General News
Union stages interviewing seminars
Jun 4, 2009 1:54 PM
Sessions aimed at helping members in closing, phasing-out schools land jobs
Winnie Thompson (standing) of the Teacher Center leads the seminar on professional interviewing at UFT headquarters.
UFT members in schools that are being phased out or closed can get some help brushing up on their interviewing skills in seminars being offered at the union’s borough offices.
As many as 14 schools have been slated for phase-out or closure by the Department of Education this year. The UFT offered several professional interviewing seminars in its borough offices for educators in those schools this spring, including an afternoon session in the Manhattan office on May 20.
Participants learned more than just how to update their resumes. They learned what principals are looking for in a candidate and what documents they should bring to an interview.
The professional interview seminars are open to any UFT member, including guidance counselors and social workers.
One of about two dozen participants in the Manhattan seminar said that, although he was eligible to retire, he wanted to continue teaching next year and his school was being phased out.
“I want to teach again, but I don’t want to end up in a reserve pool,” he said. He came to the seminar to find out what has changed in the hunt for a teaching position since the last time he applied.
Candidates should prepare for interviews by doing a self-analysis, suggested seminar organizer Cassie Carlo, educational liaison at the Manhattan borough office.
“You have to think of what makes you superior to the next candidate,” she said. What are your hobbies? Can you write grants? Perhaps you have a hobby — like martial arts — that you can share with the community, she said.
“Remember, it’s all about the kids,” said Winnie Thompson, a UFT Teacher Center presenter who helped lead the seminar. “Offer to work as a team.”
Principals are looking to hire teachers with a a wide variety of experiences, said Thompson.
“Are you using technology in the classroom?” she asked. “What are your problem-solving skills? Your teaching abilities?”
You may be asked to show a portfolio, which should include lesson plans and examples of student work you’ve assigned, Carlo said.
Finally, they also received the answer to the dreaded question: “What if you are not hired by another school over the summer?”
Carlo explained that, if you don’t get written notification of where you should report when the school year begins, report back to the school that excessed you.
