Four Top Tips To Make Interviews for Teaching Jobs More Accessible
By Emma Cate Stokes
Job interviews are artificial high-stress environments that don’t always allow candidates to show their true potential. The nerves, the uncertainty and the feeling of being under scrutiny can sometimes be overwhelming for candidates. There is a better way.
Making school job interviews more inclusive and accessible is a moral and strategic imperative. By taking these steps, schools can attract a more diverse range of candidates and tap into the wealth of talent and expertise that they bring.
Here are four ways that UK schools can make interviews for teaching jobs more accessible.
1. Provide job interview questions in advance
This can raise contention amongst some teachers who feel the ability to think on their feet is part of the job, and job interviews should reflect this. I’d argue that teaching falls within familiar parameters. Job interviews are nothing like teaching. Interviews are contrived, high-pressure situations.
We should be working with the candidate, not testing them. Being anxious about not being able to prepare for a situation doesn’t mean someone can’t think on their feet. When candidates have time to prepare, they can develop more thoughtful and well-structured responses to interview questions, leading to better-informed hiring decisions.
We can help candidates prepare and showcase their best selves during the interview by providing job interview questions in advance (not including the safeguarding question, for obvious reasons). This approach benefits neurodiverse individuals and is an inclusive practice—equity matters.
When schools provide questions in advance, they send a strong message that they value inclusivity and accessibility in their hiring process. This proactive approach can attract a more diverse pool of candidates and contribute to a more inclusive school environment overall.
2. Conduct lesson observations in the candidate’s school
Another way to create a more inclusive and accessible interview process is by conducting lesson observations in the candidate’s school, where possible. This approach has several key advantages.
Observing candidates in their teaching environment allows interviewers to see firsthand the rapport and connections they’ve established with their students. These relationships are crucial to effective teaching and learning, and they can be challenging to assess during a one-off lesson at a new school.
By observing candidates in their school, interviewers can gain insights into how well they navigate their actual curriculum and teaching environment rather than evaluating them based on a lesson explicitly planned for an interview. This approach provides a more authentic and representative picture of the candidate’s skills and abilities.
When teaching in their school, candidates already know their pupil’s unique needs and strengths. This knowledge allows them to tailor their lessons more effectively, ensuring that all students have the opportunity to succeed.
3. Reconsider the use of unseen presentations in leadership interviews
Another aspect of the interview process that schools might want to rethink is the use of unseen presentations, particularly in leadership interviews. While this approach may be intended to assess candidates’ ability to think on their feet and respond to unexpected situations, it often fails to reflect the true nature of educational leadership roles. It may not bring out the best in candidates.
In most educational leadership positions, tasks and projects are only assigned with context and time for preparation. Unseen presentations do not accurately represent the planning, collaboration, and research leaders typically engage in when addressing school issues or developing new initiatives.
4. Implement blind application reviews to promote equity
In this approach, personal information such as names, gender, and other identifying details are removed from application materials before the selection committee reviews them.
By removing personal identifiers, blind application reviews help reduce the impact of unconscious biases on the selection process. These biases, related to race, gender, or other factors, can inadvertently influence decision-making, even when individuals are committed to fairness and equality. Blind reviews help to ensure that candidates are evaluated based solely on their qualifications and experiences.
Make interviews for teaching jobs more accessible.
You can read more articles by Emma Cate Stokes here.
