Mock Interview with a Principal

Mock Interview with Dr. Jones 12th Grade Principal

With my final week of student teaching I was given a chance to have a mock interview with the 12th Grade Principal, Dr. Jones.  The Mock interview was a practice run through of what to expect as a person who would be interviewed in a job in a high school.  Here are the stuff I learned:

Meet and Greet

Today, more and more schools are starting the interview process with a meet and greet which is a lot like speed dating where based upon their first impressions they will decide to higher you or not.

What They Will Already Have

They will already have your resume, cover letters, and letters of reference.  What they won't have is evidence of your teaching, or a philosophy statement.  Brings those into a room to share. It is also a good idea to have a resume for you to look at.

Q & A Time

I am not going to lie, I was unprepared for every question he asked.  Dr. Jones recommended to me to write down every question he asked because these are the kinds of questions you will be asked in a 1st round interview.  He also told me to be concise but not brief in your answers.  He told me about how one time he had an interviewee go on for 20 minutes about themselves.

Attire is Key

Dr. Jones throughout my student teaching experience has often said "I like that tie." At the end of the interview he told me why he always says that.  To him attire should be thought about during an interview. Shoes are clean, dress shirt, tie, clean shaven.  He wants to see that if I am serious enough to shave then I'll be serious enough with my students.  A good point he also told me is if I have a tie that matches the school colors or school mascot it will make me stand out if I wear a tie like that. That explained why he often told me nice tie, I was showing CV Pride.

Round Two is More Personal

Once we got done with the interviewing process he then explained to me some other things I would see if I were to go to a second interview. I should expect more people and on top of that more personal questions trying to better know if I would fit the program.

The best quote I got from Dr. Jones is that it is not always about if you are the best candidate but if you are the best fit for the school for five years down the road.  He made a good point of saying that say a program wants to have a horse barn, they will hire the teacher that has prior knowledge of horses even if I would say be the highest scoring candidate in the first round because that's what fits best with the program.

After interviewing and then talking with Dr. Jones I feel more confident in interviewing.  

To Be Continued . . .