so i wrote this post a few days ago.... http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/showthread.php?t=43962 my second interview is tomorrow and i am being optimistic. my question for you is this: what sort of questions should i ask on this interview? i am assuming the is the "final" interview to determine whether they want me or not and also whether i want to work there myself. i am trying to think of some important questions to ask. also, i have this inkling that they may give me a decision right then and there. what kinds of questions should i ask if that's the case? and recall that i have accepted an aide job already, but of course, want the teaching job over the aide job! i did casually mention to the principal on my first interview the aide job, so, he should hopefully remember that. so what advice do you have for me? i just want to get a lot of good answers since school starts in less than 2 weeks! sorry if this is repetitive of the last thread. thanks! this forum is SUCH a huge help! EDIT:: another question. what should i bring with me? i am bringing my portfolio, resume, transcripts, cert., recommendation letters, references, and praxis scores. i do have a sample lesson printed out that's also in my portfolio with pictures and everything. not sure if i will give it to them or not. anything else i should bring? thanks!
Congrats on the 2nd interview;;;I agree that this is where they are just sizing you up! Ask about some of these things: the preps, recess, lunch duty, dismissal and arrival procedures, curriculum, materials, supplies, workshops, and to see your potential classroom. Good luck and keep us posted!!
opportunities to meet with/collaborate with other teachers opportunities for professional development Opportunities to get involved with extra curricular activities, committees
after reading a post in another forum, i figured i'd mention this to you as well to ask about tomorrow... BENEFITS!!! MEDICAL/DENTAL % percentage paid-full, half, a quarter, what? ok that is all.
it's just all in the way you say it. i think benefits are just as important as the salary. and if they like you well enough, they're gonna tell you the what you'd be making. why wait til after they say "we'd like to offer you the position of....teacher" to ask "oh ok, thank you! what benefits are included?" when they may very well say "we don't offer health benefits" or "we only cover 25% and the rest is deducted from your paycheck should you choose our insurance." then what, you've either accepted a position that pays nothing or very little towards your benefits when you could have asked beforehand and had some time to think about it. what if they're not good enough and somewhere else is better? i think we have a right to let that be part of the decision making process. if you wait til they offer it to you, then they know benefits is your only hold up. i mean, i'm not sayin let it be the first thing out your mouth soon as you get there, but you can feel how the interview is going, and if they're interested, they shouldn't have a problem with that being a question. just my opinion. well wishes to you though.
Best of luck to you! You are so close now! My second interview was just a formality. My principal recommended me for the position, and then I met with the asst. superintendent and basically we small talked and he copied all of my documents for the employee file! Around here this seems to be the norm now, where the principal only recommends one candidate, after offering you the job. I say definately take a portfolio with original copies of all of your clearances, transcripts, etc in case they ask you for it!
Meg, After experiencing the interview process on Long Island, I feel your pain. My advice is this: RELAX and be yourself! I interviewed at two other schools before I got a job, and I was so worried about what I was going to say, and how I should act. I totally screwed up the first interview, probably because I wanted it so badly (even rear-ended a truck on my way there, in my insanely nervous state). By the time I interviewed with the third district I went into the interview thinking "I know I'm a good teacher, and if they don't agree, to hell with them". It worked. I cracked jokes and was totally honest with them - really let my personality show. I got a call back for a demo lesson, and a teenager I know told me that I should just go in there and act as though "my 'excrement' didn't stink". It was a great demo, and I was offered the job at the third interview. Just be yourself, and leave it to fate. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. I wish you the best of luck! Please keep us updated. Oh, and be careful driving!
This may be hard for someone to answer. Here we have a choice of 5 health care plans, 2 dental plans and then a bunch of add ons. So there are an enormous amount of choices one will have and I bet many different "benefits" packages available.
I think that you can usually find the benefits on the school district's website or call the HR department. You want to keep the interview about the kids. You are there for them. That should be your focus. You want to ask questions about:what type of extra-curricular activities are available for you to sponsor, what is their parent participation rate for the school, what does their teacher mentoring program look like, etc. Good luck! It sounds pretty promising! Let us know!!!:up:
thanks so much guys! my interview is 3 hours away. so 3 hours from now...think of me haha. i will def. let you know how it goes. oh and i will def. ask about the benefits but not during the interview. honestly, it's not that important to me. all public schools in jersey have benefits so...i just want a job! lol
FUMING!!!!!!! ok i am sooooooooooooooooooooo upset right now. on my way to the interview the principal calls and says the superintendent had to cancel. and i have no clue what the eff is going on. i had to cancel work for this interview and now i don't even know if i am going to have it! i have work monday too. i babysit so it's not like i can just up and leave if they call me. PLUS, i am going away this weekend. i just don't know WHAT to do. the principal said he will call me back asap, but i am going to call him back. i need to know what's going on. i am supposed to be an aide in a week and a half and i really don't feel like waiting any longer to tell them if i get the job. i just don't know what to say to him w/o being nasty. i guess it's not his fault, it's the supt's, but i can't keep waiting like this! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON! what should i do?!
do they know you have another position en que? maybe they should know you have to let somewhere else know so you really need to get this ball rolling and see where you stand so you can tell the other place (in better words of course though). i'd be frustrated too, but maybe in the long run it's better that it happened this way. IF they don't get back to you by a certain time, i think i'd call to tell them that you missed work for today (nicely) and ask if it was possible to meet with just him again. maybe a teleconference or something w/ the supt. push come to shove, just take the aide position-they slept on it. i mean, that's kinda crappy to cancel while you're on your way and then for them to expect you to just sit around and wait. they may think you aren't doing anything over the summer so it's not a big deal to reschedule. i'd let them know this (again, nicely though of course.) hope this helps!! well wishes to you..
I have no idea what to tell you, I wish I did. I can say try to calm down before you call, so you don't sound too upset, desperate, po'd, etc so it doesn't ruin your chance to get the job. What always works for my mom, and for me when I do it, is to be sooooooo sweet and make it out like you are trying to fix their problem, "I can do the interveiw on this and so day, would that be the most convient for you? No, well I will work with whatever you have, your schedule is so much more important than mine with school starting, I have no problem working around it" (general idea, you come up with your own words) If you do have a problem, don't say so, it may suck to have to handle it that way, but it almost always works in your favor.
I agree with calming down first before you call. And i also agree with pretending like you're helping them out (when you really are just looking for answers).
so i basically didn't get the job. i called the principal and he said the supt. only wants to interview one candidate and the principal had to pick one...which wasn't me. so....i feel like excrement. on one hand i am REALLY glad to at least know what's going on. now i can just accept being an aide. but, naturally, i would have wanted the teaching job instead. maybe it's for the better. the aide job will give me more practice instead of being thrown right into teaching. thanks for your help again guys. and pray that the aide job will lead to something bigger and better.
oh but it will. that just means the job wasn't right for you. but what God has for you, it's for YOU and YOU ALONE. so don't worry, the aide position will prove to be as fruitful as teaching and this path will be more successful and prosperous than the teaching one. who knows, a position in the school you already work in may open and they will look internal and you'll be there. and also, don't discount yourself from the other job. just because he didn't pick you now, doesn't mean he might not later. i've had a job tell me all the positions were filled and then about a week or so later ask me if i was still available for the position. so, don't lose all hope!! well wishes to you in this school year. at least you can relax and enjoy what's left of this not so summery summer. =)
Meg, I am really sorry. That was a rotten way for them to handle that. But, this field can be that way. I am a career changer. I spent the past 2 years looking for a teaching job. I had actually started a year before that, but I really sent most of the resumes the past 2. Last month, I was finally hired. Prior to this, I was a TA for 2 years. That experience helped me get this job and it helped me with my interviews. I am not completely nervous about going into a classroom without any experience. I think I have the normal nerves going on, though. I think you will like being a TA and you will gain awesome experience. In my humble opinion, being a TA is what YOU make of it. I was always going the extra mile, without overstepping my bounds. I made sure I did much more than "file and copy." That is what many people think TAs do-only that. Yes, I have seen these people. But, I and others have made the most of it and worked really hard. You will be able to do that and get a good reputation. Enjoy it and learn from it. And remember, NJ is an AWFUL market for teachers seeking work. It is INCREDIBLY political. I am extremely fortunate that I was given this chance. I had no connections. I beat incredible odds and I will be the first to say it. Hang in there. You will find your school.
Yep. a friend of mine worked in nursing homes, daycares/preschools and even as a T.A. for i think only a year (may have been 1.5-2) for kindergarten and this year she has her own room and now she has a t.a. So it's what you make of it and it will definitely benefit you. You reap what you so, what you give it, it will def give back to you. well wishes..
thanks guys....at this point i don't even want to think about it anymore. i am so glad to have this forum. i've searched through threads and people have been through similar situations or worse. ::sigh:: i'm moving to arizona lol.
Meg, is that the sound of Carvel I hear??? Or is it the sound of a pina colada with the mandatory umbrella?
