Top 10 interview questions
Friday, April 30, 2010 at 06:25AM It's that time of year when the fescue starts looking pretty green on the other side of the fence. And that means many librarians and tech specialists are looking at new (or first) positions in schools.
I'm regularly asked questions about questions - interview questions so I posted a list of questions we use in our department a few years ago and they are still available here. But recently one reader asked for a 'Top Ten" list:
- If I were to visit your last school, how would the students, teachers and your supervisor describe you and what your job was?
- How do you help apprehensive users overcome their nervousness about technology?
- What is the last new skill or new piece of technology or software you learned? When was that, and how did you go about learning it?
- Describe a project or program that you have administered about which you feel proud.
- How will you demonstrate that your program is having a positive impact on student achievement in the school?
- What process do you use in creating policies for the use of your facilities and resources?
- What kind of changes do you feel will happen in education in the coming years? What might your job will be like in five years?
- Describe a lesson or project that required collaboration with other professionals. What was your role and what made the effort successful or unsuccessful?
- Describe your philosophy of the use of technology with students. How has or should it impact the teaching of reading, research and content area skills?
- How does one create long-term, permanent change in a school?
When I look for new employees, I try to ask questions that bring out the best in the person being interviewed rather than playing "gotcha." I love it when people describe projects about which they were passionate. I love hearing how people took initiative and did things that went beyond the job description. I love knowing that a person has worked well as part of an effective team. And I love knowing that the person I am hiring is him/herself a genuine learner and excited about the future.
Were I applying for jobs this spring, I just might think about answers to the questions above and figure out ways to work the answers into the interview conversation.
Whether the questions are asked or not.
Reader Comments (7)
Thanks for a great post as usual! While these are questions that I have been mulling over in general as I firm up my resume, it always helps to see the topics in a clear and concrete form. Perfect timing, much appreciated!
I would love to hear that someone being interviewed, after being offered the position, turned and requested time to go back and ask most of these same questions about the school from which they are considering accepting a position. The answers could be very revealing about what one is going into. Often I say to myself--gee I wish I had known that ahead of time.
Doug,
Having just emerged from the hiring process, your questions are perfect for interview prep!
One TL's annotated timeline for job search:
February - position elimination announced - "Holy *&%#"; February - scour Doug Johnson blog for ideas - "Phew, I can do this"; March - create ePortfolio using Weebly - "I'll start cooking dinner again when I finish this, honey"; March - apply for job in another district - "Maybe my eportfolio pic should be b&w with the Doris Day blur: it'll make me look younger"; March - interview 1 (liked ePortfolio), "Absolutely, it IS all about "new literacies" **, March - interview 2 (teach model lesson to 8th graders) "Isn't Wallwisher a great way to have students collab online to share ideas about safe internet use? Yup, and the archive of responses, when reviewed, serve as a formative assessment to inform my future instruction!"; April - got the job!
Not one interview question was about doing inventory, print collection analysis / acquisitions, nor expurgation ("weeding"). They were ALL related to student learning as measured against state/national standards; integration of information, media, and technology literacy into instruction; building effective instructional partnerships, and effective pedagogy.
Doug, you are SO right. We TL's must be value-added and not add-on in our contributions; if TL's don't model "new literacies" in our practice, we are "low hanging fruit" when the "budget-reduction program pickers" come around.
** "A New Literacies Perspective considers the Internet as another important technology for literacy, just like a book, a pencil, or paper. As a result, learning to effectively use the Internet becomes a literacy issue, not a technology issue." Don Leu, PhD, NEAG School of Education, UConn (my hero - shhh, he doesn't know it, so please don't tell anyone...)
Hi Rich,
Always nice to know one has been helpful. Thanks for the comment,
Doug
Hi Cathy Jo,
You make a great point. Interviews should be about candidates learning about the job as much as schools learning about the candidate. I give some suggestions here about this if interested:
http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/getting-the-job-you-deserve.html
Doug
Hi Terry,
Great comment. Like to be a guest blogger? Love your style!
Doug
Thank you Doug for this list. It's just what we need right now and I have forwarded it to my assistant principal and anyone else I can think of. I agree with Cathy Nelson's comment that the interviewee should turn around and ask the same questions of the school offering the position. It was nice to read in Terry's comment that at least one district "gets it" and looked for a TL with 21st century learning skills.
I have forwarded it to my assistant principal and anyone else I can think of. I agree with Cathy Nelson's comment that the interviewee should turn around and ask the same questions of the school offering the position.Thanks for a great post as usual
During the job interview try to relax and stay as calm possible. Take a moment to regroup. Maintain eye contact with the interviewer. Listen to the entire question before you answer and pay attention - you will be embarrassed if you forget the question!