How I got my Job | Interview Tips

As you probably know from reading my bio or my recent A to Z about me, I am a new-ish kindergarten teacher. I finished my first full year of teaching in June and I’m going to be teaching kindergarten again starting in September.

I love my job, even though it’s difficult, crazy, and took me a while to finally get. The school that I am working at now was not my first application or interview. I applied to LOTS of schools and I even had interviews at a few of them. I learned a few things along the way of how to present myself during interview, what stands out on a application, and what to expect from the process.

**I teach in NYS and can really only speak for teacher interviews, as that is mostly what i have done.**

I’ve compiled a list of the top 5 things that are important for a teacher during the hiring process/interview. Please feel free to leave even more advice in the comments section!

1. Know the district and school that you are applying for. You should know if its urban, suburban, or rural. You should know what the surrounding community is like. What programs does the school use? What are the students like? Have you heard any other information about the school? These are all super important things to consider even before you apply for a position. These will help you determine if this is a good fit for you.
2. Always act professionally, but don’t lose sight of your personality. Acting like a professional goes without saying, but I think it’s also important to put your own personal spin on things. You don’t want to act completely different during the hiring process and then have to keep up the act once you have the job. Also, people are looking for “you.” Everyone can act the same, but we each have special and unique traits that can help during an interview.
3. Look up interview questions that they may ask you. I could list some common ones, but there are so many websites out there that have lists of potential interview questions. Don’t focus on knowing the answer to every single one, they’re not looking for perfection right away. Just have your basic answers ready.
4. Bring examples with you. Anybody can get a great idea off of Pinterest, but I am sure you have done something that is uniquely you and would grab the attention of the people interviewing you. If you have it, bring in student work or feedback from a colleague.
5. Don’t freak out. I know, easier said than done. My advice is to prepare until you feel comfortable and then don’t prepare the night before or the morning of your interview. Do things that you enjoy doing that are relaxing (take a bath for example). If you truly have prepared yourself, cramming right before will only make you more nervous and you might actually come off as unprepared because you’ve gotten yourself so flustered.

This post was a little different from what I usually write about on this blog. Let me know if you would like to see more of this or not. Please leave your best interview advice in the comments, especially teachers!