Education & Teaching Interview Questions & Answers

Friendly, welcoming staff made the interview process pleasant and intimidating. There was multiple opportunities to gain feedback throughout the process which meant you could adapt and respond immediately. Both days enabled me to gain an insight into the company and it's ethos, enabling me to be sure it was the right choice for me as well as the right choice for them.

The gym membership role play was tough to prep for as I was initially unsure what they were looking for.

Be confident and assertive. They are looking for people for have initiative and drive but also great interpersonal skills. Practical business awareness and common sense is key too. For the role play, be sure to ask questions rather than just doing a sales pitch, as they are looking for the ability to build rapport with a new customer.

Head office, head office staff conducting interviews.

The interview was conducted in a very friendly manner, in the formal and prestigious setting of the University of Portsmouth's Business School. The interview lasted approximately 45 minutes and was split between the panel asking a few short answer questions and then asking the interviewee to elaborate and describe some previous experience and skills.

What makes you stand out from the other applicants? - Hard to judge the calibre of other applicants and therefore hard to pick which strength of yours best highlights what distinguishes you from them

Preparation is critical. The feedback I received from my succesful interview was that the panel were impressed and struck by how targeted and in depth my research of the role and my supervisors had been prior to the interview. It is easy to state that you are passionate about a role, the people you want to be working alongside, and the institution, but it is very easy for this to come across as predictable and uninspiring unless you have put the effort in to obtain the knowledge to back up your claims.

There was no assessment centre.

The interviewers were very friendly and approachable. I was asked questions about the 8 competencies Teach First have. The easiest way to prepare is to come up with two examples of each competency. There were generic question about my motivation to join the program and why I wanted to work with children.

Describe a time you went out of your way for a long-term goal.

Make use of all resources available before the interview, use the time to call them and discuss any concerns; Be open and approachable during the interview; Professionalism is a must. Show leadership skills.

We did a group task about solving a problem in a school. After that, there was a role-playing delivery of a lesson.

The one-to-one interview was the first part of the assessment centre and in this I was tested on the 8 competencies including my knowledge of Teach First and the Leadership Development Programme . The interview was really friendly and gave me enough time to give lots of detail in my answers but would stop me if she needed to move on. She gave me time to think of an appropriate answer for each question and would repeat or go back to the question at the end if necessary.

When have you done something wrong in a team?

When have you received feedback or criticism for something recent and how did you respond?

When have you persevered with something difficult to achieve a long-term goal?

Be as detailed and specific as possible in your answers. Make sure you smile and make a good impression from the start.

In the group case study, make sure you make yourself heard but actively take on board everyone elses opinions and don't become overbearing or too loud. Include everyone in the discussion.

At first there was a one-to-one interview where you are tested on teach first's 8 competencies and your ability to display them well. The interviewer was friendly and would repeat the question or go back to it at the end if need be.

Then there was a group case study, where you worked in a group to come to decisions on a case study you were given. i was given a break aftet the case study and then had to do an oral self-evaluation of the case study with an interviewer.

We had plenty of time to interact and talk to other candidates and also go over any notes, before we were shown some videos about Teach First and what could happen after you were accepted for a place on the programme.

Then I was called in to present a 7 minute sample lesson to 2 assessors who were pretending to be kids. I would have to teach the lesson to them, while responding appropriately to any questions or distractions they posed. Meanwhile a third assessor was at the back taking notes. After this was over, I was taken to a separate room to complete a written self. evaluation of the lesson and then I needed to compete an online feedback form of the assessment centre.

I initially applied online through an application form which asked about my experience in relation to areas of the job- different questions on sales and marketing, leading a team and working with children for example. This took around 2-3 hours so be prepared to give full detailed responses and to sell yourself well. After a few days, I was invited to a centre interview which was with two managers of that particular branch. This interview lasted two hours and was split into a tour of the centre, a competency and cv interview, a sales roleplay exercise and a child observation.

The next stage was an assessment centre in Guildford which lasted the whole day. It was split into an individual interview, a marketing presentation, lunch and a written task.

"A parent comes to the gate whilst you're in the middle of sorting out some figures for the head of Finance. He needs them urgently for a conference later that day. The parent looks very interested in our service and how we can benefit her children. What do you do?"

Research the company well and make sure you understand their vision and values and the job spec. A lot of the job is about performance, sales and marketing so be prepared to talk about relevant experience in that field and how you would make a difference to your centre's performance. Ensure you understand the hours as this makes a huge impact on the longevity of the job- they are long and unsociable so be prepared for that!
The most important thing is just to be yourself and let your personality and passion for children shine through as this is what they mainly recruit on- lots of energy, positivism and smiles!

We had to prepare a marketing presentation in advance which we then presented to the assessor. We could use notes and powerpoint if we liked. We then had to do a school roleplay and sell the benefits of the workshops to the teacher.

In addition, there was an individual interview, focussing on cv, competency and scenario questions. Prepare for these in advance as best you can.

There was a written task asking how you would tutor certain fraction and subtraction problems.

We were taken to zizzi for lunch as well- just be yourselves!

Finally, there was a group activity where you had to choose the five most important items that would help save you from drowning in the ocean when your ship crashes. Don't be alarmed if the assessors are mean to you- they do that on purpose!

The panel of three people (Head of School, two subject specialists) each took turns leading the interview. HOS started with general 'why did you apply for this post', 'what can you bring to the role?', 'detail your past teaching experience' questions. The first subject specialist then questioned teaching practices in more detail (style, nature of teaching, students being taught) with a focus on teaching to first years.Finally, the second subject specialist questioned my research background. It should have lasted half an hour but ran to fifty minutes.

The most difficult question asked for details of a 20 minute conference paper that I delivered 5 years ago and couldn't remember much about. Fortunately, whilst talking about current research I managed to be far more engaging and they seemed genuinely excited by my current project.

The campus is a difficult place to navigate (even with google maps) - give yourself a lot of time to find locations. With it being summer, there weren't even that many people around to ask for directions, and independent departments mean lots of people working there won't know where different academic schools are because they don't need to.

N/A