Teacher interviews, one stage at a time
Schools hire in stages and each stage asks for something different on camera. This is a common order. Yours may skip one or add another, so check the invitation.
Screening call or one-way video
A recruiter, an administrator or a recorded prompt
What it is checking. Can you explain who you are and what you teach clearly, briefly and without notes? Certification and availability usually come up here too.
On camera. Answer to the time limit in the invitation, not to the length you would like. Say your subject, your level and one thing you are proud of before you say anything else.
Practice questions for this stage
- Tell me about yourself and why you're interested in this role.
- What is your greatest professional achievement?
Conversation with the department head
The person who will judge your teaching
What it is checking. How you plan, how you adapt and what you do with assessment results.
On camera. Choose one unit you built and one result that changed what you taught next. If you can share an anonymized plan or sample of student work, ask beforehand whether that is welcome.
Practice questions for this stage
- How do you differentiate instruction for students at different levels?
- Describe how you use data to inform your teaching.
- Walk me through how you've developed or revised a curriculum unit from scratch.
- How do you integrate technology into your classroom in a way that enhances rather than distracts?
- How do you support students with learning differences or IEPs within a general classroom setting?
Panel
Administrators and teachers, sometimes a parent or a student
What it is checking. Classroom management, communication with families, collaboration and how you would fit the school.
On camera. On a call with several people, look at the speaker’s tile to listen and at the camera to answer. Open with the person who asked, then include the rest.
Practice questions for this stage
- Tell me about a student you struggled to reach and how you adapted.
- How do you handle classroom management in a disruptive situation?
- How do you communicate with parents about a struggling student?
- Tell me about a collaboration with another teacher that directly improved student outcomes.
- Describe the most challenging parent meeting you have had and how you prepared for and handled it.
Demonstration lesson
Live to a panel playing students, or recorded
What it is checking. What you do when you cannot see the class. Clear objective, checks for understanding, pacing and how you respond.
On camera. State the objective in your first minute. Leave a visible pause where students would answer and say what you would listen for. If the lesson is recorded, keep to the time given and show the board or document you refer to.
Practice questions for this stage
- How do you differentiate instruction for students at different levels?
- How do you handle classroom management in a disruptive situation?
Use the words your school uses
Terms such as IEP and 504 plan are United States vocabulary. In other countries support plans, inclusion and assessment have other names. Learn the ones in the posting and use those and spell out any abbreviation the first time you say it.
Teaching is one of the most speaking-heavy jobs in the occupational data behind our role speaking index (the 93th percentile of 905 occupations) and the standout is public speaking, which means talking to a room. An interview is one person looking at one camera, so bring the volume down and the pace with it.