Benefits of Interviewing

 

Let me begin by explaining that I will not be telling you how parent/teacher conferences went since they ended up being cancelled due to weather.  We will just have to hold that thought and see if the school reschedules them.  So instead of that topic, I will move on to the next one, interviews.

 

I went to the interview day hosted by WSU career services last week.  My thought was that it can never hurt to get your name out there and to practice interviewing.  There was also one school there that I would absolutely love to work for (of course I’m not the only one).  These were the intentions I had when I went into this process.  The lessons I learned about myself were a major added benefit that I had not even counted on.

 

One of the first things I noticed about myself is that I was not even nervous really.  I think I was just more concerned with the questions and being myself that I left no time for the nerves.  I just wanted to be sure that the interviewers saw who I was and what kind of educator I would be that I had no time to worry about the rest.  I did a total of six interviews that day, putting the one I really wanted in the middle so that I would be warmed up but not too exhausted.  I learned some amazing information.  There was one district that was not even sure what format they were going to use to assess writing because they had not been assessing writing for years.  For the most part the interviews were really good though.  I was excited to find that I knew the answers to all their questions.  I realized how much it means to me that the students accomplish something in my classroom, even if it is just that someone cares.  I found myself thinking as much as a parent as an educator.  I have learned that the two really do go hand-in-hand for me.  I also learned that I would not mind, probably would even enjoy, teaching middle school kids as well.  I had one employer that like that I was a “non-traditional” student.  I just wish they had some openings but he was not sure at the time what would be available in my field.  I also learned that I would move my family if the fit was right.  I have originally thought that I would not really want to move for two years so that my oldest could finish school where he is at, now I am not so sure.  The school I really want to work for, I would move my son there because I think the benefits would outweigh the negatives.  I spoke with my son about this and he has said he does not really want to move but he would definitely do it for me and would be okay with keeping in touch with his friends over the internet.  Wow, my teenage son actually loves me!   

 

In the end, I just really hope to get a job but I would LOVE to get a job that want.