faced with questions about your qualifications: The intensity of the summer program: Although you will by no means be teaching a full schedule over the summer, the Teaching Fellows pre-service training program encourages you to apply the skills you are learning in preparation for teaching full-time. Explain that: You will spend many hours each day learning, observing, and applying a variety of instructional methods. You will receive frequent feedback and mentoring on your student teaching from both NYCTF staff and your Cooperating Teacher. Your understanding of your content area: Your knowledge of your subject area is an important point to emphasize if you are faced with concerns about your lack of classroom experience. Demonstrate your expertise by discussing your past experiences. Remember that you have already made it through a rigorous selection process if asked about your content knowledge, discuss your interest in the area, your academic background, your pre-service training, and your ability to achieve results. Your willingness to learn and accept feedback from veteran faculty at your school: It is important that you reassure your interviewer that you know there is a lot to learn about teaching and being part of a school community. Emphasize your commitment to on-going learning and growth. Highlight other experiences where you have been faced with challenges and discuss how you accessed resources to help meet these challenges. 8

9 NYC Teaching Fellows Interview Guide Interview Overview Interacting with Principals and Hiring Representatives Interview Tips Interview Questions After the Interview 9

10 INTERVIEW TIPS: PREPARATION Focus on the positive. Practice answering possible interview questions before each interview (see a list of interview questions on slide 13 & 14). This will help you develop your own beliefs and communicate them genuinely. Confirm your appointment with the hiring representative the day before. Research the school and neighborhood. (For more information about specific schools, please visit the DOE Website Overview and the DOE website at Prepare insightful questions to ask. Dress professionally and bring updated copies of your résumé. Prepare a demonstration lesson whether or not the hiring representative has asked you to do so. (For more information on presenting a demonstration lesson, see the Demonstration Lesson Guide. ) 10

11 INTERVIEW TIPS: AT THE INTERVIEW Be open and flexible. Schools can get very hectic during a school day. You may find that even though you confirmed your appointment, your interviewer cannot see you at the scheduled time, and/or has not alerted anyone to the fact that you are coming. Keep in mind that some hiring representatives may be unfamiliar with exactly how the Teaching Fellows program works. Be a great listener. Make sure you answer the question that your interviewer is asking. a) b) c) Provide specific examples to strengthen your answers whenever possible. Remain calm, focused, and flexible. Working at a school, in any capacity, means always having to expect the unexpected. Take the time to observe how the office works and review your demonstration lesson. Once your interviewer is ready, be prepared for anything. (Fellows have, in the past, reported that school emergencies have arisen, resulting in a cancelled demo lessons.) Don t be afraid to ask if you do not understand the terminology. Thank your interviewer for his/her time. 11

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13 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS YOU MAY HEAR Broader Questions: How long do you plan to stay in teaching? Why do you want to teach at this point in your life? What is your philosophy on education? meaning, what do you think it takes for students to learn? How do we get to this goal of educating children? Can all children learn? What are your accomplishments? What are your goals for the future (related to education)? Define your working style. *PLEASE NOTE: All Fellows, and especially science and special education/math Fellows, may be asked to demonstrate content knowledge. For example, if you are a math teacher, you may be asked to do a math problem or to teach a novel math lesson. What do you think is the most important contribution you can make to students? To education? What do you think should and can be done to improve communication between teachers and students? Teachers and parents? Teachers and administrators? What do you anticipate being the most satisfying aspect of teaching? 13

14 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS YOU MAY HEAR Classroom-Specific Questions: What special qualities will you bring to the classroom? How will you involve parents/guardians in your classroom? Describe how you will set up your classroom. What is your classroom management system going to be? How will you deal with a disruptive student in your classroom? How do you address individual differences within your classroom? What kind of relationship do you want with your students? What kinds of extracurricular activities do you see yourself doing with students? 14

15 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS YOU MAY HEAR School-Specific Questions: What are you looking for in a principal? Do you have any questions about our school? Why do would you like this particular job? What do you know about our school? About our community? Interview Question Preparation Tips: Before going on an interview, we recommend that you practice answering these questions with a friend or family member. Role playing can help you formulate your responses to these questions and receive feedback on what type of a first impression your body language is conveying. If you do not have anyone with whom you can role play, we recommend that you practice answering these questions in front of a mirror. That way you can at least have the opportunity to observe your body language. 15

16 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS YOU MAY WANT TO ASK What is your school s mission or philosophy? What are the school s strengths? What qualities do successful teachers in your school possess? What curricula are used in your school in my subject area? Does the school have a math and/or literacy coach? How many teachers are in your school? What is the ratio of new to experienced teachers? What type of professional development opportunities are offered at your school? What support structures are in place? Do teachers plan together? What are the extracurricular activities at the school that I can get involved in? 16

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18 AFTER THE INTERVIEW Send a thank-you note to the hiring representative soon after your visit. For more information on writing thank-you notes, read through the Thank-You Note Tips available under the Job Search tab on My NYCTF. If your interview results in a job offer that you are interested in accepting and the school PLEASE NOTE: We will not consider any commitments that do not have a Galaxy Job ID final. (A Galaxy Job ID is a unique vacancy identifier created when a vacancy is created in the HR system. See What is a Galaxy Job ID? in the Job Search FAQ) CANNOT HIRE YOU AT THIS TIME: You should not make a commitment to any school until after any hiring restrictions have been lifted for your subject area and/or the school. However, you should remain in close contact with the hiring representative(s) at the school while you remain affected by the hiring restrictions. That way, once you are no longer impacted by hiring restrictions, both you and the school interested in hiring you will be ready to take the next steps. CAN HIRE YOU AT THIS TIME: After accepting the offer, you should fill out your Hiring Commitment Form and fax it to the NYCTF office at Your Hiring Commitment Form is available under the Job Search tab on My NYCTF. Faxing in this form will not add you to a school s payroll, but it will help set this process in motion. Your school must still process you onto its payroll. (Detailed information about which schools/subject areas are currently impacted by the hiring guidelines can be found at 18