All about you: -Why do you want to teach at our school? Why should we hire you?
-What has bee n your most po sitive teach ing exp erie nee?
-What has bee n your most n egative teachi ng exp erie nee? What would you change?
-What is your p hilos ophy of educatio n?
-What have you rece ntly done in educati on of an in teresti ng or inno vative n ature?
-What motivates you?
-What pro fessi onal books, blogs, or journ als have you read to kee p abreast of educati onal n ews and best p ractices?
-How would your stude nts describe you?
-What is your greatest stre ngth/weak ness as a teacher?
-What are 3 words that your stude nts/admi n/close friends would use to describe you?
-Describe a typi cal less on in your classroom. (Go ing through the ste p by ste p overview) -Describe a successful less on and how you knew it went well.
-Why did you want to be a teacher?
-What is a difficult situati on you faced and how did you deal with it?
(grade level) stude nts? What do you
-What do you want to teach
like about them?
-How do you use tech no logy in your classroom?
-How do you use assessme nt in your classroom? Describe how you used the in formatio n you gained from an assessme nt in your in structio n.
-How do you address the n eeds of En glish Ian guage lear ners?
-How do you in tegrate other subjects into your un its?
-How do you app roach classroom disc ip li ne?
-What is your favorite esse ntial questi on (UBD model)?
Parents -How do you com muni cate stude nt p rogress to paren ts?
-How do you nor mally com muni cate with paren ts?
-How have you invo Ived parents in the lear ning p rocess?
Stude nts -How do you han dle the differe nt abilities of stude nts in your class?
-What tech niq ues have you found useful in in dividualiz ing lear ning in your class?
-Describe one or two tech niq ues you use to motivate stude nts. How do you motivate a stude nt to lear n a concept they do not do well in?
-Describe a difficult stude nt you had and how you han dled it.
-How do you han dle a stude nt who is a con siste nt behavioral p roblem in your class?
-If you met your stude nts 20 years from now, what would you want them to remember about you?
School
-Why do you want to teach at -How have you con tributed to the devel opment of the total school p rogram in your curre nt po siti on?
-How do you structure your classroom to achieve maximum ben efit from teacher/stude nt con tact?
-What kind of extracurricular activities would you be in terested in being part of?
-What are the tale nts/ex pertise you can bring to your team?
-Why are you leav ing your curre nt school?
-What did you like the most about your curre nt school?
-What was the most difficult thing about your curre nt school?
-What are your thoughts on collaborati on with other staff?
Cou ntry/City Sp ecific
-Why do you want to live in -Tell me what you already know about the country and culture.
-What kinds of things do you like to do outside of school?
-Do you have any concerns about moving to this coun try?
The End of the In terview -Is there anything else you feel that you want me to know about you, that we haven ' t had a chanee to talk about?
(school)? -How would you impi eme nt the school
's core values into your classroom?
(cou ntry)?
-Do you have any questi ons for us?
Questi ons to ask duri ng the in terview:
What are the nationalities of the student body? What is the p erce ntage of each n
ati on ality?
How many stude nts are in the school and what are class sizes?
How many curre nt foreig n teachers are worki ng for them?
Are stude nts admitted with little or no En glish skills?
What p erce ntage of the teachers ren ews their con tract for a third or fourth
year?
What expectations are there for teacher participation beyond the regular school day?
What is the freque ncy of faculty meeti ngs, committee meeti ngs and other meeti ngs
teachers must atte nd on a weekly basis?
How long is the school year? When are holidays/breaks? (you
should be able to find this on the school website, but if you can then ask).
t, Are teach ing materials readily available? Tech no logy? Intern et?
What are the classrooms like? Desks for every student? Do teachers use chalkboards
or a p rojecti on system?
How invo Ived are parents and the P TO?
Do teachers work together?
Does the admi nistratio n side with teachers or p are nts?
Is the curriculum open or closed? Do teachers have freedom in the classroom whe n
appr oach ing the less ons?
How much time do I get with my stude nts?
What is the dress code at the school for teachers and stude nts?
What support services are pro vided to stude nts? Is the curriculum alig ned with p
articular sta ndards?
I ' raery interested in building my skills as a teacher. What staff devel opment opportun ities are offered?
How is the readi ng p rogram orga ni zed?
What new programs or activities are being considered for the coming year?
How would you describe the atmosphere and culture at your school?
Why do people like to work at your school?
Is there a yearly budget pro vided for con ti nuing educati on/pro fessi onal devel opment?
Person Questi ons:
How safe is the area where you will be liv ing and how safe is the city in gen eral?
What will housi ng be like?
What is the level of health care in the coun try?
How long will it take to get to school?
What do teachers do weeke nds and after school?
Does the teacher salary cover all liv ing expen ses?
Are foreig n empio yees welcomed?
What is the social life like both at the school and local com muni ty?
Is the mail system reliable? Can I easily send and receive
packages?
How easy is it to travel within and out of the coun try?
Be P repared for Tough
In terview Questi ons
Credentials, enthusiasm and a burning desire to teach overseas describes nearly 100% of
recruiting-fair candidates. So, how do you set yourself above the bar with so many high
caliber candidates comp eting for the same p ositions?
'll fit into and adapt to their school and geographical
A Director ' s gut feeling about how you
location certainly pl ays a big part in the decision-making process. For some hardship
locations, a “ good fit may be more imp ortant than actual years of teaching exp erience and
advanced degrees. But when it comes to comp eting for the most desirable schools, your
answers to some unex pected interview questions can easily make or break the deal:
Tell me about yourself. What 's your greatest contribution to your last school? If I walked into
your classroom, what would I see? How will your p ast or current Director describe you when
I dial them up? How would your students describe you? Teach me something right now!
What ' sthe last article or book you read on teaching? Which educational journals do you
subscribe to? Tell me about a conflict you resolved.
Answering t ough interview questions is something you definitely don 't want to do impromptu.
Of course, if you 're thrown a curve ball you have to swing at it, but antic ip ating and honing
your answers to possible interview questions is obviously the best way to prepare for a
successful interview. You just might be Teacher of the Year material but if you can 't convince the interviewer of that, all is for naught.
10 things international schools look for whe n hiri ng new teachers
For
Published on 17th November, 2014 by An drew Wigford. Published in
Can didates / TIC News
Are you con sideri ng teach ing in an intern ati onal school? Here's our
list of the top 10 qualities schools look for in their teachers!
There are many intern ati onal schools con sidered to be amon gst the most
progressive and well- respected schools in the world. But don ' t be daunted by
that. They n eed great teachers, and good schools will support their teachers to become part of their
lear nin g-focused ethos. So what do these schools look for whe n hiri ng new teachers? Here are the
top 10 qualities that most
intern ati onal schools look for in the teachers they hire:
En thusiastic teachers who love work ing with young people
Noth ing comp ares with your p assi on for lear ning and teach ing. So if you en
re thusiastic and committed to meeti ng the lear ning n eeds of each and every
student, you ' re half way there.
Respon sible teachers who do their research
Finding the right school is important, for both you and your empio yer. Show that you
have done your research, that you know the school, its focus, its p hilos op hy. Demon
strate that you have thought seriously about the locati on,
'll cope with leaving home. Be
how you ' ll respond to the move, and how you prep ared to explain why you want to move
abroad.
Teachers who are in ternatio nally min ded
You may be choos ing to live and work in a locati on very differe nt to your home coun
try, and with in a culture very differe nt to your home culture. You will be work ing
with stude nts and families from many differe nt coun tries and backgro un ds, and with
teachers and school staff who have very differe nt trai ning and exp erie nee to what
you may be used to. You must be willi ng to acce pt and value differe nces, to respect
the country you are living and work ing in and to be truly intern atio nally min ded,
in and out of work.