Customer Reviews

Succeeding at Your Interview: A Practical Guide for Teachers

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have taught in a suburban New York school system for 35 years and have served on many interviewing teams. Review of questioning techniques and the interview scenarios can be a great help to teachers and administrators on these teams. But it is especially valuable to the prospective teacher who after reading and studying "Succeeding at Your Interview" will be prepared to face any setting or question posed at an interview. This ability means SUCCESS!

The prospective teacher will gain confidence by becoming familiar with the variety of interview formats. The 5 scenarios are-
1. An Initial School Based One to One Interview
2. An Initial Interview with a School Based Team
3. A District Based Interview with Several Principals
4. A School Based Interview with Role Playing
5. A School Based Interview with a Demonstration Lesson

Becoming familiar with the varied possibilities can prevent being caught off guard and will present a secure, confident candidate.
The reader is exposed to interviewers' questions and techniques in evaluating them. There are 7 issues that are usually discussed in interviews. These issues are reviewed with practice exercises. The questions covered are on the topics of-
1. Yourself
2. Learning Principles
3. Supporting Learning
4. Impressions of Teaching
5. Classroom Lessons
6. Personal Approaches
7. Your Questions

This book also provides guidance with gathering information about potential teaching positions, organizing the application process and suggested readings.

"Succeeding at Your Interview" is a most valuable tool for the prospective and experienced teacher before interviewing for a position as well as for the teacher on the team involved in the interviewing process. Get this book for success!

Beyond a "Must-Read"--this is a "Must-Do" personal coaching workbook. As a counselor in educational placement, I develop interview tip sheets, classroom seminars and conduct mock interviews for student teachers. This book does more. It walks you through sample interviews and shows you how to "work the questions." The authors clarify the interview process for inexperienced candidates, and provide the tools for anyone (even other-than-teacher job seekers) to interview with confidence and professionalism.

"Succeeding at your interview" is a good resource for anyone entering the field of education. This book gives the reader a step by step guide for achieving a teaching position in the school of his or her choice. Expert guidance is provided on preparing an application, presenting yourself as a professional, and evaluating an interviewer's questions. In addition, the scenario sessions are an excellent tool to avoid being caught unprepared for an interview question. I plan on recommending this book to all of the teachers I know. This would be a great gift for a recent college graduate, or a seasoned professional who is changing career paths.

I read this book cover-to-cover. Sure it makes you think of what you need to say in an interview. However the overall feel of the book is that it is geared towards young newbie teachers and therefore is a bit "cutsy." You have to read through a lot of dialogue to try to get to the meat of the book, which should be to answer the interview questions correctly. Unfortunately, it doesn't accomplish this. It is a good book to prepare you FOR the interviews and different scenarios, but never REALLY covers the many questions that could be asked, except in a vague way.
After reading this book I bought Acing the Interview by Tony Beshara. It has 450 interview questions, 80% of which can be used in teaching interviews. Loved that!

I purchased this for my sister Carol, a teacher for 5 years. She had been told by her last Superintendent that she was a terrible interviewer, although she is a great teacher with consistently good or improved test scores for her students. She had been out of work for a year and interview season is here again. I purchased the book for her on a whim and shipped it "red" to ensure she had time to read before applying for the season.

She studied the book, then was call in for 2 interviews last week. She has now been asked to a repeat inteview with the potential staff, indicating she is a final candidate. She called and thanked me so much for the book, stating that questions she was asked during the interview were actually in the book! She also stated she may have stumbled through them if not for the book. She is grateful to have had the help and told me to recommend the book highly. Praise the Lord for that "whim"!
Sincerly, Little Sister...

I have been looking at books to get ahead at teaching interviews. I have gone to job temp agencies and have done a mock interview with a person who once hired teachers. This book is great for giving ideas on how to spice up your interview answers and how to prepare for them. It almost trains you on what you should or could be saying that could sell you better than before. However, while reading the book I have found some outdated information that I would like to correct:

1. On page 18 it gives you tips on what websites to visit which post teaching jobs, and gives two URL address. I checked those addresses and they DO NOT EXIST anymore! Keep in mind that this book was published 2002 and many school systems are "going green" by using other internet head hunter sites. I recommend [...], [...], and [...]. There are several out there.
On the same page, it tells you you can find sites that give you an in-depth look at the school you are applying for, but no further information. [...] or a regular Google review will give you insight from the students and parents and find out their test scores.

2. On page 44 - 46 it mentions that it's easier to obtain a teaching job if you have your master's. NOT TRUE. With recent budget cuts and a poor economy for schools now, many school systems are looking at teachers with bachelor degrees because they can pay them cheaper salaries than someone with a master's. I had friends with master degrees being told they are "overqualified" for the job and that the school can't afford to give them a higher salary.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 because this is the best interview guide book I have found so far and I really like the realistic conversations they post that will help curb your interview skills and what to look for when a principal asks what you know about his/her school.