Posts Tagged Interview

Job Interview Strength and Weakness

October 17, 2010 at 9:29 am · Filed under Teaching assistant positions ·Tagged , ,

During a job interview, it seems that a ton of questions fly all around – and they generally do not mean a thing to you. However, the answers may be more important than you first think. One of my most memorable jobs also had a very memorable job interview. I had applied to be a teacher at a local preschool, and now sat across a desk, being interviewed by my future boss – the director of the school. “What would you consider your weakness?” she asked, once the introductions were made. “I am a very shy person when I first meet other people,” I answered, smiling a little. “It becomes a bit detrimental, because it gets misconstrued as snotty, or a better-than-thou attitude.” She nodded and laughed. “I have had that same problem!” She answered. “I have had a ton of people tell me that they thought I was a witch when they first met me!” Of course, the “witch” word she was talking about had actually begun with a “B”.

Do not be afraid of your weaknesses, but do not make one up, or use one that you may have heard before. The most played out and abused “weakness” would have to be the saying, “I am too much of a people-pleaser!” You would certainly have to wipe the brown off your nose after that one! In addition, it probably just made you seem fake and unconvincing to the interviewer.

What clinched my interview for the teaching position was a lot more unexpected than I thought. I was asked an excruciatingly simple question that almost made me wonder, “What is this lady getting at?” The director gazed at me seriously, cocked her head to one side, and inquired, “If I needed to send you into a room by yourself for a few minutes, and you were not familiar with the classroom or the children, what would your first reaction be?” I laughed and answered, “Probably try to appease them and keep them busy by playing the Hokey Pokey, or some other kind of game.”

Amazingly, I was told later on – once I had been a teacher there for a while – that the answer I had given to that question was what had landed me the job. Apparently, my strength was the insane, shameless way I could embarrass myself in front of a bunch of children! Who knew? Once again, asking friends and family for advice on describing your strengths and weaknesses, will give you great insight into yourself. Usually, you may have to put up with a little bit of ribbing from them – especially when it comes to your weaknesses. Just laugh, and tell them to get serious – it is for a job you are looking into. Be sure, however, to limit your strengths and weaknesses to the job you are applying for. An interviewer at the local department store is not interested in your strength to withstand tickling under your arms, just as much as they are probably not too interested in your weakness for cheese!

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Special Education Teaching Job Interview – What to Expect

September 29, 2010 at 9:34 am · Filed under Teaching assistant jobs ·Tagged , , , ,

Because a special education teacher‘s job requires far more than just teaching, administrators will seek candidates who are true specialists in the field. If you’re hoping to be hired as a special ed teacher, you need to be an expert at the art of adapting lessons, an active advocate for student needs, a professional IEP writer, a wealth of information on student disabilities, and a dedicated individual who is 100% committed to doing whatever it takes to help all students reach their fullest potential.

As with any teaching interview, I recommend you familiarize yourself with possible questions beforehand. This will make the interview questions seem familiar so you’ll be more comfortable answering them. You will be asked a series of general teaching questions as well as questions that specifically relate to special ed.

Below are a few thoughts on ways to be prepare for the special education questions that will be asked.

  1. Be prepared to comprehend and respond to all of the jargon, acronyms, and special requirements of special education. You should know exactly how an IEP and/or CSE meeting is conducted. You need to speak and act as though you are very familiar with IEP meetings, CSE meetings, child study meetings and any other special education committees the school may have. Understand how least restrictive environment works. Know what services and support the school district does and does not offer.

  2. Be sure you understand and are able to talk about a wide range of disabilities. Familiarize yourself with Asperger’s/autism, ADHD, emotional disorders, processing delays, speech disorders, physical handicaps, and every other common disability children may be classified with in the district.

  3. Emphasize your ability to work cooperatively with colleagues. Special education teachers are usually required to work closely with and/or team teach with regular education teachers. They’ll also be communicating regularly with special education administration, social workers or counselors, PT/OT teachers, and resource teachers. There’s a lot of specialized teamwork involved in educating children with special needs. You need to understand your role in acting as an advocate for each of your students and in meeting their social and academic needs.

  4. Know how to utilize support staff. Oftentimes special education students will have teachers’ aides or assistants. Be sure you know how to use the support staff in a professional way the benefits the student. You don’t want the child to become dependent on a teacher‘s aide for doing simple tasks that he/she can perform himself. On the other hand, you want to be sure the student is receiving the full support he/she needs.

  5. Be sure you’re an expert in differentiation. While all teachers should differentiate their lessons based on their students’ needs, special education teachers need to be especially confident in their ability to adapt lessons to meet the very unique needs of their students. You simply can’t teach a concept and expect every child to be doing the same work, the same way. You need to individualize instruction so that it is presented in a way that all of your students can learn. You will not be able to look at the school’s curriculum or instructional materials and use them as-is. You’ll need to show that you can adapt your resources to meet the learning needs of your students.

Final thoughts: To succeed in a special education interview, you need to be able to talk-the-talk, understand how to be an advocate for special needs students, fully understand responsibilities associated with the job, and be willing to go above and beyond to meet the unique instructional needs of classified students.

For additional information about finding teaching jobs, the teacher interview process, common teacher interview questions and answers, building a teaching portfolio, and resume and cover letter information, you may want to download a copy of “Guide to Getting a Teaching Job” from iwantateachingjob.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tim Wei is the author of Guide to Getting the Teaching Job of Your Dreams. It’s a $20 eBook that describes everything you need to know about teacher applications, teaching interview process, common teacher interview questions and answers, building a teaching portfolio, resume and cover letter information, and lots more!

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