Module 7: Interviews – Teacher Portfolio & Preparation Series (TiPPS)

Picture of Module 7, Lesson 1: Preparing for Your Interview

Module 7, Lesson 1: Preparing for Your Interview
Content: Jim Yoshioka
Presenter: Jim Yoshioka

Picture of Module 7, Lesson 2: During Your Interview

Module 7, Lesson 2: During Your Interview
Content: Jim Yoshioka
Presenter: Jim Yoshioka

Module 7, Lesson 3: Video Interview Tips
Content: Emily Lee
Presenter: Emily Lee

It All Comes Down to This . . .

You’ve spent considerable time reflecting on your teaching and putting together your portfolio. You’ve found that job which is just perfect (or at least, perfect enough for right now), and you’ve collected as much information about it that you reasonably could. You’ve sent in your application materials, and you’ve waited. Now it’s your big moment – take a deep breath, read through our tips or the resources below for pointers, review your materials, trust in yourself, and go in there and shine! Do your best – we need good language teachers like yourself in the classroom!

TiPPS HANDOUTS ON INTERVIEWS

Interview TiPPS (2023 version): A compilation of our key TiPPS for interviews

Sample interview questions (2023 version): For TiPPS, we surveyed employers for ESL positions asking them to share interview questions they commonly ask. The questions are compiled here and can be useful for interview practice.

What About Telephone Interviews?: An older TiPPS handout, which was more applicable before the advent of video interviews.

SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Sample World Languages Teacher Candidate Interview Questions (NADSFL)

Questions to Consider When Hiring a Language Teacher (NADSFL): The National Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages (NADSFL) provides some templates for world language teacher interviews, which get at their knowledge of the field and help determine a good fit:

50 Teacher Interview Questions and Answers (Indeed.com)

INTERVIEW ADVICE

Job Interview Advice – Monster.com: This site contains a plethora of interview tips and resources for all stages of the interview process, sample questions for different professions, and strategies for dealing with particular interview situations.

Interview Resources – College of William and Mary: Another good site that takes you step-by-step through the interview process with plenty of tips and links.

20 Interview Questions Every Teacher Must Be Able to Answer (WeAreTeachers.com): Common teacher interview questions and tips for answering them.

21 Job Interview Tips: How to Make a Great Impression (indeed.com): Cover all the bases, before, during, and after

Why Interviewing Your Interviewers Matters (insidehighered.com): A different take on the “Do you have any questions for us?” question

Tips to Cope with Job Interview Anxiety (Very Well Mind): Tend to get nervous before or during interviews? Try these tips!

Conversational Rapport (insidehighered.com): Interesting article about developing conversational rapport during interviews to foster a good impression (and neither overwhelm or underwhelm your interviewers)

How to Answer Tough Job Interview Questions (Learnhowtobecome.org): Good strategies in general for dealing with common tough job interview questions

How Long Should Your Interview Answers Be? (linkedin.com): Some tips for general time lengths for different types of interview questions

Introverts and Interviews (jobs.chronicle.com)

The Path to Interviewing Success – Collegegrad.com

FIRST-ROUND AND CAMPUS INTERVIEWS

For PhD students applying for faculty positions, your interview process may involve a first-round interview followed by a campus interview. Since most of our TiPPS participants are typically Master’s students, we generally don’t cover strategies for these special series of interviews, but we wanted to provide some resources here from the Chronicle of Higher Education for you in case this applies to your situation. We’ve also included articles about negotiating salary for when job offers are made:

The first-round interview versus the campus visit

Admin 101: The first-round interview

Showing your best self in the campus interview

7 hazards of the campus interview

Admin 101: Mind your manner

Negotiation 101

The Professor Is in: Ok, let’s talk about negotiating salary

In addition to these articles, we highly recommend the 4 chapters about interviews and job negotiations in:

Vick, J. M., Furlong, J. S., & Lurie, R. (2016). The academic job search handbook. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

OTHER INTERVIEW SITUATIONS

What to expect at a community college interview

TIPS FOR VIDEO INTERVIEWS