How to Stand Out During Your Next Teacher Interview

Use these 3 strategies to confidently stand out during your next teacher interview.

These teacher interview tips will help you confidently prepare for your upcoming teacher interview, prepare your teacher cover letter and teacher resume, and know with confidence how to stand out during your next interview from other candidates.

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I’m Helena, a coach for new and first-year teachers sharing knowledge on how to have a thriving career and personal life.

The Present Teacher Podcast is a resourcefor teacher interviews, classroom setup, classroom management, and time management. Follow along and learn how to thrive in the classroom and in life.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

So you're having troubles figuring out how to stand out from the crowd when it comes to your upcoming teacher interview. Hi, my name is Solana and welcome to the present teacher here. I share all the tips about how to have a successful first couple of years in teaching. Specifically, I share tips on time management, classroom management, classroom organization and classroom setup in teacher interviews for new teachers. And today we're going to be talking about how to stand out during your teacher interview.

Speaker 1: 0:31

Now, when I graduated at the age of 21 from Eastern Oregon University, I did have my master's degree and I was moving from Oregon all the way to New Mexico. One of the things I was terrified about was I was worried I was going to be discriminated against because of my age. I knew there were a lot of very, very, very experienced candidates out there, and I was worried that districts would go for somebody who was more experienced than me. That would be a common answer to why I wouldn't get hired for some districts, and this is how I went from using my inexperience to it actually being my it factor to standing out from other candidates, and I did, in fact, get my job during one of my interviews. So, with that being said, let's dive in. Hey teacher bestie, my name is Helena and I'm the creator of the Present Teacher podcast. I'm a first year teacher coach and in this podcast you are going to learn everything from simple, actual classroom management, social learning and teacher wellness strategies. You know that impact you want to make in the classroom. We're going to make it happen here.

Speaker 1: 1:44

So one of the first steps to standing out during your teacher interview is to actually come up with your it factor. Your it factor is what makes you stand out from other candidates and what makes it's what makes you unique and makes districts want to hire you. It helps districts and school leaders remember you, and there are a few that any reason they might have not to hire you like I mentioned at the beginning, this could be you're too old or too young, maybe you don't have enough credentials any of these reasons why you feel like districts may not hire you reasons not to hire you you can turn into your it factor. So, for example, I went with I was worried that districts wouldn't hire me because I was too young, turned into. I'm eager to learn new ideas and I'm looking for my long term district that I want my future kids to go to and I want to work out for the long run. That changed districts from thinking we may not go with her because she's not as experienced to. We love her and we love her energy and we're excited that she is looking for a long term position and that she's ready to learn and eager to work at this district long term. On the flip side, maybe your it factor is maybe your experienced you can change that into your ear to help districts with your experience. You're eager to share and help others and that could be your it factor as opposed to someone who is new or inexperienced. The third example I have for you is maybe you don't have enough credentials, maybe you don't have the specific special endorsements or anything like that, but you're eager to learn and you're quick to learn. Either way, these are examples of what figuring out your it factor is or how to stand out during your teacher interview.

Speaker 1: 3:44

So now that we talked about what your it factor is, let's talk about how to come up with your way to stand out from other candidates during your teacher interview, aka your it factor. The first thing you're gonna wanna do is ask yourself what reasons might districts have not to hire me over other candidates. And then, after you've answered this question, take some time to ask yourself how can I refute this? By making it my strength to stand out from others. You see, when you come up with your it factor and you refute it, you show up with the confidence that is unmatched, as opposed to when you go in secretly wondering and hoping they hire you even though you have this one weakness. So if you can't think of a reason why districts may not hire you, ask yourself why you are passionate about teaching. For example, it could be that maybe you are a quick learner, like I was growing up in school, or maybe school came a little bit harder to you and you are passionate about helping those kids with a similar background as you. Or maybe you represent a particular culture and want students to have a mentor with a similar background or culture as them. Use these two questions to come up with your it factor. So again, what reasons might districts have not to hire me over other candidates? Number two how can I refute this? By making it my strength to stand out from others. And if you can't figure out your it factor from that, go with the third question why are you passionate about teaching?

Speaker 1: 5:22

After that, let's talk about, once you figured out your it factor, where should you include your it factor? So here are some areas that I highly recommend you include or it factor as naturally as possible. Now, I'm not saying go up to them and say my it factor is this, but you can embed it into the way you answer and move about the interview process. The first place I recommend you definitely include your it factor is your cover letter. I talked about this in a previous episode. I'll make sure to put the link in the description down below, but make sure that a section of your cover letter should point out why you're a good fit and why you stand out from other candidates. Again, this could be because you're eager to learn, because you have knowledge to share with others, whatever it is. Or maybe you're passionate about social-emotional learning. Maybe you're passionate about those high achievers. Either way, make sure to include this somewhere in your cover letter.

Speaker 1: 6:20

The second place you should most definitely include your it factor is in your interview questions. Answer any interview questions in a way that reinforces why you are unlike other candidates. For example, if you got asked why are you passionate about teaching, you could then talk about your it factor of being young and eager to make an impact in your students' lives and eager to continue learning yourself, and you're passionate about learning and that's why you're a good fit. Either way, make sure to include this in your interview throughout, to remind districts why you are the best fit and where it factors the strongest amongst other candidates. The third place I highly recommend you include is possibly optional if you don't have to do this, but in your model lesson, when you introduce yourself to your students, use this as an opportunity to re-emphasize your it factor. So, for example, maybe you're an engaging teacher who likes to play games and that's your it factor. So you could start off with good morning students. My name is Ms Haynes and one thing you should know about me is I love to play games. So we're going to play some games today and then you can dive into your lesson, which is fun and engaging. Use your strengths and make sure to include it in your mini lesson and use it throughout your model lesson.

Speaker 1: 7:46

The second thing you're going to want to do in order to stand out from other candidates during your teacher interview is to take note of district's missions and values. This is another way to stand out from other candidates, and that is to actually do your research on what the school is looking for. The truth is not a lot of candidates are taking this extra step. A lot of candidates are treating each interview the same, which is a lot like getting a mass email from a celebrity. You can just kind of tell it's not specifically meant for you, whereas if you were to get a signed note or signed autograph from I don't know your favorite artist, it is much more personal. And the same goes with your interview. When you copy and paste, it gives the vibe that you're just looking for a job.

Speaker 1: 8:33

So take the time to include the school's missions and values in your interview process will help demonstrate that you did your research on why you and the school have missions and values that are aligned. Now I should include don't put missions and values in or throughout your interview that you're not actually aligned with, because it'll be a disservice to you and to the district. You want to find a district that you're aligned to just as much as they want to find one that's aligned with them. So where should you include the school's missions and values? Make sure to include this in your color letter. I talked about this earlier, but you want to include this in a section of your cover letter on how you are a good fit for that school's specific missions and values.

Speaker 1: 9:19

The second one is, in your interview questions, make sure to include any values or parts of the mission statement that fell aligned to you while answering or interview questions. And then make sure to be authentic, as I said, and only mention the values that you're truly aligned with, and if you're not aligned with any of the district's missions or values, that's a good indicator. Maybe that isn't the district for you. The third thing that'll help you stand out from other candidates is to have a strong follow up. The final area you can stand out during your next teacher interview is to come up with your follow up. So most candidates only apply and then they don't follow up district after their interview. So here's a way to follow up and stand out from other districts.

Speaker 1: 10:05

So the first one is to send a thank you card after the interview with specific details from the interview. So, for example, the way I do this and the teachers that I work with, how I recommend they do this is I recommend going out and buying a pack of 10 or 20 thank you card or just cards that are blank and leaving them in the car right after your interview. Here's why, right after your interview, take some time to reiterate how eager you are to join and how you feel like you would be a great fit to be a part of the school because of XYZ, and make sure to include details from the interview that you liked. For example, maybe you liked how the fellow teammate possible future teammate of yours also is very passionate about planning ahead and you feel like you'll be a great fit for that team. You can address it to them and write that in there. But either way, making the thank you cards you definitely don't have to bring them in the same day, but making your car parked somewhere and then taking the time to fill it out when the interview is fresh in your mind is definitely a good way to stand out.

Speaker 1: 11:16

The second thing is to make sure to follow up with a follow up email two weeks post interview. If you haven't heard anything back Now during the interview, I recommend asking the question what is the next step in the process, or what can I expect the next step of the process to be, and that kind of puts the ball in their court to let you know when they should follow up with you. If they don't follow in that timeline, definitely recommend doing an email to follow up with them to see where they're at during in the interview process. So that wraps up the different ways that you can stand out during your next teacher interview. So, as a recap, the first one is to come up with your it factor. We talked about this on how you can stand up from others, where to include it as well and how to come up with it. The third thing that will help you stand out during your next teacher interview is to take note of district missions and values and to include it throughout the interview process.

Speaker 1: 12:14

The next one is to have a strong follow up. Following up after an interview is something that a lot of candidates forget to do, and this will help you stand out from the crowd, especially with personalized thank you cards. So if you wanna learn more on how to confidently prepare for your next teacher interview, I want to invite you to download the ultimate new teacher interview guide. This time's in for the top questions I get about how to confidently prepare for your next interview in the next 15 minutes If you wanna take it a step further and prepare to land your dream job in a single weekend. Everything from coming up with your it factor to embedding it in your cover letter, to filling out your application, researching good districts to apply to, to how to answer questions in your interview and even do a model lesson. I wanna invite you to join us inside land your dream job. This is a self-paced mini course to help you apply for your next teaching position with confidence that you're gonna stand out as a prime candidate during your next interview. As always, remember we are stronger together and I will see you in the next one.

Speaker 1: 13:21

Teacher Bestie Bye. Thank you so much for joining me on today's episode. I hope that you were able to take away some value that will help you thrive inside and out of the classroom. It would mean the world to me if you could take five seconds right now and leave a review on this podcast. And if you found this podcast especially helpful, make sure to take a screenshot of this episode right now and tag me on your socials to let me know you're listening. As always, remember that we are stronger together. With all the love in the world, helena, aka the president, teacher. See you next time, teacher Bestie.