Interview resources for Early Career Teachers

Early career teachers all over the UK are gearing up for the new school year and are looking to their futures.

If you’re preparing for life in the classroom and want to give yourself the best chance of landing your dream role to kick-start your teaching career, here are some of the best tips and resources to make sure you are fully prepared and confident for your interviews!

Make sure you know what to expect

Remember that the interview will likely only form part of the process and that a school might expect you to look around, teach an interview lesson and to meet staff and pupils.

Make sure you’re aware of what to expect in advance so that you can prepare everything you might need – don’t be afraid to ask questions before-hand if you’re unsure on any parts of the process.

If you are expected to teach a lesson or to present, as an early career teacher you should opt for topics that you know well, as this will enable you to showcase your knowledge and passion effectively.

You can find an array of potential interview questions and answers via Twinkl and Tes too, which can provide a useful reference tool when it comes to planning and structuring answers.

WikiJob also has similar guidance, alongside notes on how to prepare if you need to demonstrate a sample lesson.

Speak clearly and concisely

Take a second to compose yourself before answering any questions during the interview and carefully consider what you wish to say to ensure you’re answering what is asked.

Try to avoid mumbling and make sure that everyone in the room can hear your answers if more than one person is interviewing you.

Look to keep your answers simple and include key information which demonstrates your experience – ideally, examples will demonstrate a task, alongside how you approached it and what the outcomes were.

Demonstrate your skills

While you may not have a lot of classroom experience, you still have an array of relevant skills that you’ll need to showcase in the interview.

Look to the job description for hints of what the school is looking for and think of examples where you can demonstrate the key capabilities that are expected – these could come from your time in teaching training or any other part of life.

Anything you say when you answer a question should be backed up by at least one example, and by more if possible if you really wish to stand out.

Look to have pre-planned examples in mind, which can then be referenced if certain themes and topics come up in the interview.

Showcase your research

Prior to any interview for a new role, an early career teacher should spend plenty of time reading about the school and digging deeper into how it operates.

Then during the interview, look to mention aspects such as the school ethos and its values, and use examples show what they mean to you.

An early career teacher may also wish to reference past exam results or news stories, as these also help to demonstrate that you’ve taken the time to learn about the setting in which you want to work.

Focus on you!

The nature of being an early career teacher means that others might have more classroom experience than you, but it’s likely you also offer things that they cannot.

The interview is an opportunity for you to showcase your enthusiasm for the role and the sheer fact you have the interview is a sign that they liked your application.

Take a positive mindset into the interview with you and you’ll hopefully be a step closer to landing your dream early career teacher role!

Interested in applying? You can view all of our jobs or alternatively you can submit your CV - your local education recruitment consultant will get in touch with you shortly.