Three interview questions

This article first appears in the Eduk8me newsletter. Be sure to subscribe to be the first to get articles such as this.

Three interview questions

Dave Blanchard posed the following question on Twitter: “HELP! You are reviewing applications for a new teacher at your school. What info do you want on the resume? Do you look at the resume or only the system? What experiences do you want to see documented?

For me, when I look at people I want to work with, one of the most important aspects is “what can I learn from them”?

A good resume shows what you have done, and a good cover letter shows how and why you did what you have done. You have two pages to show someone else the greatness that you are. Pretty limited, but limitations breed creativity.

I created 3 interview questions that I would want to see answered.

  • What have you created lately, or are really proud of?
  • What have you shared lately?
  • What have you read lately?

One of the best things of being a teacher is the chance to be creative. No matter what resources or lack of resources I’m given, I want to make it my own. Teaching is the definition of limited resources, show me how you’ve used those limitations to your advantage.

The second question falls back on sharing what we know. Teaching is basically sharing what we know with students, so it’s a short trip to sharing with your peers. This doesn’t mean bragging or “flexing” as is the vernacular of today. Can you play well with others?

Finally, I want to know if you are a life long learner. How are you keeping up to date? What are you reading? I have a ton of non-educational sites in my RSS reader. Schools can’t run like businesses, but that doesn’t mean schools can’t learn from businesses (or vice versa). For example, there is a ton of insight on what works and doesn’t work with managing employees, and a lot of this insight can be applied directly to the classroom.

What would you like to see on a resume or cover letter?

Similar Posts