Interviews

Page history last edited by Susan Hefley 3 years, 7 months ago

Member Interview Pages
Interview Practice
Interview Tips
Interview Questions

Member Interview Pages

Please create a link for your own interview page here, and connect with others for interview help. Tell us about your upcoming interviews, how past interviews went and what questions you were asked.

Member Name (geographic location)	Susan (North of Pittsburgh)	Member Name (geographic location)	Member Name (geographic location)
Member Name (geographic location)	Member Name (geographic location)	Member Name (geographic location)	Member Name (geographic location)
Member Name (geographic location)	Member Name (geographic location)	Member Name (geographic location)	Member Name (geographic location)

Interview Practice

Need someone to practice interview questions with? Click on one of the member pages above and learn more about our members, including their contact information and try to get together with someone near you to practice questions and calm your nerves!

Interview Tips

- Calm your nerves

- Stay positive

- Be enthusiastic

- Focus on what you can do for student achievement and on being a team player

- Be yourself

- Don’t drop names

- Don’t ask about pay or benefits

- Think ahead of two or three “big ideas” that make me the librarian I am

- Use anecdotes or personal stories to back up what you say

- Know how to discuss my teaching/management style

- Don’t rush answers

- Be early and review notes ahead of time

- Be kind to the secretary/staff

- Keep track of what you are asked during an interview for the future

-Ask questions

Possible Questions to Ask:

- for a tour of the building if there's time

- what the interviewers see as your role in the school building

- the scope of their educational mission (and how the LMC fits into it)

- what resources you can offer them, as administrators

- could ask about professional development opportunities

- what is the biggest challenge I would face as the librarian at the school

- are there are any written policies (curriculum, selection policy, collection development)

- fixed or flexible schedule

Interview Questions

(beware this list can be quiet long!)

Round One:

What are the most important administrative aspects of the school librarian position?

What professional organizations do you belong to, and do you hold any leadership positions?

Which professional publications do you read/use and why?

Have you had the opportunity to write or work on curriculum planning?

How would you compare the AASL's new Standards for the 21st-Century Learner to the previous Information Power standards?

How will you be able to effectively utilize technology and teach information literacy in a 50-minute period?

What do you know about Understanding by Design, and what do you think about it?

What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

How would your ideal library look?

How would you integrate technology into the classroom?

What is your classroom management style?

What are your goals for the library media center?

What is your assessment methodology?

Round Two:

What is the mission statement of our school district and where can you find it?

How you will use Web 2.0 in your instruction?

What type of formative assessments you would use to improve instruction?

How do you measure your personal growth?

Have you ever ran an author study?

Have you any experience with the Reading Olympics?

Do you know: Grant Wiggins, Jamie McKenzie, Keith Curry Lance, Carol Simpson? (I was asked to briefly describe who each person is)

How will you help teachers differentiate instruction of their library lessons?

What things would you do or prepare before starting as a new librarian in a school?

What do you think about a standards-based curriculum?

What are this year’s Caldecott and Newbery winners?

What kind of atmosphere will you create in the library?

As the gatekeeper of equipment such as cameras, blank CDs, etc., how will you make these things available for teachers?

What will you do to encourage reading in the library?

What process do you use to select books for the library?

How will you help students choose books that are on their reading level and that fit them?

If the library is closed for meetings or other events during the day, like it often is here, how can you still reach out to teachers and students?

We have a science fair here every year. How will you help students with this?

Other Misc. Questions you MAY be asked (taken from our discussion board and online sources):

ALL the principals started out saying, "Tell me about yourself" or something to that degree.

Do you like working with people?

Do you have any experience with audio-visual materials?

Do you have any experience in setting up displays?

How do you feel that your education has prepared you for this job?

Where do you expect to be professionally in five years?

How would you handle a person who objects to a sex education book on the shelf?

How would you handle a question over the phone that you can’t answer immediately?

Is there any time that you would refuse to answer a patron’s request?

If we ask your present supervisor what your present strengths are, what would he/she say?

Why should we hire you?

Name two books you have read within the past two months and describe one of them as though you were recommending it to a patron to read. Why would they want to read it?

Considering your working career, tell about the most stressful event you ever faced, and how you coped with it.

What did you do to prepare for this interview?

What is your style of leadership?

Describe your ideal job.

What was your most challenging supervisory experience?

Why did you elect to attend the University of Pittsburgh?

Why did you choose librarianship as a career?

Tell us about a team or group project you have worked on and how you have contributed to it.

Tell us about your experience with information technology.

Why are you interested in this particular career?

What type of management style do you prefer?

What sorts of people do you enjoy working with most?

What kinds of situations do you find stressful?

What is your knowledge and/or experience of library technology?

Give us an example of a time in which you felt you were able to build motivation in your coworkers or fellow students in school.

Describe the most significant achievement or written project/presentation/report which you have had to complete.

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a librarian?

Give us an example you did in a former job that contributed to a teamwork environment.

What is your philosophy of education?

What qualities do you have that make you an effective teacher?

How would you go about establishing a classroom learning community? What would you do if a conflict arises?

Share with me your strengths, area of growth and what your plan is for that growth area.

Could you talk a little about your experiences with special education (struggling readers, LS, ESL, Title 1)? How do you differentiate instruction and adapt materials?

Talk about the role you see of parents in the classroom, how you communicate with and involve parents in the classroom?

Technology: How you incorporate technology into your teaching each day?

Classroom Management: Address building community and dealing with a difficult child

Inclusion: How will you adapt to meet individual needs/IEP

What types of assessment will you use and why?

How will you prepare students to do well on tests?

How would you differentiate instruction to meet the needs of individual learning styles?

What books are on my summer reading list?

How would you seamlessly integrate technology into my classroom?

What would you like to tell us about yourself?

How would you design differentiated activities to challenge gifted students?

Explain how positive teacher interaction assists in motivating perceived low achievers.

Discuss the effective teaching skills and instructional strategies you would use in your classroom.

How would you provide for a safe, orderly, and positive environment in the classroom?

What kept you going through the difficult times during your student teaching?

What types of students do you feel you identify most with?

Is it more important to be a friend or colleague?

What qualities do you expect of a principal?

What are your strong qualities?

What makes teaching enjoyable to you?

How do you keep learning fun?

A parent calls because he/she feels that child is not being challenged. What do you do?

What contributions would you make to the team?

(4th grade): Name calling situation between three girls. How would you handle it?

How would you incorporate technology in the classroom?

Classroom management / discipline

Parent Communication

Standards / Anchors / Eligible Content / PSSAŠ.How do these help?

Weakness (how it is actually a strength)

Technology know-how

Creating a risk-free and nurturing classroom environment

Be a lifelong learner

Team work / collaboration with colleagues

Why should we hire you? What do you have to offer this district?

How would you adapt your lessons to different readers?

If you were at the mall where would you expect to find a third grader?

How do you view the standards role on you as a teacher?

How did you use standards in the classroom?

How would you adapt/modify assignments for mainstreamed children?

Where do you see yourself professionally in the coming years?

What do you think your greatest strengths/weaknesses are?

Do you see yourself as a team player? What would you bring to the team?

I also remember them asking me my preference for grade level and why.

They also asked me about what I feel is important for creating a successful classroom environment.

What is your experience with differentiated instruction and give examples of how you use it in your teaching?

How do you communicate with parents and keep them updated with what is going on in the classroom?

What is your experience/belief with PSSA's(testing) and or NCLB?

How do you incorporate technology into your teaching on a regular basis?

Give an example of a typical lesson?

Special Education: What is your experience?

What is your 5 year plan?

What makes you a good fit for our district?

How would you encourage students to excel in and out of your classroom?

Why do you think we should hire you? (Do your homework about the districts of your choice. Find about why you would want to work for them. Be honest.)

Why did you go into education?

What makes you a great educator?

What would you do in your classroom to build confidence in each student? Increase motivation?

What attributes do you feel you have that would enhance the culture of our school?

Tell me about your comfort level with technology and how you see yourself incorporating it into your classroom.

What behavior management system do you/would you use in your classroom?

Classroom setup

What would I see/hear if I walked into your classroom?

How would you handle a student with consistent discipline problems?

How can you differentiate instruction, especially when it comes to inclusion?

Describe yourself in five different words

How do you handle behavior and how do you manage extreme disruptive behaviors?