Congratulations on passing your TExES test! You are now on your way to the next adventure in your Onboarding journey - the hiring process! To begin this process, you will need to complete your District Strategy Survey and update your resume according to the provided Teach For America - Dallas-Fort Worth guidelines. Using your survey (and other guidelines explained on the Hiring Priorities page), the Onboarding team will match you to one of our partner districts, and provide them with your new and improved resume. Once our partners have reviewed your resume, we will connect them to you for an initial screening.
General tips for success
- Be prepared (Research the district, the specific school for which you are interviewing, their mission, core values and goals)
- Practice your responses out loud in front of a mirror or in front of friends
- Take notes on what you want to make sure to highlight in your interview (Keep in mind, your answers should be brief -less than 5 minutes long).
- Touch on any teaching experiences you may have (or experiences working with children and families) and what you learned from that experience
- Speak about what drew you to Teach For America and why you are excited to work in the Dallas-Fort Worth community, what you bring to the table and how your passion will positively affect your students
Preparing for an Initial Screening/Interview
This portion of the interview round is for partners to hear more about your experiences after they have reviewed your resume. It will help them determine if you are a potential fit for their school.
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[Made by TFA]. In this guide you will find:
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This article from US News and World Report gives some great pointers for knocking your phone interview out of the park! |
Preparing for a Phone Screening/Phone Interview
Invited to a second round interview? That's great! This portion of the hiring process will most likely take place over skype or telephone, and is usually just a one-on-one interview with you and the principal/admin.
Ultimately, when principals make their decisions, each seeks a teacher who will be committed to his/her community and students. In an interview you can forecast this commitment by demonstrating your ability to do the following:
Ultimately, when principals make their decisions, each seeks a teacher who will be committed to his/her community and students. In an interview you can forecast this commitment by demonstrating your ability to do the following:
- Work hard: Teaching is no easy task; how have you demonstrated an unrelenting work ethic in the past?
- Be open, honest and reflective: Teaching is a humbling and those who thrive set ego aside and constantly take stock of their work and actions to improve tomorrow’s game; how have you demonstrated humility?
- Incorporate feedback: As convicted as you may be about a certain approach, seek the input of others and be willing to break from an original plan or adopted routine to incorporate feedback; how have you collaborated with and incorporated others’ insight/expertise into your work.
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[Made by TFA]. In this guide you will find:
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Take a peek at a list of questions curated from leading schools and teachers in the NYC metro area. |
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Watch the presentation led by Jamie Truman (a TFA alum) about preparing for your interviews with school leaders. Workshop hosted from SelectEd. |
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One great interview skill is knowing what your interviewer is looking for when they ask specific questions. Take a look at this resource, in which principals share their favorite questions to ask as they screen potential candidates for an opening. |
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New to the field of education? You're not alone! This link shares some common definitions for terms you might see as you interview. |