Interview

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Interview

by Nervous Nelly

Dec 3, 2017

Hello Fellow Educators!

Super excited and nervous at the same time. I have an interview this week for a position overseas. This will be my first phone interview ever. I am very nervous and fear that I will get tongue twisted and just plain sound like a idiot over the phone. I have been preparing for the interview I am just scared that I will get so nervous that I completely freeze. Any advice from the pros in the room?

Also if anyone remembers any of the questions they were asked during the phone interviews - please share!

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haha Hi. Congrats on the interview and good luck! Telephone interviews aren't too bad. At least you only have one thing to worry about/focus on (as opposed to how do I look, what do I do with my hands, am I making enough eye contact, too much eye contact, etc.). It also lets you make and refer to notes which I would advise that you do.

They wil...See MoreHi. Congrats on the interview and good luck! Telephone interviews aren't too bad. At least you only have one thing to worry about/focus on (as opposed to how do I look, what do I do with my hands, am I making enough eye contact, too much eye contact, etc.). It also lets you make and refer to notes which I would advise that you do.

They will likely be used to the process and will know what they are looking for. Do your best to focus on what they are asking. Answer the questions in a way that demonstrates your knowledge, experience and competency. Whenever possible try to project some level of flexibility and openness. DoDEA principals want great teachers, but they are also looking for people that can embrace change and will not be killing them with a thousand emails/complaints about every little thing once they are on the job. Many candidates with the right certs are very similar and "good fit" is sometimes the most important quality between them.

As for questions, here is what I have saved past posts:

Most of the interviews I have had with DoDDS were the same 7 questions (e.g. Why DoDDS?, Tell me about a successful lesson you did with planning, differentiation, assessment, Tell me about a time you had a challenging situation and how you dealt with it, Tell me etc). Even when I flew to DC for the Job Fair type interviews they used to do, it was the same 7 questions. When I interviewed with a principal for my first DoDDS position 3 months later, he asked me the same 7 questions. I often wondered if he had even read my original answers or whether he was checking to see if my answers had changed.

I did have one SPED interview where they asked me about my experiences with an age/disability group specific to their school and how I would deal with certain situations.

Someone else posted this from their experience:

1. Tell us about your background 2. Standards (Something about how you use standards) 3. Typical day in your class 4. How you use formatives and summatives 5. Your experience with PLCs 6. How you use technology 7. Why [your subject area]? 8. Something about how you use accommodations 9. Describe your experience with Common Core 10. Describe Continuous School Improvement 11. Whole Language approach 12. Something about team planning 13. How do you use data 14. What does a lesson plan look like?

Me again. Also, expect a question about why DoDEA. Background with military, army brat, serving the mission, etc is better than want to travel, for the money, want an adventure, etc.

Hope this was helpful. Maybe someone else will post with more. Good luck!

Dec 3, 2017

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HopefulTeacher Good luck!! Nelly, can I ask which school you're interviewing for and for which position?

Dec 3, 2017

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HopefulTeacher I'm hoping to interview for positions next year. :)

Dec 3, 2017

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Ida I agree with Haha, make lots of notes for yourself. Then you can refer to them and help yourself feel prepared. Also take time. I think sometimes on the phone people don't want dead air but giving a thoughtful response is always a good thing. Those 7 questions are about right. Also since we have been here we learned that they only ask the questions...See More

Dec 4, 2017

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