14 Practical Teacher Interview Tips for Success in 2023

On the importance of interviewing well for teachers.

1. Gainful employment. You’ve completed the schooling and earned your credential.  Now you need to put them into practice by getting a job!

2. Control where you work.  Where you work makes a huge difference when it comes to your commute, your teaching assignment, and your salary.  In our post on pay discrepancies and how to maximize your earning potential, we go into greater detail on teacher salaries from one district to the next.

3. Job satisfaction and personal happiness.  Teaching, as a day-to-day job, can vary widely from school to school and even from one year to the next.  If you can interview well, you are able to improve a “bad” professional situation instead of being stuck there.

4. Less wasted time.  The application, preparation, and interview process typically takes several hours per job opening.  You are wasting your time if you are doing all that work only to receive a “thanks anyway” email.  

Being able to interview well puts you in control of your life.  Let’s dive into what goes into a successful teacher interview.

How should I prepare for a teacher interview?

By far, the biggest factor that separates a “good” from a “poor” interview is preparation.  It’s painfully obvious when a candidate is unprepared and those interviews are a waste of everyone’s time.  To keep this answer somewhat brief, let’s focus on two main parts of interview preparation.

How long should you spend preparing for an interview?  It will vary depending on your experience and familiarity with the school you’re going to interview with.  Generally, spend at least an hour on each interview preparation tip below.

Interview Prep Part 1: Research the school.  

You can find a wealth of information on the school’s website: intervention programs, their focus, mission/vision, curriculum, demographics, and much more.  Your mission is to look for details of the job that you have experience with or knowledge of.  For example, if the school uses a curriculum program you have experience teaching, you can frame yourself as someone who seamlessly slides into their open position.

You should also know the specific teaching assignment they are interviewing for.  (This is typically listed in the job posting, but occasionally the school may not know yet what the assignment will be.)

Knowing the assignment can help you adapt your responses to the specific job.  For example, your answer on classroom management is going to be different (and probably more detailed) for a 7th-grade opening than for a 12th-grade opening.  

Interview Prep Part 2: Strengthen your answers.

When it comes to crafting answers, it’s helpful to think in terms of two separate pieces.  First, you should list potential questions and identify which examples from your teaching practice you plan to share in the interview.

Second, you’ll take what you know about the school and slightly modify or adapt your answers to fit their school.  Never fabricate who you are to fit a job opening, but you want to plan answers that are aligned with the school.  For example, a school with a large percentage of English language learners would want to hear how you adapt your teaching to meet the needs of those types of students.

Under what categories do most teacher interview questions fall?

When it comes to interview questions you will be asked, we recommend thinking about major topics or categories.  Since there are literally hundreds of potential interview questions, it isn’t practical to try to prepare for all of them. 

Most states have professional educator standards that fit roughly into one of these six categories:

1. Supporting and engaging students
2. Manage student learning through an effective classroom environment
3. Content knowledge in the subject area (knowing what you are teaching)
4. Planning instruction and learning experiences (knowing how to deliver that content)
5. Assessment
6. Development and growth as an educator through reflective practice

Most (but not all) of your interview questions will fall into one of these categories. Before an interview, it is helpful to jot down notes and examples you want to highlight within each category because this will create a well-rounded interview. 

If you have these thoughts ready to go, even if you are stumped by a question you can think about which category it falls into and what you want to highlight within that category.

What makes an interview answer good?

The task of answering interview questions is really challenging.  When asked about their work, almost anyone can provide answers.  However,  in my experience, fewer than 50% of the candidates consistently provide good to excellent answers. Here are the four elements of how to give good interview answers.

Expertise.

An answer should demonstrate your knowledge of current educational practices and trends.

Alignment With the School.

An answer should be adapted slightly to fit their school.

Try to incorporate knowledge of the strengths and needs of the school into what you do.  This makes it easier for the interview panel to imagine you having success in the role.

Enthusiasm.

An answer should show your excitement and dedication toward helping students. A good answer reflects one or more of the following traits: 

•      You are passionate about teaching
•      You care about students as people 
•      You enjoy working with young people

You might not come out and say these exact phrases, but you want to make it clear that your “heart is in the right place”.  If a school leader thinks you don’t like kids or you don’t care about them as people, you’ll be unlikely to get an offer.

Organization.  

A well-structured answer shows that you can effectively organize and express your thoughts.

Organizational tips:

•      Around 2 minutes in length
•      Provides specific examples to illustrate your best practices
•      Use metrics if possible (i.e. 77% of my students passed the district benchmark)
•      Avoid rambling.  Rambling is very easy to do in a job interview but it also looks pretty bad.

What new buzzwords should all candidates should know?

When planning what to say in a teacher interview, be sure to include the proper terminology.  We wrote an article about four new questions that are popping up in teacher interviews.  It contains plenty of current buzzwords to know.

How long should an interview answer be?

About 2-3 minutes.  Any answer that is significantly shorter than two minutes makes it look like you don’t know much about that topic.  Any answer that goes well past 3 minutes begins to feel like a monologue and, unless your response is highly engaging, the interview panel begins to zone out. 

What about the length of an interview? A typical teacher interview is going to last about 30 minutes.  The school will have 8-10 questions ready for candidates. This provides time for any follow-up questions or clarifying questions as well as time for you to ask questions.

What is the best way to practice answering interview questions?

1. Focus on major topics, such as “classroom management” as opposed to listing out every question possible.  Expect that you may be asked about classroom management in a number of different ways:

• What strategies do you use to establish a positive learning environment?
• How do you handle a class or student that is challenging?
• What is style when it comes to classroom management?

2. Don’t memorize each answer.  This sounds stiff and artificial.  Instead, think about the main talking points for each topic and practice incorporating those into different scenarios or questions.

3. Be sure to smile while you practice your answers at home.  Smiling in a job interview is a way to let the interview panel know that you’re happy, self-confident, and someone who might be fun to work with. 

But people often forget to smile under the bright lights of an interview, so we recommend practicing that as well.  Just don’t smile too much or for no reason.

4. Practice in front of a mirror or with a friend.  

5. Aim for balance in your tone.  Be confident, but not arrogant or aloof.  Be knowledgeable, but also eager to learn and improve as a teacher.  Be enthusiastic about the opportunity to interview without sounding desperate.

Who is typically part of the interview panel?

Although this varies, the majority of interviews will be conducted by a panel.  The typical panel consists of:

• an administrator (AP, Dean, or Principal/Head of School)
• several teachers (often those who will work closely with the new hire)

In some cases, you might see a member of the clerical team and/or a parent representative on the panel.  Students are rarely on a first-round interview panel but they do commonly participate in the demo lesson or round two interview if that is part of the hiring process.

What do you wear to an interview?

Professional dress is needed because it conveys your respect for yourself, the profession, and the interviewing school. Check out the image below for some tips on interview-appropriate attire.  

While there are many good arguments about why one should not have to dress in more of a boomer or traditional way, we believe that this argument can be made once you have established yourself rather than when you are trying to get a job.  Here are a few interview outfits dos and don’ts:

Try the outfit on before the day of the interview.  This will give you a chance to see if it is wrinkled, if there is a stain you missed, or if it just doesn’t work. 

You want to go into your interview full of confidence.  Your outfit is seen first–it is noticed before you have a chance to say anything–and is your armor of sorts as you begin what is a battle.  You should look and feel great when you step into that room and face the interview panel. 

What should I bring with me?  Can I bring notes to the interview?

In terms of bringing extra copies of your resume, we’re split on that front.  It’s unlikely that paper copies will be needed during the interview. 

On the other hand, if the interview panel is not fully prepared, your extra copies could be distributed among the panel.  Bottom line: don’t stress about bringing extra copies.  If you happen to have them, it’s fine to ask at the start if anyone on the panel would like a copy.

In terms of notes, it’s fine to have a notebook and pen with you.  You may want to take notes yourself as they talk about the school and the particulars of the job. 

However, you should not be flipping pages and scanning your notes before you answer questions.  

What qualities impress teacher interview panels?  What makes a candidate stand out?

Obviously, coming across as a knowledgeable, hard-working, and caring teacher is the main objective of the interview.  But these other traits stand out to interviewers.

Speak with enthusiasm and energy.

In general, we like people who like us.  Apply that principle to your job interview.  You want to give the impression that you’re excited about the opportunity and that you’d enjoy working at their school.

Emphasize how you fit their opening.

Your task is to communicate the experience and skills you possess that match their specific needs.  In competitive hiring situations, the candidate who is the “best fit” stands out.

Present yourself as a team player.

You’re trying out for a spot on their team.  Candidates who are willing to work with colleagues usually have an advantage.

Confidence is impressive, but arrogance is off-putting. 

Find the balance.  You want to appear highly competent, but also humble and eager to learn.

Remember your positive body language.

This shows that you’re fully engaged in the conversation.

Should I ask for the job at the end of the interview?

Yes! Letting the interview panel know that you want the job is generally viewed as positive.  Obviously, you don’t want to directly ask to be hired.  “So, can I have the job?” is inappropriate given that the school likely has other candidates.  Also, avoid sounding overconfident.  Something like, “So, when can I start?” is presumptuous.

Let them know you like their school and would favorably view a potential job offer.

• For example: “I’m really excited about the direction of the school.  Let me know if there is anything else I can do to warrant serious consideration.”

What if I don’t know how to answer an interview question?

In our opinion, the best course of action is to respond with a two-part answer.

First, it’s fine to admit you’re not an expert on that topic.

Education is constantly evolving and being open to growing and learning is a valuable trait for teachers.  Express your sincere interest and desire to know more about the topic.  Demonstrating humility without being overly hard on yourself is endearing.

• Example: “I must admit, I am not familiar with ______________.  But I’d be interested in learning more about it.  I’m always excited to hear about new teaching techniques that can help me engage my students.

Second, we suggest you finish this answer by connecting the question to one of your core beliefs as an educator. 

This gives you an opportunity to further create a positive image of your classroom and your teaching practice.

• Example: “In my view, one of the most important aspects of teaching is student engagement.  When kids are excited about what they’re doing, they’ll work really hard for you.  I know it’s been a great day when students look up at the clock and ask “Wow, is the period over already?” That’s a great compliment…”

What questions should I ask the panel during the interview?

You should have two or three questions ready to ask the interview panel.  (Saying,  “I don’t have any questions at this time” comes across as unprepared and uninterested.)

Ideally, as you research the school before the interview, your curiosity will spur questions.  The best questions reveal that you have knowledge of their school.  

If you see a new program or initiative featured on their website, you can ask how the implementation is coming.  If you see the school has teacher collaboration time every Friday before school, you can ask what that looks like.  

The standard questions work fine:  What is the best thing about teaching here? What would students say they enjoy most about the school?  How would you describe the students here?

A final option is to ask about the next steps in the hiring process. 

Should you send a thank you email or note after the interview?

While the traditional follow-up email is courteous, we found it does nothing to help your cause in the hiring process.  Our verdict: the interview thank you email is not necessary. 

If you do send one, keep it brief.  Also, your follow-up email should not require any response – this is work for a busy school secretary or administrator. 

If you don’t get the job (you’ll likely be notified via email), you should send a brief and friendly reply in which you thank the interviewer for their time.  This is a good idea in the event other job openings arise in the future.