How to crack a video interview for a teacher’s job?

Take any educational institute and ask them what’s their single biggest challenge. 9 out of 10 would say – finding the right teacher for their institute. This doesn’t come as a major surprise as most educational institutes still use traditional and archaic hiring techniques, which delays the hiring process.

Let’s switch over to the other side of the table now – the candidates. Lack of structure, delayed results, and inconsistent questions would be their top complaints.

The best solution to all these problems is technology. To be more precise, a video interview.  A video interview is a convenient way for institutes to interact with prospective candidates remotely. 

But due to the convenience offered by video interviews, institutes tend to interact with hundreds of candidates, which greatly increases the competition for candidates. Also, if you are a candidate new to video interviews, it gets even more daunting. This brings us to an important question – 

“As a candidate, how do I crack the video interview for a teacher’s job?” 

This post is your answer as we bring you 5 tips to ace a teacher’s video interview. Read on…

Tip #1 – Be Professional

Professionalism and teaching jobs are synonymous with each other. So it is natural for the education institute to expect the candidate to be at their professional best during the video interview. Here are some best practices to look professional during the teacher’s interview – 

• Wear formal attire, just like how you would in the classroom.
• Choose the right place to attend the interview; make sure that the selected room has good lighting.
• Keep the interview area clean and organized so that you can reach out to anything without any difficulty. 
• Select a background that is blank and clean.

Tip #2 – Check Everything

With most of the classes happening online, teachers are expected to be adept at technology. Mistakes and errors due to technology are unpardonable in an interview as it shows your lack of preparedness. 

Before attending the interview, check if all the gadgets such as laptops, microphones, and webcam are working fine. Also, ensure that your internet works perfectly, and the speed is sufficient to attend a video interview. It is also important to have a backup for everything, such as a secondary laptop, a wifi dongle, or a mobile hotspot ready in case something goes wrong. Also, go through the interface of the video interview tool and get accustomed to it. Place your web camera strategically with respect to the room lighting so that your video is clear. 

Tip #3 – Maintain a Good Posture

Another important trait of a good teacher is confidence. The best way to showcase your confidence is through good posture. Keep your shoulders and head straight in front of the camera. Sit in a steady position and try to lean forward, as this gives an impression that you are interested in the conversation. Try to have a smile on your face at all times during the interview. Refrain from looking away from the camera until the session is complete. 

Tip #4 – Greet with a virtual handshake

Yes, there is something called a virtual handshake. And NO, we are not talking about just waving your hand. At the beginning of the interview, you need to tilt your head 10 degrees towards the interviewer’s direction and nod. This might seem like a Japanese bow, but, in reality, this is a professional and warm gesture to greet someone. You can use this as a greeting technique in a video interview before starting the conversation.

Tip #5 – Think and Answer

Interviews are also the best mediums to test a candidate’s calmness and composure – key characteristics of teachers. Platforms like IntroMagic let institutes conduct fully automated video interviews where candidates answer pre-created teacher interview questions. 

You are also given a fixed time to answer the questions. In such interviews, you can take multiple attempts and take sufficient time to answer the questions. So, streamline your thoughts and present composed answers to all the common teacher interview questions.

Wrapping Up

Many institutes have started embracing technology in their hiring process. A classic example is a video interview. However, as a candidate, things are not really a bed of roses. Institutes test a variety of skills needed for a teacher through these video interviews, and it is totally up to you to showcase these skills and bag that coveted teacher’s role you always dreamt of.