I Got the Job: Mock Interviews

For this weeks class we conducted the mock interviews. Preparing for an interview requires a lot of work and thinking, especially for career positions. As aspiring educators it is important to get as much practice at interviewing as possible. The mock interview we did in class was a great worthwhile experience.

Several of the students were the principals and the remainder of the class was interviewees. Each "principal" came up with a background of themselves, a pretend school and several questions to pose to each of us being interviewed. As the interviewees we had to bring our resumes and look over the content we learned throughout the semester. At first I had a hard time taking the activity too seriously because I was being interviewed by my friends, but once the questions started rolling, I looked at the activity more in depth. The questions the "principals" created could all be potential questions we are all asked as teacher candidates. The questions were in-depth and thought provoking. Some of the questions stumped me! 

This activity really opened my eyes to what principals may potentially ask at an interview and what content I need to review more. We were also interviewed in pairs. It was interesting to see how my peers answered the same question. I didn't exactly like being interviewed in pairs because I was influenced by my peer's answers. It threw me off track because I was trying to think of the question asked and think of my response while my peer was answering. It made it a little hard to concentrate. One of the most important questions often asked on interviews are questions about oneself. All of the class agreed that questions about yourself are what make you different from the other interviewees. The answers to "about you" questions are what make you stand out from the crowd. It is also important to say "I do not know but I will read up more on that topic" if you are unsure of an answer.  After being interviewed by three "principals" Tara hired me for her school. She said that we both saw eye to eye on what teaching should be about. She asked me specifically for a quote that represents how I feel about teaching. I responded by giving her my own philosophy/quote: "It is about the kids". I went further into detail and explained my quote. Tara's school was a school I would be interested in if it was a real school. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this activity. I feel that this activity was highly valuable in my education career. Upon graduating, there should be a optional "interview" session similar to Kappa Delta Pi's Principal Panel. I would definitely recommend that everyone attends the Principal Panel prior to graduating also. You can never be too prepared for the interview for your dream job.