When schools are interviewing potential candidates for teaching positions, not only are they looking to ensure that they meet the Safer Recruitment guidelines to protect and safeguard children, but they will also be looking to see the impact their potential new hire will have on the futures of students through their teaching.
When choosing questions to ask at interview, schools will be considering the contents of the teacher’s application form, and any candidate should be ready to expand on the contents of their application, with real-world, tangible examples.
Soft skills are essential for teachers – to be successful in their role, they need to be engaging, informative and knowledgeable, and communicating these skills at interview is crucial.
Here are seven of the most effective interview questions employers can ask.
Why did you decide to become a teacher?
Employer: This is a very important opening question. It gives you the opportunity to understand the applicant’s motivation for teaching and whether they are committed to the role. Teaching can be a very challenging job, so you’ll want to evaluate whether applicants have the passion and dedication to teach well. Teachers can be incredibly influential, so this question will help you to understand their commitment and philosophy toward teaching.
Candidate: Interviewees need to take a personal approach to this question. It’s recommended to discuss your motivation, while providing good examples from your time in previous teaching roles. The hiring manager wants to know you are committed to enriching the lives of pupils and students, so honest answers will help paint a clear picture of your journey to becoming a teacher.
What is your teaching style?
Employer: Asking about an applicant’s teaching style (known as their pedagogy) in an interview will help you understand whether their teaching style is a good match for your school, matches your goals, and if it can provide proven results. You’ll also want to measure if an applicant’s answer portrays a teaching style that engages, energises, and empowers your students.
Candidate: This question can be hard to define and answer. You’ll do best to be honest about your style and mindset when teaching, drawing upon examples of lessons to demonstrate your abilities. Interviewers want to know how you support students inside and outside the classroom. You’ll need to demonstrate your flexibility and ability to differentiate to meet the needs and learning styles of your students – it’s about being adaptable.
Tell me about a time you’ve handled a difficult parent/child/colleague.
Employer: Dealing with challenges can be hard in all professions, especially teaching as it can come from various sources: fellow teachers, parents and the students themselves. The best candidates will use the STAR method. This involves describing the situation, task, action and result – allowing you to get clear examples. This question will help you to understand how a candidate handles difficult situations and if their methods match your standards.
Candidate: Hirers want to hear that you’re aware of the difficulties in your teaching role, or teacher training if you’re newly qualified – and that you have the motivation and ability to manage. Describing how you successfully dealt with a difficult situation to a positive outcome, with relevant examples, can help ensure that the interviewer understands how you respond when faced with a problem. All situations are different, so make sure you emphasize the ones that required a calm and authoritative approach to solve.
How do you evaluate students’ progress?
Employer: Data analytical skills are essential to determining grades and other indicators of progress as classroom technology improves. Being able to create a strong learning environment is crucial – and comes down to being able to evaluate the progress of students and react accordingly. This question allows you to learn more about an applicant’s process for monitoring, tracking and acting upon students’ academic and developmental progress.
Candidate: This question gives interviewees the chance to discuss lesson plans and highlight the methods for managing students’ development and progress. Consider using previous examples, explaining the type of activities and assessments you used to analyse students’ strengths and weaknesses throughout the academic year and beyond. Give insight into how you use reports, projects, and group work to determine what’s needed to enable students to succeed, both in the classroom and in their final results.
How do you motivate parents to support their children’s education?
Employer: Getting parents to be involved in their child’s school can be hard, but it’s an important part of a student’s educational growth. Asking this question allows you to gain an understanding of a candidate’s methods for engaging parents in schoolwork. Encourage applicants to share their best practice examples and outline what the end results were, while explaining the reasoning behind their methods.
Candidate: The teacher-parent relationship is vital but can be hard to navigate. Interviewees are encouraged to answer this question with examples where possible. It’s important to be empathetic to the situation and understand the parent’s motivations. Interviewees should consider mentioning techniques such as keeping regular contact with parents, providing helpful updates on both positive and negative events, and assisting parents with resources that can be used at home.
Can you tell me about one of your biggest achievements in teaching
Employer: Asking applicants to talk about their past achievements will help you further understand their motivation and what they value highly. This question will give a clear indication of what achievement means for an applicant and how relevant it can be to your team’s needs. Look out for answers that solved a problem or explain the outcome – did it help the school improve? Did it help a student overcome challenges? Are there measurable results?
Candidate: This question gives an interviewee the chance to share details of how they’ve helped students or schools improve. This could be examples of where you have helped a specific student, or a whole class, but it is important to talk about concrete outcomes. Talk about how the achievement helped you reflect and grow as a teacher and a person. If you’re in teacher training, you can still talk about past achievements – from a recent placement or when studying at university. This is your opportunity to sell your accomplishments so far.
What is a teacher’s responsibility in protecting children?
Employer: Anyone who works in an education setting has a duty to protect the well-being of children who attend, and so teachers should expect schools to ask this question. In any teacher interview, there should be a question about safeguarding and duty of care to vulnerable people. This line of questioning will reveal whether an applicant has the necessary safeguarding knowledge, and if they know how to identify, recognise and act upon any concerns, and also alert the school to any possible concerns with the applicant.
Candidate: Interviewees should prepare for this question by understanding current safeguarding policy – preferably that of the school to which you’re applying. Approach any safeguarding questions by demonstrating that you understand the issue at hand, have a solid grasp of the responsibilities of a teacher and know how to act if any issues arise. It’s important to also mention your most recent training dates, and any additional responsibilities that you have had, such as pastoral lead or safeguarding lead roles.
No interview is the same – but one thing interviewers should be interested in is how interviewees present themselves and the way they answer the questions. Answers should be sufficiently detailed to show clear understanding and should include examples when possible. Applicants are encouraged to think before giving a well-structured answer, while being not afraid to ask for clarification if the question is unclear.
Within the education sector, the interview process is most effective as a two-way street, as teachers are also evaluating whether a specific school is the right one for them. As such, throughout the recruitment process, it’s important for the school to be welcoming, and to ensure that they give teachers plenty of opportunity to ask questions of them too.
