Mock Interview: Taken Seriously!

                                      
In the middle of February I completed a mock interview with Mr. Bruce Levy, the principal at Shippensburg Area Senior High School.  This interview lasted about a half hour in length and provided great insight as to what an interview for a real teaching job would be like. 

The atmosphere of the interview room was very open and conversational.  I hope my future interviews have that same vibe, but even if they do not initially, I believe that my personality will help to give that calming and happy feeling in an interview.  My goal is always to be professionally happy!  Mr. Levy asked me eleven questions overall and with each question I made sure to thoughtfully respond to all components of the questions while providing tangible examples. 

The questions that Mr. Levy asked are:

1. Tell me about yourself as it applies to this agriculture position.  Why did you choose agriculture as a field of study?
2. Tell me about your certification.
3. What are three words that others would use to describe you?
4. Do you have PA clearances, or clearances of any type?
5. Why did you get into education?
6. What other areas could you help us with?
7. How would you handle a disruptive student in your classroom?
8. Explain what you see as the working relationship between the Ag Teacher and the FFA.
9. Explain what you see as the role of the ag teacher in this digital age, and how comfortable are you with that?
10. What are your experiences, strengths, and weaknesses with technology?
11. Do you have any questions for us?

As I reflected on the interview one of my favorite responses that stuck with me was my answer to the question “Why did you get into education?”  My response was not super intense like “Education is the means for our world’s survival, and if I don’t teach than I am not reaching my full potential.”  No, instead my reply was very heart felt and rather simplistic.  I shared that “I wanted to be a teacher even when I was little.  My sister and I would practice playing school with our chalkboard, even before we were in school.  I wanted to be a teacher even before I realized that ag was cool!”  I love this response because it is simple and powerful.

As I responded to the rest of the questions, I pulled examples from my prior internship, international, and student teaching experiences.  I made sure that within each answer the interviewer would discover another component that helps to make my identity. One of the most important things that I learned in this interview was to never ask more than 3 questions, because that signals to the interviewer that one does not value their time. 

Overall this experience taught me about how to be prepared and that I really do like the feel and environment at Shippensburg High School!