Page 8 - Teacher Selection and Onboarding Guide

Unacceptable Acceptable
How does your condition affect your ability to Are you able to perform the essential
teach? functions of this job?
Do you have or plan to have children? Are you able to work overtime and weekends?

ADMINISTERING AND ASSEMBLING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS

An effective interview and appropriate selection is impacted by the steps taken leading up to the
interview. When scheduling and preparing for interviews, there are a few considerations that
can pave the way for a smoother process. Best practice is to interview at least three applicants.

1. Provide the candidate with directions, phone number(s), time, and materials needed for
the interview.

2. If the interview is conducted during regular hours of operation, plan to have coverage for
all faculty and staff that will be involved in the interview process. The interview should
not be interrupted. Inform front office staff and secretary that candidates will be arriving
and that they should be directed to the waiting area. If time permits, a knowledgeable
staff member may provide a brief tour of the school. The school must try to impress the
candidate too!

3. Interview questionnaires should be printed, and resumes should have been screened.

4. If interviewing with a team/panel, inform them of the process, job details, and give all
members the opportunity to review the resumes and questions assigned to them. It is
essential that the committee/panel be provided with a description of the “ideal
candidate,” be familiar with the interview questions, as well as expected responses to the
interview questions.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS

Prescreening Interviews
If you have a high volume of qualified candidates, you may want to prescreen all candidates
before conducting the more in-depth interviews listed below.

Patterned Interview
Patterned interviews probe the same knowledge, skills, or abilities, but the questions are not
exactly the same. For example, an experienced teacher may be asked different questions than a
candidate that has only completed student teaching or has no teaching experience at all.

Behavioral Interview
Behavioral interviews consist of questions that enable the interviewer to know how a candidate
previously reacted or behaved in certain types of real, not hypothetical, situations.

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