The Present Teacher Podcast

5 Things You Need to Hear Before Your Next Teacher Interview

• Helena Hains • Season 1 • Episode 109

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Feeling nervous for your next teacher interview and looking for a pep talk or teacher mindset tips?

Here we break down 5 things you need to hear before you go to your next teacher interview. These teacher interview mindset tips will help you show up with confidence during your next interview.

These teacher interview strategies will help you confidently build relationships during your next interview, answer teacher interview questions with ease, and know with confidence how to continue during the interview process.

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//  ABOUT

I’m Helena, a coach for new and first-year teachers sharing knowledge on how to have a thriving career and personal life.

The Present Teacher Podcast is a resourcefor teacher interviews, classroom setup, classroom management, and time management. Follow along and learn how to thrive in the classroom and in life.

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Helena Hains:

So you're getting ready for your next teacher interview and you're feeling a little bit nervous. Well, today I'm going to be sharing five things you need to hear before you go to your next teacher interview. So, with that being said, let's dive in. Hey, teacher Bestie, my name is Helena and I'm the creator of the Present Teacher Podcast. I'm a first year teacher coach and in this podcast, you are going to learn everything from simple, actionable classroom management, social learning and teacher wellness strategies. You know that impact you want to make in the classroom. We're going to make it happen here.

Helena Hains:

When I first started interviewing, I was 21 at the time and I had just graduated with my master's and I was really, really worried about interviewing as a first-time teacher because I was terrified that districts wouldn't take me seriously because I was so young and I didn't have a lot of experience. But as I went through the interview process, I started to shift my mindset and I started to wonder how could I see things differently? And that's when I discovered interviewing is having coffee with your future best friend. So that's the first thing I want to bring up to your attention is interviewing doesn't have to be scary. In fact, when I made this mindset shift. I found interviewing to be a lot easier. You see, when you are going on an interview, all you are doing is actually getting to know the district and letting them get to know you. It's a lot like meeting a college friend or a friend somewhere and asking for to get a cup of coffee, to get to know each other, to see whether or not you can connect and if you're aligned. That's the exact same thing with interviewing, and this has been the secret to figuring out or discovering that I actually really love interviewing, because it's a lot like speed dating or getting to know different districts and seeing which ones feel really aligned to you. So instead of you know, feeling really nervous for your upcoming interview, just remind yourself that interviewing gets to be easy and interviewing gets to be fun. Interviewing is nothing more than grabbing a cup of coffee with my best friend and them asking my opinions on a couple of areas in my life, specifically teaching. It's just like going with my best friend and talking about the work day and getting to know them and seeing what they think about teaching too. So next time that you are feeling a bit nervous, start thinking about a time that you've had coffee with a friend and how easy and flowy it is, and remind yourself that that's how an interview gets to feel too.

Helena Hains:

The second thing I want to remind you when it comes to preparing for an upcoming interview is to get clear on your values and be yourself. So when I talk about your values, I'm talking about what kind of teacher do you want to be and what are you trying to achieve as a teacher? Now, a couple different ways to come up with your values is you can start thinking about either other teachers that you had that you really looked up to, and even teachers who you didn't necessarily agree with, and you could start thinking about what did they stand by? What did I know to be true about them, so, and what kind of teacher do I want to be, whether that's something that I liked in other teachers or things I often disliked. So I can give you a couple of example of these.

Helena Hains:

One of my values as a teacher is that I really try to be positive, not only in my personal life and here on this community, but I try really hard to be positive for my students and to create a really positive environment for them, because I feel like it's really important, especially with all the negativity in the world. So whenever I make a decision or I look at integrating something in my classroom or working at a district, I try to find an area that's really positive. Some other values I personally have is my authenticity. I believe it's really important to not only be authentically myself, but to create a safe space for my students to be authentically themselves as well, because I believe authenticity is honestly beautiful and it's one of the best things about being a teacher is you get to see students as they are and who they grow up to be. So that's my second value. My third value would be inclusivity, or being inclusive. As a teacher who is ESL endorsed, I try really hard to incorporate culturally responsive practices in my classroom, practices in my classroom and to make sure that all cultures feel represented and equal and welcomed into my classroom and that all voices are seen, heard and understood.

Helena Hains:

So take some time to think about what kind of values do you want to have as a teacher? Think about if you were a teacher 10 years from now. What kind of teacher would you want to be and what kind of values does that teacher have? How are they naturally in a conversation or naturally in a school day while they talk with their students and then start listing out some values you have I typically like to go with three or five and then, as you think about these values, start applying them into the interview process, start thinking about what kind of values does the school have and are my values aligned? And as you go throughout your interview, lean into that. Lean into what your values naturally are. If you value special education and you are a big advocate for that lean into that in your interview. If you really value being inclusive or being positive or encouraging, make sure to incorporate that into your interview and just be yourself, because if you try to be anyone else but your authentic self, interviewers are going to see right through that and they're not going to fill a connection with you.

Helena Hains:

It's a lot easier to connect with people when you're authentically yourself, and a great way to stand out is to be yourself. What you will often find and you might be scared to put yourself out there and be yourself is when you are naturally yourself, people who like you for who you are are going to feel magnetized and come into your life, whereas if you who you are, if you're authentically yourself, then the people that don't jive with you are going to naturally be repelled, and that's actually a good thing, because you don't want to work for a district that doesn't value for who you are and who you are authentically yourself. One person that I absolutely love who really encompasses being authentically yourself is La Maestra Loca. She is just authentically herself and she has such a strong community because she's naturally herself. And I try really hard on this channel to be authentically myself so that people like you, who feel aligned and probably have very similar values as me, will feel naturally connected to me and want to be inside this community, whereas, if you know there's people out there that don't connect with my values and who I am, I'm perfectly fine with them finding another teacher or coach who connects with them.

Helena Hains:

So, that being said, take some time to think to yourself what are my values, what kind of teacher do I want to be and what kind of values does this district have? And know that yourself, being yourself, is enough. It is good to be loud and proud and authentically yourself, whether you have a wild, crazy personality, whether you're more monotone, whether you're more chill and relaxed and reserved and laid back. Whatever it is, be yourself and that's going to help, you know, magnetize the districts that are going to be a really good fit for you, to want to work with you and want to have you included in their team and in their staff. So remind yourself that it is safe to be myself. I decide to be myself. I know that being myself is enough. The districts who love me for who I am will naturally be connected to me and naturally be magnetized towards me. I get to be myself and it is safe to do so. When I am myself, districts love me. Districts are reaching out to me to have me be a part of their team, and myself is enough and being myself is enough and I love myself, and it gets to be easier and easier and easier.

Helena Hains:

The third piece of advice I have for you, before you go into your next teacher interview, is your biggest weakness is your biggest strength. So at the beginning I shared this story about how, when I was 21 years old, I graduated with my master's and I was terrified that districts wouldn't hire me because I was so young and sure, I had student teaching experience, but I wasn't as experienced as some other candidates and so I looked at that as a weakness and I was often comparing myself to the possible candidates that they were probably going to talk to, like, oh, they're not going to hire me because they're probably going to hire that veteran teacher or that 20-year teacher who knows what they're doing and doesn't require a lot of resources. But that's when I started to pause and ask myself, what if I looked at this differently? What if things could be easier? What if, instead of you know, being a first year teacher was a bad thing? What if I could start looking at this as a good thing? And that's when I started listing out all the good things about hiring a first year teacher. I came up with things like well, I want to find a district that I want to work at long-term, and that puts me at a slight advantage over teachers who may have more experience but are towards the end of their career and closer to retirement. The second thing I came up with is I'm new and I'm happy to incorporate new things because I'm so new and so that puts me at a slight advantage. And what I did is, towards the end of each interview question, I just started naturally bringing up these you know strengths and skills into the conversation, and that's when something amazing happened. The more I said it, the more confident I became, because I had turned my biggest reason as to why people wouldn't hire me as the biggest reason as to why people will hire me, and it showed up in the interview. So much so that, during my two and only interviews for my first teaching position, I was offered the job during the interview.

Helena Hains:

And so, with that being said, it takes some time to think about what is my biggest weakness. Is it because you are experienced? Or maybe you're a first year teacher? Is it that you have, you know, experience outside of teaching and this is your second career? Could it be that you feel like you I don't know really struggle with classroom management? What is the reason why you think districts won't hire you?

Helena Hains:

And then ask yourself how can I see this differently? How can this be different? How can I change my mindset? How can I look at this as a positive? Instead of no one's going to hire me because I'm experienced, turn it to districts will hire me because I'm experienced and they're looking for someone experienced to join their team. Maybe, instead of I'm a first year teacher, no one's going to want to hire me, turn it into districts are going to want to hire me because they see me as a long-term investment to their district and they know they can train me the way they want me to be trained. If it's because you have an alternative license, instead of no one's going to hire me because I have an alternative license, turn it into people are going to hire me because I have an alternative license and I have experience in this area outside of teaching, and that puts me at an advantage than other teachers.

Helena Hains:

What I'm getting at is switch it around. Turn your biggest weakness into your biggest strength and, throughout the interview, naturally start bringing it up in a conversation and that'll help you feel more confident. If this is something you want to dive more into, I definitely cover more of this inside Land your Dream Job, which is a mini course that walks you through everything from prepping and discovering which districts to apply to to all the way through the interview process, to how to reflect on the interview, how to follow up, what to say during the follow-up and how to keep the ball moving from one interview to another so you can land your dream job and work for a district that's aligned for you. But the point is, turn your biggest weakness into your it factor. Turn your biggest weakness into your biggest strength and you're going to feel that much more confident. And let me just say I believe in you. You got this. You know if I can do this, if I can turn every interview I've been to into, I get hired during the interview and I'm just a typical average teacher. I know it's possible for you too. So take some time, really dive deep. What is hanging you up? What is making you not feel confident about your interview? And turn that biggest weakness into your biggest strength. It's going to change your life. So remind yourself, my weaknesses are my strengths. My biggest weakness is the biggest reason why districts are going to hire me. I am enough. I am enough. I am enough. I can do this. I'm getting closer to landing my dream position. Every single day I take inspired action and I get closer and closer. The districts of my dreams are naturally attracted to me and as I continue to be myself and lean into my biggest weaknesses and strengths, districts will naturally love me for who I am and want me to be a part of their team. All right, so the next little message or tip I have for you before you start your interview or go to your next interview is the right district will find you Now.

Helena Hains:

When I transitioned from one school to another, I worked in a district for three years as a kindergarten teacher and I absolutely loved it. I had supportive staff, supportive admin and it wasn't bad. But I just felt like it was time for a change. I naturally felt like I had an hour and 15 minute commute and that wasn't something I wanted to do as a future possible mother. And I also noticed that this district was very small and it didn't quite have the special education resources that I would want in case my future students or future kids needed those accommodations and there were some other things. I just naturally felt like it was time for me to move on. Kindergarten was getting a bit stale and a lot of the staff there were people who had worked there for 20 years. Because it was such a good district, it just didn't quite feel aligned to me anymore. Not that it was anyone's fault, so I started to look elsewhere.

Helena Hains:

When I went online, I got clear on who I was, who I wanted to be and what kind of district I was looking for. I started thinking about my values, what kind of teacher I wanted to be, what kind of future mom did I wanted to be and what kind of district I was looking for. I started thinking about my values, what kind of teacher I wanted to be, what kind of future mom did I want to be, and I needed a district to help me get there. And I started listing out and dreaming what kind of district do I want to work with? And I started jotting down in my journal about how my dream district would be supportive and admin would come in throughout the day just to check on things and hang out with the kids and I would have the strongest team ever and staff would feel like a family and all of these important things that were important to me at the time. And I started writing that down. And then I went out and I found that I wanted something nearby and the school that was five minutes maybe nine talks from my house was hiring and I didn't apply anywhere else. I looked at that district's values and I knew without a doubt I was meant to work there and those that was the district that was going to help me be the mother, the teacher I wanted to be and align with my values. So I applied and I got the job.

Helena Hains:

So the point is, the right district will find you when you get clear on who you want to be, what kind of future you want to be, what kind of district and school you want to work for. The clearer you get, the easier it is for that kind of district to get into your life or that kind of school to come into your life. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying my district and my school isn't perfect or is perfect by any means, but I'm saying you can get pretty close to it and when you work for a district that feels aligned with you, it feels so amazing. And this staff that I have is everything that I wanted. It's supportive. I have so many teacher friends that I know I could text right now and they would have my back no matter what, and being clear on what kind of district I wanted helped me get there. So I want to invite you to remind yourself the right district will find you.

Helena Hains:

You just have to take your inspired action and get clear on what kind of district you want to work for. And when I say inspired action, I believe that whatever you feel like your heart wants to do, that's your desired action, that's the universe like your heart wants to do. That's your desired action, that's the universe, god, whatever you believe in guiding you towards the future self you want to be and the life you want to have. So when you feel this calling to hmm, maybe I'm going to check this out that's often a guidance of going towards what you want, whereas if you feel like you have to pull your arm or twist your arm to get you to do something, that's oftentimes out of alignment. There were a ton of districts at the time when I was looking at switching districts that I could have looked at, but instead I got really clear on what I wanted and I followed my desires. And now I am here. So, and as a reminder, if I can do it, you can too. Average teacher here, average person I love myself. I think I'm flipping amazing, but I'm just like you.

Helena Hains:

So, with that being said, remind yourself, the right district will find me. Every single day it gets closer and closer and I am watching for the days when I get to work for my dream district. I picture the district in the school in my mind. I am clear on what I want. My heart is safe guidance. My desires are safe guidance. My heart is always right and the time is always. Now I am getting closer and closer. I am watching for those days. I am authentically myself and I am enough. I am enough, I am enough. The district I want to work for is naturally attracted to me. All I have to do is to take one action at a time and I will work there, I believe, at 1000%.

Helena Hains:

So last piece of advice I have for you is you know, not popular belief, but interviewing gets to be easy. This goes a lot with my first point, but it's easy to see everybody online talk about oh well, I applied to 20 jobs and I never got a single one. Or be careful, you know, applying for jobs in today's world, because it's got to be super hard. And you know, maybe in the past you've applied to districts and they just didn't work out. And it's okay if that's been your life before. But decide right now. It gets to be easy, it gets to be fun.

Helena Hains:

Interviewing is nothing more than having a conversation and getting clear on whether or not this is going to be mutually beneficial. The only difference between you and the people who have a job now is they took inspired action and they figured out what worked for them. That is the only difference. They are nothing more, nothing less than you. They are the exact same as you. They have, you know, the exact same as you, and so just know that you are enough, you are enough, you are enough, you are enough, and interviewing gets to be easy. Interviewing gets to be fun. If you decide that interviewing is going to be frustrating, you're going to apply to 50 places and hear one interview and not get a call back. You are bringing that energy to the interview and it's probably not going to work out, whereas if you show up with the confidence like this is going to be fun. Let's have a conversation to see if this is mutually beneficial and I'm excited to get to know you and your district and I want to share with you who I naturally am and how I think I'm going to benefit this school and this district and its missions. When you show up for that kind of energy and that enthusiasm, you are way more likely to attract the districts of your dreams or whatever outcome.

Helena Hains:

If you think it's going to be easy, it gets to be easy. You get to decide what kind of journey you have. So if you have tried the hard path you have told yourself repeatedly that it's going to be hard. You have told yourself repeatedly that it's going to be hard. Decide now that it gets to be easy. It gets to be easy. It gets to be simple. My steps are enough. I am enough. I am exactly where I need to be. There's nothing wrong with my journey so far. I choose for it to be easy. I decide that my district is easily attracted to me. All I have to do is show up and be myself. The easier it gets, the easier it gets, the better it gets, the better it gets.

Helena Hains:

And as this kind of, if you're processing this, you might think to yourself a deep thought of maybe I'm not enough. And let me remind you you are enough, you are qualified enough, you are smart enough. Those are all lies trying to stop you from working or dream job. You are enough If you desire to be here, if your heart is telling you I'm meant to be a teacher, you are meant to be a teacher and I 100% believe in that. And if you are telling yourself, I'm not smart enough, I'm not qualified enough, those are lies, those are absolute lies, and turn those into your strengths. Turn those into why you are. You are smart enough and list out all the reasons why you're smart enough. If you're not, you know, qualified enough, list all the ways you were qualified and think outside the box. If you feel like you know you haven't had enough experience, list out all the experience you've had. If you're not really good at classroom management enough experience list out all the experience you've had. If you're not really good at classroom management, list out all the areas you're really good at and remember the places that you are not there yet.

Helena Hains:

You get to look at other people as inspiration. A lot of the experts you see are where they're at because they sucked at something, because they were terrible at something and they turned it into how can I make this my strength. And they worked on it and now they get to become experts on it. So I believe in you and it gets to be easy. It gets to be fun, if that's what you decide it gets to be, and that's why I love interviewing, because I've decided. I've decided it gets to be easy, I've decided it gets to be fun, and that is that. That's how it is, that's how it was. I decided that I get to find my dream district and when I do. They offer me the job on the spot, and they did so. That wraps up the top five things I want you to listen to and hear before you go to your interview. Closing thoughts Be yourself, you are flipping, amazing and I 100% believe in you. Let me know when your upcoming interview is so I can cheer you on, and then also let me know when you get aligned and you get your dream job, because I love hearing about your wins.

Helena Hains:

If you want to learn more about interviewing, I have a ton of content on interviewing on my podcast and YouTube channel, so make sure to dive in on those. I also have a four-part series that walks you through things like what interview questions to ask, how to answer interview questions, what to wear and how to prepare, and et cetera. So don't forget to go back and listen to those. They're from last. I think they're from 2021. No, 2022 or 2023, something like that, anyways. So make sure to go back and listen to those. And then also, if you want to take it a step further, I want to invite you to download my free interview guide. It walks you through the top 10 questions I get in regards to interviewing and I also link to additional podcasts and YouTube videos so you can start diving in and listening to past content about interviewing, and it's all in one spot so you don't have to shuffle through all my content now.

Helena Hains:

Second thing I mentioned this earlier, but land your dream job is something I truly believe in and I am so excited about. I started working with teachers online and I noticed that a lot of them were not feeling as confident about their teacher interview and they were looking for ways to feel more confident during their interview, so I created this program to help them come up with their it factor. But also, how do you start researching districts that are aligned with you? How do you apply and incorporate things like their mission statement, their values and your it factor into that process? How do you show up during the interview like a badass and show them how amazing you are and how you can contribute to their school, and then how do you follow up? And then how do you reflect on the process so you get better and better and it gets easier and easier over time.

Helena Hains:

Here's the thing, though I know as teachers right now, you're probably either teaching, student teaching, graduating, you know in between moving and all that, and you don't have time to spend weeks on this. You need something fast. So that's why I created Land your Dream Job. It's a mini course program that I created that will help you get prepared in a single weekend. The whole idea of the content is for it to be short, sweet, punchy and actionable, because I'm not adding fluff. You don't have time for that. I don't have time for that. So short, actionable steps to help you land your dream job quick, easily and efficiently and with some fun. And so if you want to join that, you can learn more in the description down below.

Helena Hains:

Final thing if you want some help coming up with, like your resume and your cover letter, or maybe you want wording on how to word it right, or maybe you want a peek into my resume or cover letter, or maybe you need help with resignation letters, resume or cover letter, or maybe you need help with resignation letters, how do I tell my current district I'm leaving in a way that lets them know in a positive light, so it's nothing against them. How do I follow up in an email and how do I word it so they remember me and it reminds them that I'm still interested, without feeling needy or sounding like too desperate. All of this stuff I did for you. I created the ultimate teacher interview bundle and in there I already wordsmithed everything. You just get to fill stuff in and it comes with 10 cover letter, resume and templates pre-filled out. You just have to adjust it and stuff like follow-up emails, resignation letters, etc. So if that's something you're interested in, make sure to check out the Ultimate Teacher Interview Bundle in the description down below.

Helena Hains:

As always, remember we are stronger together. Thank you so much for joining me, teacher Bestie, and I'll see you in the next one. Bye. Thank you so much for joining me on today's episode. I hope that you were able to take away some value that will help you thrive inside and out of the classroom. It would mean the world to me if you could take five seconds right now and leave a review on this podcast. And if you found this podcast especially helpful, make sure to take a screenshot of this episode right now and tag me on your socials to let me know you're listening. As always, remember that we are stronger together. With all the love in the world, helena, aka the present teacher. See you next time, teacher bestie.

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