Dreams Come True Every Day!

Many think I mean to initiate a Public Relations campaign to increase visibility. They are right - it is necessary that you build your network and meet the decision makers. However, the abbreviation does not end there.

P-R also reminds you to Prepare and Practice for interviews and informal meetings with others.

Prepare. You must prepare even before you apply if you plan to match your skills and experiences with the district's priority goals. You also must learn about the curriculum, learning goals, preferred instructional practices and school-wide behavior systems that are in place.

You will also prepare as you learn about the district, who works there, and in what roles. Research the central office and administrative team to identify structures and supports available to new teachers, and how hiring decisions are made. Who screens applications? Who selects candidates to be interviewed?

And, certainly not least, you need to prepare for each interview. You must develop strong responses to interview questions that you expect. There are many resources on the internet that suggest questions and prompts, but we are proud to offer additional exclusive resources for applicants.

In Pathway to Teaching, you will find several variations of prompts that sample ten trending topics. These are questions or prompts that you will be asked to respond to. We encourage you to follow the link to the e-book to read more about it.

Practice. I encourage all applicants to request another person to ask questions from Pathway to Teaching and to perform your responses live in front of that audience. You must actually communicate your prepared, rehearsed answer out loud in that setting. This is not something you can just practice in your head or in private. I urge you to practice out loud and in front of others.

And even better, consider a telephone, Facetime, Skype, or Zoom video conference call with the Coach! Many schools now use telephone interviews to screen the applicants before choosing who who they want to interview. This would be great practice before that call! In addition, you will receive feedback from an experienced administrator who has interviewed hundreds of applicants just like you.

To become an even stronger applicant, you must develop your very own P-R Campaign: Prepare and Practice! And be sure to Pre-Apply! Make an impression before other applicants have even been selected for interviews!

We can help! For more details or to plan your strategy, call the Coach and be sure to purchase your copy of Pathway to Teaching today!