Thread: Veteran Teacher Job Interview Assistance Request!!!

Do you have a portfolio? Portfolios weren't common back when I first graduated in the early 80's but they're increasingly common now.

The purpose of a portfolio is to highlight your accomplishments as a teacher. A portfolio can incorporate a resume, photographs, certificates of achievement, transcripts, letters of recommendation, awards, projects, lesson plans, newsletters etc.

My portfolio is a large photo album that's divided into the following sections:

1. Introduction/overview of who I am This is basically a one page title page that's a quick summary of who I am.

2. Career history with the most recent experience first Each school I've worked in has 1-2 pages. To avoid confusion, I've standardized the page formats. I start with the school name, dates of employment, and grade level assignment along with a picture of the school. I highlight my responsibilities or achievements at this school and incorporate photographs to illustrate what I did.

3. Philosophy of education This is actually divided into the following sections: classroom organization, communication, hands-on instruction, and student motivation.

4. Credentials This section contains my teacher certification, official transcripts, and Praxis test scores. Insofar as I'm a chef instructor, it also includes my ServSafe test scores and my food handler's certificate.

5. Letters of recommendation This section includes letters of recommendation, character references, and even thank you notes from parents and students.

NOTE: One bit of advice regarding photographs. Avoid photographs that serve no purpose i.e. a picture of you posed next to a student. Your portfolio is intended to highlight your teaching experience. It's not a photo album that depicts you on a field trip, you on yard duty, and you in your Halloween costume.

To my way of thinking, appropriate photographs show bulletin boards, projects, classroom organization, class projects etc.

In terms of using this portfolio at an interview - avoid the novice mistake of handing the portfolio over to the person interviewing you. Your portfolio is not a show and tell project and some administrators will evaluate your creativity on the basis of how you incorporate your portfolio into your interview.

So what do you do?

Assuming your portfolio is well organized, use the portfolio to illustrate your accomplishments as a teacher.

Interviewer: "How do you present a new vocabulary word to a class?"

You talk about the use of word walls, open the portfolio, and show the interviewer a picture of your word wall.

Interviewer: "Describe some of your strengths."
You talk about your organization and show the interviewer a picture of your classroom lay out. You talk about your creativity and show the interviewer a lesson plan and pictures of classroom projects.

Other suggestions?

Be positive! When you interview, shake the interviewer's hand with a good firm grip. Look the interviewer in the eye. Smile. You're confident and self assured. You're not at all worried about losing your job, no siree!

Stay focused on the interview. DO NOT meander off topic or overwhelm the interviewer with non-relevant details. Keep your answers as short and to the point as necessary. Be prepared to elaborate if necessary.

Be proactive about your body language. Avoid slouching in your seat. This is indicative or boredom and laziness. Avoid crossing your arms across your chest. This suggests that you're being defensive.

When arriving at an interview, BE EARLY. It's always better to be 15 minutes or more early than to arrive late. Nothing says, "I'm not really interested in this job" as an applicant who comes late to an interview.

Be professional. Look sharp. Your job interview is not an opportunity for you to make a personal dress statement. This is not casual Friday.

Be prepared. In addition to your portfolio, make sure you have a copy of your resume. Some interviewers are not terribly organized and it would be professionally courteous if after shaking the interviewer's hand, you offered this person a copy of your resume.

Don't forget to get plenty of rest the night before. It's hard to be enthusiastic if you didn't get a good night's sleep.

Best wishes!

David

If applicable, make sure you can illustrate proficiency with modern classroom technology. If I had to do what you are doing, I'd make sure I'd stress my strongest selling points- whatever those may be. New hires also usually are asked (and sometimes hired on the basis of) their willingness and ability to coach or do extra things like club advisor. Having a lot of experience, you have an edge- I recall going to job fairs when I first started and the guys in line ahead of me would be saying "I have 17 years experience" "I have 12 years experience" and there I was with "I have no experience". My advice though, is, don't just try to sell yourself as "experienced". It might not be a bad idea to bone up on terms like "best practice" and "student-centered".

We've had LOTS of interviews this summer in order to fill our 5 positions . . . we rarely have that many people leave at once.

Technology is a biggie. About half of our classrooms are "Smart" rooms with computers, SmartBoards, AirLiners, student responders, and audio enhancement systems.

Differentiation for student abilities and learning styles. In our school students are NOT grouped by ability in most classes, so you've got the whole variety of students . . . and you have to meet the needs of all of them.

Student-centered learning . . . which is an offshoot of differentiation. The students should always be working harder than you are. LOL

Formative assessment . . . not only the traditional summative assessment like we used to use.

In our state, teaching to the core content for your grade/subject is a MUST. We talked with one guy who had several years of experience, and he was obviously passionate about his subject . . . but his favorite thing to do was TALK while the students took notes, and he loved to go off on tangents and discuss "interesting topics" related to his area . . . even if those topics aren't core content related. I'm glad he thinks things are interesting and wants to talk, but he's ignoring his required content . . . as seemed evident in his test scores.

Standards-based grading is where we are at this point. Instead of the A-F grades, we're monitoring student progress to the standards.

We also always ask about classroom management. It's typically not a problem with experienced teachers, but that's not always the case. Then sometimes they DO know how to manage a class, but they can't explain it. If they're like me, they use a variety of methods they've gathered over the years and have trouble explaining it.

In my case I've been out of grad school for a LONG time because I chose to do my graduate work right out of undergraduate studies. I also have a subject area masters, not an education one. That could concern potential employers since so much has changed in education over the years, especially in my state. I would make sure that I mentioned what kinds of PD I've attended. We're required to attend 24 hours of trainings (4 days), and I typically have twice that many every year.

Also, tell them to why you'd be an asset to their school . . . are you a good leader? Can you coach or sponsor activities? Are you a supervisor for student teachers or a mentor for new teachers?

You've obviously put a lot of thought and effort into this. Thank you for your -not off the cuff- responses. You've certainy given me a lot to chew on. I'll get back to you before the interview with a follow up.

Anonymous

P.S. IS THERE A WAY TO SEND A PRIVATE MESSAGES ON THIS FORUM?

Best of luck with your interviews, great advice has already been given!

To Private Message someone, click the PM button on the bottom of their post. Or go to messages at the top and type in their screen name.

You have gotten some good advice. My only thought would be for you to go through some interviews in other districts if you are able to procure any to get some practice and gain some confidence. Good luck!