Education & Teaching Interview Questions & Answers

Phone interview.
Book for a date and time chosen by you which is great. Questions were to get to know you and the impact you would have in a centre.

Centre interview
With 2 of the explore team. Included a tour of the centre and interacting with the children. Also a role play which you prepare for.

All questions were to be expected. One that took more thought was "how would your friends describe your leadership style?"

Make sure you do your research. Every member of the Explore Learning team are passionate about the company so make sure you show your passion too! Let your personality shine through and just enjoy it.

The assessment centre was really relaxed and friendly, they really did make me feel comfortable right away! There is lots of time to relax and meet the other candidates, also tea and coffee was available throughout the day. Every candidate had an individual timetable for each activity.
There were many tasks throughout the day including: a third interview, a presentation, a role play, a maths and literacy exercise and a group task. They also took us all out for lunch which was lovely! They give you information about the assessment day well in advance so don't worry, there is plenty of time to prepare for the role play and the presentation.
All in all, the whole day was handled brilliantly and I think every candidate felt at ease throughout it.

I was asked questions about how I would react in different situations within the classroom. I was also asked how I would contribute to the school I would be placed in and what I understood about protecting the children. I had to give an example of a lesson and how I would organise myself and plan for a lesson, ensuring that I included each child of each ability. I also had to deliver a 10 min presentation to a group of children on any topic of my chosen subject (music). Additionally I had to complete some internal numeracy and literacy tests.

How I would ensure that the children had learnt and understood the content of my lesson.

Have confidence and make sure that you are well prepared before hand! Make sure you have gone through your presentation (even just to soft toys) before you have to deliver it to a group of high school children!!

I did not attend an assessment centre.

The interview was comprised of 3 different sections and previous to the interview I had been contacted by a Graduate Recruitment officer who had talked me through the different steps which I would go through during the interview process. Upon arrival all the candidates were able to meet and talk among one another. The first stage of the interview process was a one on one interview in which I was assessed on competency based questions and the competencies which were important to the company. This lasted for around about 40 mins and included asking questions in which I had to explain what I would do in certain situations if I found myself in a classroom. The second stage of the interview was a group based task in which we had to have a discussion about which child we would give an award to. This task took about 30 mins. The final part of my interview was to deliver a 7 min lesson to two assessors who pretended to be the age of the children your lesson was tailored to. Following this I was given the opportunity to do a self evaluation of the lesson.

The most difficult questions I was asked was what I thought was the most important competency which the company vales themselves upon as when under pressure it was difficult to remember all the competencies that the company prided themselves upon!

Be confident and make sure you have read up about the competencies. If you don't get offered the job you do get feedback, mine stated my body language was the only thing that went against me during the group interview- competition is very high but don't be put off! I would also recommend to apply early!

One to one interview, a group discussion task in which we were given data and then asked to put forward our own opinions as to why we thought that specific candidate would receive an award and finally a 7 min lesson.

First off there was a phone interview, which was basically just a brief chat about expectations of the role and past work experience. Once I made it through this stage, I was invited to an interview at one of the Explore Learning centres near my home.

This interview was two hours long, and was divided into two halves. The first half was comprised of a more detailed discussion about the role of an Assistant Director, a role play exercise and more questions about my past work experience and how I may handle difficult situations at work. An awareness of marketing strategies is also helpful during this part of the interview. The second part of the interview was an hour working with the children while they were being tutored, which was fun!

After this, I was put through to an Assessment Centre day at Guildford, which lasted from 9 till 4.30. The day involved a short presentation, a one on one interview, two written assessments and a group task. We were also given a presentation about the company, and taken out to lunch half way through the day.

The most difficult questions were those that involved unfamiliar scenarios to myself, such as having to chose one task to prioritise over another, or being asked how I would deal with doubts from parents about my age (21) or relative lack of experience.

Prepare! Make sure you familiarise yourself with the website and what will be expected of you as an Assistant Director. An awareness of marketing strategies is also helpful, as is previous job experience of any kind that demonstrates you can work in a team and take responsibility for your actions.

It is also important to not be too formal, something that was picked up on in my first face to face interview - they like your personality to come through as it is a very friendly company.

The first task was a presentation about a marketing strategy I would adopt with the goal of signing up potential members to free trials. It lasted 5 minutes and was followed by a few questions.

The second was a one to one interview with two senior management staff, which was more informal and involved scenario questions and probes into why I applied for the role.

The written tasks were to test literary and maths competence

For the final group task we were split into two teams, and had to work together to select items off a list that we would want with us if we found ourselves lost at sea. We had to decide together which ones we would prioritise and then present the final list to all of the interviewers.

The first stage of the AD position was the application form online, consisting of about 8 questions. Provide as much detail as possible and give good examples of your experiences.
The second stage of the process, was an interview held at one of the centres. I was interviewed by the Centre Director, and there was an Assistant Director on hand as well who took notes throughout. The whole session lasted about 2 hours. I was shown around the centre, and given the logistics about how it worked. I would advise to do plenty of research before you arrive so that you have plenty of questions to ask about the centre - show your enthusiasm for the centre and let your personality shine.
I was then sat down and asked about my experiences and skills. I was given a few scenarios to deal with for example, if the CD was away and there was an urgent issue, what I do?
The final stage was a role play exercise. I had to pretend to stop someone in the street and promote a gym membership. The goal was to sign the person up for a free trial. Just make sure you use your communication skills effectively and ask questions to engage the client. There is also a chance to repeat the role play too.

The scenario questions were perhaps the most difficult part of the day, but just use your common sense. If they question your answer, explain the problems that you would have and maintain a positive attitude throughout. This will show your confidence in problematic situations. And keep smiling! We are not all perfect, and they are just looking for someone who is willing to learn and take on the challenges that will be involved in the job.

Explore are really looking for passionate and enthusiastic people who are confident to take on the challenges that the role can bring. Really demonstrate how your experiences will aid you in the role and be positive throughout the day. Ask questions, be engaged, and enjoy it. If you get things wrong, don't worry. Recognise your mistakes and turn it into a positive - show that you can learn quickly. It is a fantastic company to work for and if you show that you want to work for them, your chances of being given the role are a lot higher.

The day started with a welcome presentation. A schedule had been created for each person of when they would do their verbal/numerical reasoning test (which wasn't difficult), marketing presentation, and another for the one-on-one interview. There is a fair bit of waiting around at this part of the day, but everyone was so lovely and it wasn't one of those uncomfortable assessment days where you feel you are in competition with everyone. Yes there is an element of competition, but the other candidates were all lovely and we all chatted about our experiences.
The marketing presentation (task given before assessment day itself): my task was to create a sales event or marketing initiative and present it to one of the interviewers. Be clear, concise and confident. I typed up my presentation, but maintain eye contact and be positive about your idea.
The one-on-one interview: this was more about your experiences and skills and gives you the opportunity to really sell yourself. Be confident throughout and ask questions; show your interest and passion to work for Explore. There were a few more scenario questions at this point too.
We were then taken to Zizzi's for lunch; the most stressful part of the day was over so it was nice to just relax and chat with the other candidates and managerial staff.
The afternoon consisted of a group activity. We started by going around the room and picking words out of a hat. We then had to talk about that word for 1 minute. Be imaginative and funny if you can! We were then split into 2 groups and given a survival scenario; rating objects in order of importance.
The day then ended, and we were told we would find out within 3 working days if we were successful.

First, I had a telephone interview just to go over my application form and CV. They told me straight away that I had made it to the next stage.

For the interview stage, I was interview by the Director and one of the Assistant Directors at the centre. I was given a tour of the centre first. I had to prepare a 5 minute role play to promote a gym to someone in a supermarket. This went really well, and they let you do it again. You must keep asking them questions and getting to know them - they like that! For the rest of the interview they asked me competency and scenario questions. I got to spend a short time with the children, but there were only 3 there due to it being the holidays. I got to talk to them and the tutor they were with.

Overall, they were really friendly and made you feel at ease during the interview.

The questions weren't overly difficult, as I had prepared a lot for most of them. I guess the scenario questions were the hardest as you never quite know what they'll ask.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the Assessment Day stage. The feedback they gave me was that my managerial style wasn't assertive enough, so this may be a hint to what they want! Make sure you make a real effort when you get to speak to the children. I wish I was able to have more time with them and that there were more of them there so I could've have shown them more of my ability.

5 minute role play.

I personally did not have to have a telephone interview due to my experience, but have seen many do.
The interview was very relaxing and the staff put you at ease. Firstly they take you on a little tour of the centre and let you ask questions (they liked being asked questions- so do your research). We then had a sit down and spoke about marketing, teamwork, leadership and working with children. The questions were easy to answer providing you had prepared. There were a lot of scenario based questions, but they were really common sense. I then had to do my role play (which you have to prepare in advance). This was scary at first but then they give you feedback and you get the chance to act on the feedback and do it again.

After the initial interview I was given the chance to play on the systems they use before working with the children.

There weren't any particularly difficult questions.

You need to be prepared! Look on there website and get a feel for what they expect from an assistant director. It might be handy to go into one of the centres and see what they do, so when you have your chance to work with the children you're prepared. Everyone freaks out with the role play but when you're in there it's actually not that bad.... so don't worry!

Most importantly let your personality shine through!

My Assessment Centre will take place in April but I understand this will be two interviews, a role play and a presentation along with team working and simple tests.

After completing a very complex application procedure between November and December 2013 (in which 4 copies of all my academic records, references, passport, medical assessments etc. had been posted to the Embassy of Japan in London), I was e-mailed to say that I had been invited to interview (which I had to confirm my prospective attendance again by e-mail) in late January 2014 at the JET Office in the Embassy of Japan in London. I had applied for the ALT position with a friend and we both were given a 1pm interview time so we traveled down to London together by coach the day before and stayed in a cheap hotel about 20 minutes away and on the day arrived at the Embassy at around 11.30am so we had plenty of time to check-in to the Embassy which was also quite a complicated procedure. Then a previous JET member guided us around the building (who had completed two years of ALT teaching in the city of Sanda in Japan), we completed a 5-minute written English test prior to the interview, then talked to other previous JET members to find out about their experiences whilst watching a sample video of the experiences of teaching in Japan, then I was called to be seated outside the interview room with a large sign placed in front of me which I had to read before entering the room (it said in large letters that if I went into the interview room before I was called in by an interviewer then my interview would be cancelled and I would have to leave - it's just so that I don't overhear anything that would give me an advantage over other candidates prior to interview, but it felt like I was waiting for a long time, possibly 20 minutes to be called in), then when I was asked to come in I shook the hand of the English interviewer who led me into the large interview room to be seated in front of a grand wooden desk, the English interviewer sat next to a Japanese interviewer at the desk, and there was another Japanese man seated separately like myself and he was judging how well the interviewers interviewed me. I shook everyone's hands both when I arrived and when I left the room, and I was asked questions as to why and how I could bridge the gap between science and teaching? why Japan and JET specifically? to which I answered I was very interested in science communication which I could possibly add to this programme and it would give me an edge over other candidates, and I have always been interested in Japan but not for the animé more specifically for the culture/food/hobbies that can be carried out in Japan, the humbleness and hospitableness of the people of Japan and the fact that I knew somebody who had previously been involved with a JET-like activity and who had said they enjoyed it (they actually applied to JET but had to cancel as they didn't graduate in time for the programme but have since participated in the Interac programme which is very similar; HOWEVER, please if you mention you do know somebody who has participated in the JET programme find out what specifically they enjoyed about the TEACHING ASPECT of the programme as I was grilled on this but didn't actually have an answer - so I sort of tried to bluff my way by saying something I thought they might like to hear, but they may well have seen through my bluff, please be prepared!!!), the interview lasted around 20 minutes like they said it would in the interview letter and I think overall it went quite well but I find out in April 2014 whether I have the place outright or whether I'm on the reserve list or whether I don't have a place at all.

Could you demonstrate for us how you would teach a class of Japanese children? and I had to stand up and pretend to be a teacher (bare in mind that I have had no formal teacher training whatsoever, but this didn't matter as I wasn't expected to have any, apparently I found out later from friends who had previously applied that they were testing me to see how I cope under pressure / the unexpected)

Just be yourself, apparently they seem to want you to be humorous and be able to story-tell and be interesting, but just do your best as many of the questions were unexpected as they asked me about my previous cultural experiences and if your previous jobs aren't compatible with teaching, they really drill down to the specifics as to why you want to change into teaching from your previous area of expertise (mine being science) and how you would be a good candidate because of your previous experience / how you can apply it to teaching? ... I would also urge applicants to not focus too much during the previous JET member questioning period (just before being interviewed) as it could cloud your mind if you think too much about things that interest you about the JET programme e.g. social/extracuricular activities as they are not exactly related to the teaching job you will ultimately have, so pose a few questions to the previous JET members but don't lose track of your thoughts / prepared answers to interview questions as it could negatively affect your interview performance if you become too engrossed in what previous JET members did.

As I said the check-in procedure to the Embassy is very complicated, me and my friend had to place our baggage on a conveyer belt and step through a metal detector (similar to the security in the airports), then we walked up a flight of stairs to reach reception where we had to hand in our interview vouchers (which had our names on, details of the assessment which we had previously filled in, an attached passport-sized photo of ourselves), plus our passports (which we needed to bring along for verification purposes), we then had to sit and wait for around 20 minutes in a separate see-through-glass-seperated exhibit room (which contained Japanese artifacts / pieces of art/literature of importance to the Embassy) which already contained two other applicants to the JET programme who were interviewed around the same time as me and my friend, then we were called upon and guided through a set of electronic lock-operated wooden double doors by the previous JET member who was wearing an earpiece to receive instructions from JET interviewers/officials within the building, we left our phones etc. in lockers and then went up in a lift to complete the written English test (there were 5 grammar/spelling/proof-reading questions which had to be answered in 5 minutes, both me and my friend only answered the first 4 questions - it is very difficult to complete in such a short amount of time as each of the questions were fairly detailed / require a good amount of concentration), then we spoke to previous JET members about their time e.g. where were they placed in Japan? did they get involved in AJET? (= like universities have an NUS organisation in England, the JET programme has AJET for job-related issues, extracurricular activity organisation etc) What level of Japanese speaking / writing proficiency are they now at following the JET programme? etc. ... it was quite useful and completely different experience to the interviews I have had in the past.

The interview process was in three stages - phone interview, centre interview and assessment day. The phone interview included many of the generic questions - why Explore Learning, why this role, what can you bring to Explore etc. They asked situational questions in all face-to-face interviews so for that just remember the customer always comes first.

The centre interview consisted of a face to face interview, a sales role play and around ten minutes interacting with the children. The face to face interview asked similar questions to the telephone interview. The sales role pay you should prepare for in advance, and they are really looking for you to engage with the customer, so ask loads of questions. For example my role play was for a gym free trail, so ask questions around their fitness, what they are looking for in a gym etc, and then cater the information to their needs. As for the children exercise, they just want to see how you interact, so just be friendly.

All interviews were very relaxed and friendly, as they wanted to see your personality and passion shine through. So prepare for it as you would for any other interview, by researching the company values and illustrating with examples how you are like that yourself. I'd say the key thing for success with Explore Learning is to show enthusiasm and passion for education and children - helping children reach their potential. Also, they are looking for team players and people willing to learn, so demonstrate this in group exercises.

The main tip for succeeding with Explore is you personality and enthusiasm. They want team players and so are watching you even during the break sessions, to see how you interact with others. Despite feeling that I did not do my best, I got the job with Explore, as they said my friendly team player attitude, enthusiasm and willingness to learn all shown through .

The assessment centre was very relaxed, and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. We had a face to face interview, a personal compass presentation (on who we are and where we plan to go), a sales role play and a group exercise. You have to prepare the presentation and sales role play before hand. With the sales role play you are trying to book a free day trail for Explore Learning with a parent - main tip here would be to ask questions to get to know the customer. For example, ask their names, do they have any children, childrens ages, how are they doing in school etc. I struggled with this task as I found these questions were to probing and personal to ask someone straight away.

In the group task we had to represent a charity, and debate why each of our charities deserved funding. This task was pushed for time, but the team demonstrated diplomatic behavior, as we all listened to one another and bounced off eachother when presenting back to the interviewers.

The interview took place at a local Explore Learning centre. You undertake an initial interview with the Centre Director covering your background and transferable skills and then receive a tour of the Centre.

Following this you are required to interact with a number of children whilst they go through their work for the day. This is nothing to worry about and the kids are happy to discuss their work and progress. My best advice would be to simply enjoy this process and be as natural with the children as possible.

Most of the questions were relatively straightforward and typical fare although they will vary depending on your background and experience. There were no trick questions or attempts to catch you out, just be clear on your motivations for the role and your ability to handle the sales aspect.

"What techniques would you use to sell Explore to passers-by in a shopping centre?"

Make sure the role is for you and use websites like graduate-jobs.com to fully research it. I realised about half way through the day that the role was not exactly what I had expected nor something I would be interested in pursuing and thus struggled to motivate myself to take the group activity etc seriously, especially knowing I had spent the best part of £100 to attend the interview! I felt the management side of the role had been exaggerated and that the long term development I had hoped for wasn't really available at Explore. However if you enjoy working with children and basic sales work it seems this could be a fulfilling role.

If you read up carefully on the role and the values of the company you should be fine. Little practical experience is required and your attitude is the most important factor. When undertaking the sales role-play, make a real effort to get to know the person you're speaking to and make sure to ask lots of questions.The recruitment staff were all pleasant, friendly and tried to put candidates at ease so don't worry beforehand about nerves.

An initial presentation on the company from the recruitment staff is followed by one on one interviews and a presentation that you will have prepared before hand. This can be done via whichever medium you prefer but the majority of candidates created powerpoint presentations. You then perform a sales roleplay, attempting to book a passer-by in for a free trial with Explore. There is also a simple maths and English test which requires no revision.

After this you go out to lunch with the other candidates and members of the explore recruitment team. Finally you return to the office for a group presentation.

The day was fairly well organised and had a relaxed atmosphere. There is a lot of down time between tasks to speak to other candidates and refreshments are provided. There are no expenses paid for travel however, which given that all assessment centres take place in Guildford is not ideal. Several candidates had come down from the North of England and had to pay considerable fees for train tickets and accommodation.