Lets Get Professional- Interviewing
I recently completed an assignment that consisted of performing mock interviews. This assignment was implemented to better prepare me for real interviews as I start hunting for teaching jobs post graduation. I was interviewed and received awesome advice and feedback from three individuals. Having a variety of interviewers was extremely beneficial as they all gave different but fantastic feedback. My interview team consisted of an agriculture teacher, a special education/ general teacher, and a dairy industry representative.
During my first interview, we discussed a variety of questions that I never would have thought would have been asked but were extremely important to not only discuss but to reflect on after the interview. Some of these questions consisted of why do you want to be a teacher, why did you choose this school, what kind of teacher do you think you are and if I were to receive the job, what does the longevity of it look like. We discussed that often times, there is very predictable and common answer to these questions. But, during an interview, your employer is going to like creativity and honesty. An example would be with longevity. Do not instantly say, "oh I will stay forever". And appropriate answer could consist of saying, "as long as I am happy and can provide for my family I would stay as long as possible." When asked about the school, I learned it is important to do research on that school before you enter. It should not just be a generic answer. It should be based for that specific school. During this interview, two activities were also brought up. The first consisted of having a stack of books and needing to pick one that I thought would be most beneficial for my class to read and why. I thought this activity could really give the hiring committee a good look at your personality. Another activity which I thought was a very good idea was being given a fake scenario class and having to demonstrate a brief lesson. This experience gave me a lot to think on and taught me to be prepared for anything in an interview.
I realized that industry interviews can vary greatly compared to teaching interviews. For the industry interview, she asked more general questions that I would expect to be asked in an interview. She started with basic personality questions. These consisted of strengths and weaknesses, character traits, experiences, and family life. The next questions were then industry and skill focused. In this position you need to have dairy knowledge as well as computer knowledge for the programs used. All these questions were relevant as this job involves working with the public, both farmers and non farmers. It greatly has to do with dairy knowledge and being able to have effective communication skills. This interview was not only a helpful practice but it also was a lot of fun.
My last interview was with an agriculture teacher. This was so much! We met in the main office of the school so she made it very real and professional. She went in depth reviewing my cover letter and resume and gave me great feedback on them both. During the interview, she asked me so many great questions. She asked me multiple questions about not only my agriculture background but asked my specific hopes and plans for the program that I was interviewing for. A question she then asked was about previous employers. This question really caught me off guard! After reflecting on it with her, she assured me my answer to it was great and gave me some pointers on what to say and not to say. Another question she asked me was revolving around previous experiences teaching and my strength and weak teaching areas. After the interview had concluded, she gave me great advice on what questions to ask back when a future employer would give me an opportunity. She suggested questions such as, asking specific program questions, asking about the facilities, brief contract questions, number of students in classes/programs and about the community. I was lucky that during this time the vice principal of the school happened to stop in to say hi. He also gave me great interview tips and ideas of what he looks for as an employer. He also stated that something he likes to do in an interview is a small surprise lesson. He said he likes to give people a couple minutes and ask them to teach one thing on the subject. I thought this would be so scary but also an awesome opportunity to be able to show your knowledge and how much fun you could have teaching. (After thinking about it, we agreed that as agriculture teachers, if we were put on the spot like this scenario we would definitely love to teach briefly on the 3 circle model!) We wrapped things up by him stating that overall in an interview, he really is looking for passion and excitement of the subject. If someone is excited and passionate for the topic in their interview that certainly is going to carry over into the classroom.
Overall, this experience was not only so beneficial but also so much fun! I had the opportunity to practice my interview skills and speaking as well as receive feedback and suggestions from all these individuals. I am hoping to use this experience to feel more relaxed and prepared when I interview for my first teaching job.
During my first interview, we discussed a variety of questions that I never would have thought would have been asked but were extremely important to not only discuss but to reflect on after the interview. Some of these questions consisted of why do you want to be a teacher, why did you choose this school, what kind of teacher do you think you are and if I were to receive the job, what does the longevity of it look like. We discussed that often times, there is very predictable and common answer to these questions. But, during an interview, your employer is going to like creativity and honesty. An example would be with longevity. Do not instantly say, "oh I will stay forever". And appropriate answer could consist of saying, "as long as I am happy and can provide for my family I would stay as long as possible." When asked about the school, I learned it is important to do research on that school before you enter. It should not just be a generic answer. It should be based for that specific school. During this interview, two activities were also brought up. The first consisted of having a stack of books and needing to pick one that I thought would be most beneficial for my class to read and why. I thought this activity could really give the hiring committee a good look at your personality. Another activity which I thought was a very good idea was being given a fake scenario class and having to demonstrate a brief lesson. This experience gave me a lot to think on and taught me to be prepared for anything in an interview.
I realized that industry interviews can vary greatly compared to teaching interviews. For the industry interview, she asked more general questions that I would expect to be asked in an interview. She started with basic personality questions. These consisted of strengths and weaknesses, character traits, experiences, and family life. The next questions were then industry and skill focused. In this position you need to have dairy knowledge as well as computer knowledge for the programs used. All these questions were relevant as this job involves working with the public, both farmers and non farmers. It greatly has to do with dairy knowledge and being able to have effective communication skills. This interview was not only a helpful practice but it also was a lot of fun.
My last interview was with an agriculture teacher. This was so much! We met in the main office of the school so she made it very real and professional. She went in depth reviewing my cover letter and resume and gave me great feedback on them both. During the interview, she asked me so many great questions. She asked me multiple questions about not only my agriculture background but asked my specific hopes and plans for the program that I was interviewing for. A question she then asked was about previous employers. This question really caught me off guard! After reflecting on it with her, she assured me my answer to it was great and gave me some pointers on what to say and not to say. Another question she asked me was revolving around previous experiences teaching and my strength and weak teaching areas. After the interview had concluded, she gave me great advice on what questions to ask back when a future employer would give me an opportunity. She suggested questions such as, asking specific program questions, asking about the facilities, brief contract questions, number of students in classes/programs and about the community. I was lucky that during this time the vice principal of the school happened to stop in to say hi. He also gave me great interview tips and ideas of what he looks for as an employer. He also stated that something he likes to do in an interview is a small surprise lesson. He said he likes to give people a couple minutes and ask them to teach one thing on the subject. I thought this would be so scary but also an awesome opportunity to be able to show your knowledge and how much fun you could have teaching. (After thinking about it, we agreed that as agriculture teachers, if we were put on the spot like this scenario we would definitely love to teach briefly on the 3 circle model!) We wrapped things up by him stating that overall in an interview, he really is looking for passion and excitement of the subject. If someone is excited and passionate for the topic in their interview that certainly is going to carry over into the classroom.
Overall, this experience was not only so beneficial but also so much fun! I had the opportunity to practice my interview skills and speaking as well as receive feedback and suggestions from all these individuals. I am hoping to use this experience to feel more relaxed and prepared when I interview for my first teaching job.
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