Whether you are applying for a position as a teacher; school counselor; other support staff–or even administrative role, it’s true that there are perhaps some common tips–or things to take into consideration–when preparing for an upcoming interview. What is more, whether this is your very first interview, or the thirtieth interview you are getting ready for, the following five tips can help get you ready for your big day. Likewise, for brand-new educators fresh out of college or college students who are still working on (or getting ready for) their student teaching, Internship, or field-based experience, these five tips are also very relevant to you. With that in mind, let’s get started.

1. Make Sure Your Application Lands Into the Interview Pile:

Firstly, you have to be selected for an interview, so before you get to that (exciting!) point, you need to make sure that your application lands in the interview pile (however small or large that pile might be). These days, many districts can funnel their electronic applications through technology-based screening tools. You need to make sure that you are familiar with currently-used buzzwords and terminology in the Education realm (and to use those correctly in your application). The other important thing to do as you are getting your application ready is to proofread it, and then proofread it again, and then proofread your application a third time (get the hint?). You don’t want your application to appear rushed; sloppy; or incomplete in any way. Thoroughly–and sufficiently–answer each question (only leaving blank–or briefly-answered–items that either don’t apply to you or that you maybe have answered in another portion of the application–which you would then note, as a courtesy of the reviewers, to check that other section again).

2. Comb Carefully Through School (and District) Website:

These days, every school has some sort of website or digital presence, so I believe that it is critical to really familiarize yourself with the free and public information that can be found on each school’s (or district’s) website (I would even go so far as to say to spend at least an hour or two looking around–and if you have extra time–check out the other buildings’ websites or the district-based site, as well). What should you be looking for, you might ask? Well, a few fundamental things to take note of (by the way: write down any questions you have as you comb through the school’s website–more on that a little bit later) would be things such as the daily schedule; how classes and the calendar are set-up (along with the configuration of each department; i.e. teaching; support services; administrative); school demographics (such as the size of the student population and other key student population information); enrichment opportunities for students, such as any clubs or volunteer opportunities; mentoring programs, etc.; building or district-based programming for students, including things like music programs; Career and Technical Education opportunities; and sports and other types of teams or groups, etc.

As you look closely at what are seeing, do you see anything that stands-out to you? Each school and district is a culture, and has a culture. Is the school hyper-focused on one or two initiatives to drive student growth and achievement or is there kind of something for everyone? Is anything maybe under-developed or missing? (and, if so, is it something that you have a skill-set and passion to maybe help implement?). Talk about it during the interview–it will show you did you homework on the school and are already familiar with what they currently offer for students. Spending time carefully combing through a school’s website will make you feel much more confident during your interview and it can inform how you go about presenting yourself during the interview. This is a great return on investment for your time–and, if you get the job, you’ll already have a little bit of a jumpstart on knowing some of the ins-and-outs of the position–and the school–as you get out of the starting gates.

3. Know (or Brush-Up On) Position’s Professional Standards & Competencies:

However much you may already routinely review and incorporate your profession’s professional standards and competencies into your regular work, it is still wise to review those standards and competencies again in advance of your interview. I believe there are two reasons for this. One: You may very well be asked a question or two during your interview on how you either use (or have used) or incorporate(d) these things into your work. The question(s) could be very broadly-based or more specific–you never know. Two: It will make you feel more confident heading into your interview (if you take the time to review your profession’s standards and competences–for instance–for school counselors–reviewing the American School Counselor Association’s standards; components; and competencies). Much like combing through a school’s website–in advance–you may want to do some review work, here, to be most prepared on interview day. Some schools and interview committees may have a preferences for candidates who know–and are comfortable talking about–the guiding standards that govern their profession, so use this to your potential advantage.

4. Come Prepared with Data & Artifacts:

I cannot stress this enough, but as you are getting ready to prepare for your interview, it is incredibly helpful to come armed with data and artifacts to your interview–whether the interview is in-person or virtual. The reason for this is it shows that you are prepared and organized, but also for the people doing the interviewing, it is always better to show than to tell. Aggregated data charts; pictures; Needs Assessment forms; PowerPoint printouts; lesson plans–basically, anything that you can bring with you to show some of the work that you have done in your prior or current placement(s). For example, when I interviewed for my current position as a high school counselor, I Interned previously at a middle school, so in my job-seeking binder (that also included typical things as a cover letter; resume; college transcripts; copies of diplomas; references lists; and letters of recommendation, etc.), I also included pictures of my office; lesson plan activities that I completed for students; a student-interview and write-up of me in the middle school newspaper (that was a lot of fun!); color copies of PowerPoint presentations I created for in-class school counseling lessons; Needs Assessment forms; Group Counseling permission forms; an updated local resources guide I helped make current–and more. While I did not show everything in my binder to the interviewing committee, I did access several of the artifacts and data points–even leaving a few complementary copies of key materials at the end for the interviewing committee. In the end, was it a big deal? Probably not. But it did help me feel a little bit more confident during my interview, and any time that I was able to show–rather than tell–I think that is something that almost always reflects really well in interviews.

5. Have Thoughtful Questions Ready to Go:

Finally, as you are working through the previous four points to consider or incorporate into your pre-Interview work, write down any thoughtful, intentional questions about the school (and position) you are interviewing for (that you are genuinely curious to learn more about). Interviews are a two-way street. Yes, most of the time, the person interviewing is desirous of the position they are interviewing for, but, sometimes, a job opening might sound better on paper than when you are learning more about the position and duties, for instance, as the actual interview is being conducted. Not that you necessarily need to know exactly why the job has a current vacancy, but more so to see if (for yourself), or to show how (for the interview team), this is the job for you. I will talk more about this next month, but the idea here is to show your attention to detail (and level of thoughtfulness) when the committee asks if there are any questions that you have for them. I remember when I interviewed: I believe that I had six questions for the interview team. I typed them out and left enough blank space, in-between each question, to write-in my answers during the interview. Now, does everyone want to do something like that? Maybe not. But that is what worked best for me at the time. At the end of the day, however, the main thing is to have at least three or four (or more) thoughtful, strong questions to ask the interview team. Start collecting or gathering those questions–in advance–as you are getting ready for your big interview day.