For international school teachers and administrators this is the time of year where their job search for the next school year shifts into high gear. In this post, I share some of my tips for preparing for that inevitable and dreaded Skype interview. There is no better time or inspiration for reflecting on this type of interview than after a bad one, which is where I find myself today so here it goes.
Mind Over Matter
This year, I'm going through the gruelling process of finding another job. I've been applying to schools for a couple month now and managing, but balancing the application and interview process with my job, family, workouts, and online university classes, I'm starting to feel the effects mentally and emotionally.
So far, I have managed to stay strong by acknowledging that my life right now is equivalent to running a marathon on a treadmill with the machine cranked up to level 12. While avid marathon runners out there will need to find another analogy, that is pretty fast and long for me. After about 15-20 minutes my mind not only starts to get bored of the four walls around me but it starts telling my body that it can't keep up this pace. It becomes a situation of mind over matter. In order to finish the marathon you have to face your mind head on. The same is true with the job search process. Don't kid yourself, no matter how good you actually are, the road ahead will at the very least feel long, so mentally prepare for that.
The reality is that with every application sent off into cyberspace that receives no feedback, or with every initial interview that doesn't lead to a second, the process becomes more about managing self-doubt, self-esteem, self-worth than it does about the reality of who you are as an educator. The ups and downs of the process and unanswered questions become harder than the application process itself. Stay focused and confident. Stay positive because you have to be your biggest cheerleader. If you have a partner, or have some good friends that you trust, get some help from them. They will often see things more objectively and positively than you and generously feed your self-esteem with positive support. Remember, early on the odds may be against you but the reality is that as time goes by you'll start to move away from the pack and your strengths as an educator will be more easily recognised.
When I start to feel mentally or emotionally drained...
I convince myself giving up is not an option.
I know that this effort will pay off in the future.
I remember I am great at my job and someone will recognize that.
I remind myself I am doing it for my family.
I set my eyes on the prize... reeling in that perfect job, that perfect fit.
I remind myself that nothing of great value comes easy in life.
I simply give myself a Rob Schneider pep talk... "You can do it".
Humour, music, exercise, meditation, massage, going for a run or a walk are great ways to help you stay balanced and positive.
Professional development
The last thing anyone wants to hear during the job search process is that it's going to be more work. But it is. It becomes a part-time after school job. But the good news is that this part-time job is really part-time professional development. As you write your cover letter, emails and speak to others about yourself, even when you bomb an interview it will soon become clear that you are going through one of the most valuable processes of personal and professional growth that exist. Quite frankly teachers back home don't have this opportunity and it is a very special part of an international school career. With something so big at stake there is no greater motivation to find your true voice and put the best of your practice centre stage.
Be patient and respect the process. Remember it may take time to find a good fit, and this is partly because you have to find yourself before you, or your future school, can determine if it's a good fit. So buy into the process, realise you are privileged in this regard, and willingly and eagerly articulate answers to the following questions:
Who am I as a teacher or leader?
How can you make that visible to others?
How can you make that visible in an interview or in an email?
Remember, it is an iterative process where any failure or feedback along the way, is a valuable chance to be honest with yourself, learn, and build.
How can you make who you are visible to others?
1- Social Media Once you know the story you want to tell, documenting and sharing that story can by done well before the interview. Digital tools like blogs, websites, LinkedIn and Twitter may help future employers and colleagues get to know you long before the interview. In fact, the process of collecting this data will also likely help you form a richer understanding your own practice...again an iterative process.
2- Cover Letter
Spend time on your cover letter. Unfortunately, I have no help for you here as I am never completely happy with my cover letter. But I think that is part of it, you should never be completely happy with it. With each school the cover letter should change to adapt and speak to the needs of the specific position and to the school's unique context. Do some homework on the school and try to communicate how you can be an asset.
How can you make who you are visible in an interview?
These are my top five recommendations for a successful interview.
1- Be yourself. Who you are is as important a concept to transmit in an interview as the answers to the questions that are asked.
Personally, too many thoughts run through my head when I am interviewing that I tend to focus so much on the question and not enough on how I am responding.
I've noticed the more important the school or job is to me the more nervous I become. Strategies I have tried to fight that nervousness off are meditation, preparing well in advance, exercising or being around friends before the interview. Conscious of my nerves, I intentionally look for the opportunity to be more warm and humorous, as this is how I am in my daily life.
I try to schedule my interviews from school, ideally before school when all is quiet and I am fresh. I find that my children are not making noise or bottlenecking the bandwidth. Also, in this context I connect more easily with my educator-self than when I am at home, and I think that does come across in the interview. Also, if I am at school it is more likely a reasonable time of day. Early morning and late night interviews are challenging for me. In fact, after having a Friday night interview this year already, if it has to happen again I'll come home right after work and have a good long nap first.
2 - Prepare, but don't over plan your answers. I often end up drowning in a bunch of notes that I accumulate over the course of the week. The best answers usually come out naturally and I find that having a highlighted a key word or phrase on the page is enough to remind me of what I rehearsed or want to say about it. Going into an interview plan to make some bullet point on a range of topics including:
curriculum,
pedagogy,
assessment,
differentiation,
how data is used,
what an ideal classroom looks like and feels like,
relationships,
school culture,
classroom management and discipline,
professional development, and
parent involvement/communication.
3 - Clearly be able to define what you do - before researching how the school does what they do. We all know that teaching is about linking curriculum to learning through strategies, resources and pedagogies. Each school and each teacher do that differently. Take the time to reflect on teaching and learning in your classroom or school. Especially administrators, teachers usually live this everyday, but administrators are saddled with a variety of focusses. While it seems obvious to me now, I assumed once that with all my work with teachers through curriculum, policy, observations that it would be easy to articulate what we do. But one time when I needed a response, I froze up and lost my composure. I felt like the words I needed were buried under other words, and I couldn't find them, it all came out really awkward and desperate... simply because I had spent too much time researching what the school I was applying to does before being able to tell my own story. In fact the best strategy of all, make a little matrix or graphic organizer connecting your school's curriculum and strategies to the school your are interviewing with. Include similarities and differences between the approaches. And remember, good teaching is good teaching. Be proud of how you do it, but be able to clearly explain what it is you do and why.
4 - Have a couple must say points prepared, and don't wait till the end of the interview to say them. For example, I really wanted to stress that I prioritise building positive relationships and school culture. Also, that I've learned the importance of coming in to a school and being mindful of my role as a leader in ensuring a smooth transition. The first point came up in an early question but the second point I snuck in right at the end, a little too late. It should have been a priority for me. What are those key best fit areas between you and the school, be sure to insert those points in to the interview as soon as possible.
5 - Have a couple good questions about the school ready. While you have to decide what those good questions are for yourself, I think that good questions...
show some prior knowledge of the school,
demonstrate an understanding of what your role will be and that you are able to perform it, and
provide an opportunity for you to listen to and expose the culture and expectations of the school when you are there.
Sometimes asking questions is a matter of your own personal safety and security, here are some additional thoughts from International Schools Review.
Other good sources of advice
There are many websites where I have found good strategies for interviewing.
- One good one is TeachAbroach.
- If you are registered with Search Associates, these are good tips.
- Business insider has some basic and technical tips.
- Eight tips from TICRecruitment.
- Here is a good broad list of possible questions from TeachingWanderLust
Good luck, stay motivated, and I know the right opportunity will come around at the right time for you. If you have any success or horror stories of your own you want to share please leave a comment below.
Martin