Certainly, interviews are not just limited to the recruitment process of the corporate world. Every sector prefers taking interview sessions before finally enrolling the applicants on the job. Irrespective of the applicant being a newbie or an experienced one, the interviews can be a nerve-racking thing for all. Therefore, grabbing a good position in the desired institute requires thorough preparation on the part of the applicant. The experience puts the candidate in a better position; however, a lack of preparation for the interview can take away all that you have earned in years.
When we talk about the teaching profession, we expect the teacher to have several amazing skills. Henceforth, the following content discusses how the interested applicants can prepare for the teaching interview. There are certain skills set which is taught in the teaching skills enhancement program, and they are mentioned below:
Skills that are taught in teaching skills enhancement programs
Proficient teaching
Interviews want to check if a particular candidate is proficient enough in teaching or not. For this, they check certain skill sets in the candidate. The foremost skill that they look for is the candidate’s passion for a particular subject. If a person is passionate about teaching, then he or she would investin innovative and interesting techniques to teach their subjects. A mere degree is not enough.
Additionally, a teacher is also required to have a good bond with the students. The absence of a proper rapport will only enhance the non-cooperation of the students. Also, the interviewers want somebody confident enough to deal with the challenges of the field.
Effective handling
Another crucial skill required by the interviewer in the candidate is effective handling. By the term effective handling, we mean that the candidate must be good in classroom management. He or she must have effective listening and communicating skills. Moreover, he or she must have both theoretical and practical knowledge of classroom management.
The teacher must also maintain a rapport with the parents of the students. The job of teaching is not solely dealing with the students but also with their parents. Henceforth, a good bond is well appreciated with the parents.
The teacher, who pays attention to the needs of the students, whether they are academic or personal behavioural, is well considered by the interviewers.
Planning and organising skills
One of the most important skills that the candidate must have is planning and organising. In the sector of education, the capability of the teacher to effectively plan and organise things give him or her an upper hand. Effective teaching by the teacher demands ones ability to both plan and organise lessons. Henceforth, the interviewee must portray his/her ability to plan and organie effectivelyduring the interview.
Tips for the teacher interview preparation
A candidate must do the following preparations before appearing for the teaching interview.
Prepare a portfolio-
The first thing that the interviewers do is refer to the portfolio provided by the candidate. One must be good at the oraganisation of the portfolio. In other words, the candidate must organise his or her portfolio with several worksheets, his lesson plans, his degree mark sheets, certificates, previous remarks, etc. Additionally, table content would help in making the whole portfolio simpler for the recruiters.
Interviewers have different factors and ideas to judge their candidates on. Ifyou have your portfolio ready, the interviewer will most probably ask questions based on the portfolio only. Plus, it also shows your professionalism.
Start preparing from the basics-
Well, an interviewer will try to ask all kinds of questions related to his or her field. These questions will help the interveiewer know if the candidate has the ability and skills to fill the position or not. Thus, a candidate has to be prepared for all the possible questions. The best way of preparing for the interview is to start from the basics. If you are new in this field, then you must start revising the lesson plans, teaching methods, classroom management, etc.
Henceforth, when the recruiter asks about the best teaching method that one could devise in a classroom, then the candidate must have the most suitable answer considering several factors.
Prepare smartly-
Another most commonly committed mistake by the applicants is that they choose complex chapters for the teacher interview preparation. When you prepare a complex chapter, you won’t be able to handle it confidently in the interview round, and ultimately it may backfire on you. Therefore, it is better if one only focuses on the simple topics as they will help you in keeping up with the confidence before the interviewers.
Do thorough research about the school’s background-
The most commonly asked question in the interview is how would the candidate contribute towards the vision of the school? Well, a candidate would be able to answer the question only if he or she knows about the institute’s vision. So, it is suggested that the candidate do thorough research on the school’s background. He or she must be well aware of the accomplishments, vision, directors, etc of the school. Do read and understand the policies of the institute. This will again help you stand out from the crowd of applicants.
Apply marketing strategies-
During an interview, the candidate giving the interview is the subject matter. The candidate is being constantly evaluated on several factors by the interviewers. It is also the candidate’s responsibility to apply strategies that would allow the recruiters to choose you from the pool of applicants. The best thing that the applicant can do is tell interviewers about what they have learnt or experienced in the field and how they would help the institute in the future by applying thelearned tactics. Always use the opportunities whenever possible in the interview; they will give a competitive edge.
Well, there are different rounds in a teaching interview. The institute usually conducts panel interviews, informal discussions, group discussions, and lesson planning. Make sure that you are prepared enough for all these rounds. In the end, what matters is the person’s confidence and his or her ability to overcome nervousness with necessary preparations.
