6 Interview Tips for Special Education Teachers
Featured guest blogger: Ashley, an elementary special education teacher, and blogger at Spedtacular Days.
In this blog, I’m sharing interview tips for special education teachers after I had the opportunity to sit on a panel for interview candidates this year. After sitting on the panel, I came up with 6 simple tips to help ease your interview process. And if you are a teacher who is happy with their job but, just thinking about changing positions because you might be a bit burnt out, try this blog post first!
Interview Tip #1 – Learn the Vocabulary
Learn the buzzwords of your potential employer. This is one of my favorite interview tips for special education teachers. Study the school’s website AND the district’s and see what their prime focus is for the previous and upcoming year. What is their mission or vision statement? Can you align some ideas or experiences you have with it?
Examples: Are they a STEM school? 1:1 technology school? Are they using a positive behavior system school-wide? Flexible seating? Which do they use for their curriculum in the grade level you are applying for? Are they a push-in (inclusion school) or pull-out/small group approach? If you don’t know the answer to these questions, these are good to ask in your interview!
Interview Tip #2 – Smile
This may seem like one of the silliest interview tips for teachers but, when you are nervous sometimes you forget to smile. And let’s face it, you are interviewing for a job that you want (hopefully) so you should be smiling. You want the interviewers to know and believe that you want to be there and are excited about the opportunity to work for their school.
Interview Tip #3 – Be Real & Be Authentic
Make sure that when you are interviewing you are being honest in the way that you answer the questions and if you can, show some of your personality with it. The last thing you want to do is to answer questions the way a district wants them answered but it cuts into your core beliefs as a teacher. If you believe that students should have time in their day to learn functional skills, talk about them, and share ways you might implement them if given the opportunity. You need to show why you are the right fit for the job, and what you can do for their school.
Interview Tip #4 – Ask Questions
It’s always good to ask a few questions during your interview. It shows interest in the school, the morale of the district, and the place you plan to work and invest your time into. I’d suggest only asked about two or three questions as you don’t want to overwhelm the interviewers. Things you should ask if it wasn’t shared in the interview is:
- Do teachers get a planning period and duty-free lunch?
- Will the school offer tuition reimbursement for graduate school?
- Will the school have opportunities to get involved in extra curricular activities (sports, clubs, etc.)
- Does the school have a mentor program for new teachers with experienced teachers to support you?
Interview Tip #5 – Dress Professionally
Be sure to dress for the job that you want. If you want this job, you will dress in a way that presents yourself in a good way. This may also seem like one of the silliest interview tips for teachers but in my experience, I have seen teachers interview in a T-shirt. Be sure to wear a suit, a dress and cardigan sweater, or a cute blouse and dress pants. You should never look like you just came out of the gym or ran some errands before your interview.
Interview Tip #6 – Keep it Short & Simple
Lastly, make sure you are keeping your answers to questions short while still getting to the point of the question. The interviewers will most likely tune you out if you drag on and on. When you are answering it is typically great to restate the question being asked to help yourself form your thoughts, but also make sure you target the answer they are looking for. I’ve even asked for them to repeat questions if it had multiple parts. Never feel guilty asking for help, it’s actually a good trait in an employee.
Hoping that this list of interview tips helps you as you pursue a teaching position for the first time or you are an experienced educator just changing things up! Please feel free to share any other ideas you have found that have worked for you!
And if you are lucky enough to have already received the job of your dreams but, you are looking for some easy things to implement in the classroom be sure to check out my FREE Classroom Starter Pack on my website. Sign Up for it here!
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Ashley has been working in Special Education for 10 years. She was a middle school self-contained teacher for 8 years working with students with intellectual disabilities. She just completed her second year as a special education inclusion teacher in an elementary setting. Outside of the classroom, Ashley is married with 3 kids; a 5-year-old and 3-year-old twins. When she is not running after her littles, Ashley enjoys hiking, running, and lots of coffee! You can find her at her website: SPEDTACULAR DAYS
