Getting Advice from the Decision Maker

Sweaty palms, butterflys in my stomach, dry mouth, heart racing… thats me before an interview…even mock interviews!

This past week I had the opportunity to meet with Penn Manor's assistant superintendent, Dr. Shaffer, and talk about my portfolio and run through some mock interview questions. Even though it was a relaxed setting and there was no real job on the line I was still extremely nervous as I prepared to walk into the administration office, something that I really wish I could overcome.

We started off by taking a look through my portfolio, in here I have included items such as my teaching philosophy, clearances, example lesson and unit plans, professional development certificates as well has honors and awards. In addition, I have included several projects and papers that I have completed throughout my collegiate career.

A large talking point included an essay that I had written looking at passion: the missing variable in agricultural education. The catchy title sparked a conversation as I explained to her the context of the paper and then gave an abstract of my thoughts communicated in the paper. As Dr. Shaffer continued to flip through my portfolio we discussed the various opportunities that I had while in college and what I was involved in during my high school years. It was nice to be able to sit one on one with an administrator and explain these pieces that I had selected and the significance that they had.

I have found from previous interviews that I forget to highlight myself using my portfolio or I get nervous through the transition from their questions to my portfolio and I find myself never speaking enough about the pieces I showcase.

Once we concluded looking through my portfolio she gave some great advice about the arrangement of it as well as some advice on what type of lesson plans to include.

Next we moved into some typical interview questions that she would ask all candidates. We had covered some of the basic ones during our portfolio overview and then continued through the list. She asked questions such as "how do you incorporate STEM into your classroom" and "if you could partner with any department in the high school which one would it be and why".

The great thing about this mock interview was that she provided feedback after every single answer, something I wish they did during a real interview. In this more relaxed setting I found myself calming down from the nervousness and really letting my personality come through in my answers.

Overall this was a great experience to have this individual feedback both on my portfolio and response to typical interview questions. I believe at this point the most beneficial part of this experience was the feedback on my portfolio, as this is the first time someone other then myself has critiqued its contents.