{"id":231,"date":"2011-11-06T19:23:04","date_gmt":"2011-11-06T19:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=231"},"modified":"2019-01-11T16:59:38","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T16:59:38","slug":"the-wonderful-world-of-intl-school-hiring-fairs-lesson-3-interview-questions-make-the-interviewer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/the-wonderful-world-of-intl-school-hiring-fairs-lesson-3-interview-questions-make-the-interviewer\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesson 3 at International School Hiring Fairs: \u201cInterview questions make the interviewer.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cNine Lessons Learned\u201d taken from <strong>The Wonderful World of International School Hiring Fairs<\/strong> article by Clay Burell\u2019s blog <a title=\"Beyond School\" href=\"http:\/\/beyond-school.org\/\" rel=\"home noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Beyond School<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. \u201c<strong><strong>Interview questions make the interviewer.\u201d<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/20080715_star_technique_answering_behavioral_interviewing_questions.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"20080715_star_technique_answering_behavioral_interviewing_questions\" src=\"http:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/20080715_star_technique_answering_behavioral_interviewing_questions.jpg?w=800\" alt=\"\"><\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy the end of the first of my four days of interviewing, it struck me how different interviews are based on the questions asked (and not asked) by the interviewer. Some of them seemed as stilted and scripted as the worst end-of-chapter questions from the worst textbooks (redundant?). They felt less like interviews than exercises in checking off the questions boxes. It wasn\u2019t quite \u201cschooliness,\u201d so can we call it \u201cinterviewiness\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>The best interviews, on the other hand, were more free-flowing and responsive, characterized by give-and-take expansiveness as one party or the other heard something no script could predict.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There are reasons that international schools use a list of questions to ask their interviewees.&nbsp; On the other hand there are reasons that interviewers don\u2019t use a list of questions.&nbsp; Is one way better than the other, I am not for sure.&nbsp; I was just talking with another international school teacher today and she was saying that using a list of questions can help you compare the different candidates equally and that it helps you determine better if that candidate is meeting or not meeting the criteria you have set out to find.&nbsp; I can see how that can be beneficial, especially if there is a group of people interviewing the person versus just one administrator doing the interview.&nbsp; However, I must admit I myself much prefer to to have more of a \u201cgive-and-take\u201d where the school is asking you questions to further what you were just talking about and to naturally move to the next topic of discussion organically and naturally.<\/p>\n<p>International schools though only have a limited amount of time during the actual interview session with the different candidates at the recruitment fair.&nbsp; Because the candidate before inevitably goes longer than he\/she should of and because the interviewers themselves sometime need a break between their back to back interviews, the time you actually get to talk with the school is so limited.&nbsp; It doesn\u2019t work well if they are only asking those few specific questions and seeing you sometimes squander to figure out an answer; that just might waste everyone\u2019s time.&nbsp; And when you do state your answer, that the time you have to talk is so limited because they need to get through to the rest of the questions instead of thoroughly listening to you.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/interviewing1.gif\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Interviewing1\" src=\"http:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/interviewing1.gif?w=800\" alt=\"\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes schools hold 15-minute initial interviews at international school teacher recruitment fairs to help them find out who their final short list of candidates to interview are.&nbsp; Most of the main interviews last around 30 minutes.&nbsp; Some people think that with using the list of questions idea is that maybe that it is not exactly showing who that person is as a teacher, it is more about how fast that they can think on their feet. &nbsp; Also, I suppose if you are asking the same questions over and over again you might forget if you had asked that question already as I\u2019m sure the interviews themselves tend to blur a bit.&nbsp; Finally, given the time constraint on you when you only have a limited amount of time to let the school know the things you want them to know.&nbsp; Sometimes an interview using \u201cthe list\u201d doesn\u2019t allow for you to show you teaching portfolio or whatever real things that related to your real teaching and teaching experiences.<\/p>\n<p>Always remember though, at international school teacher recruitment fairs, you are also interviewing the school.&nbsp; You have <em>your<\/em> list of questions as well I suppose.&nbsp; Sometimes you don\u2019t get the chance to have them all answered; though some of them might have been answered during the beginning part of your interview anyway.&nbsp; Don\u2019t forget that you have a say during this stressful time at the fair.&nbsp; It is easy sometimes to get caught up with the idea that you want to like all schools that you are interviewing with and to have the schools like you back.&nbsp; However, deep down, that is most likely not the case.&nbsp; If the interview process of one school is giving you an impression of being stilted and scripted, it is possible that means you indeed might not be a good match for that school as you would need to be directly working with these people eventually.<\/p>\n<p>It is important to note though that most schools are not using a list of questions during the sign-up\/round robin sessions which is usually only 2-3 minutes maximum of interaction\u2026and that might be stretching it.&nbsp; Another question I have is if the international schools really think about the different set of questions for the type of position they are looking to fill.&nbsp; Additionally, are they using this same list when they are interview people over Skype, telephone, in person at their school, etc\u2026<\/p>\n<p>List or no list, definitely try your best to be well aware of how the administrators are using it or the style they are implementing to replace it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cNine Lessons Learned\u201d taken from The Wonderful World of International School Hiring Fairs article by Clay Burell\u2019s blog Beyond School. 1. \u201cInterview questions make the interviewer.\u201d \u201cBy the end of the first of my four days of interviewing, it struck me how different interviews are based on the questions asked (and not asked) by the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[584,29,585,32,57,33,64,486,65,586],"class_list":["post-231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-lessons-learned-regarding-intl-school-hiring-fairs","tag-candidates","tag-international-school","tag-international-school-recruitment-fairs","tag-international-schools","tag-international-teacher","tag-international-teaching","tag-interviewing","tag-interviews","tag-recruitment-fair","tag-recruitment-fairs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2flVT-3J","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2566,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/iscommunity-blog-series-highlight-9-lessons-learned-regarding-international-school-hiring-fairs\/","url_meta":{"origin":231,"position":0},"title":"ISCommunity Blog Series Highlight: 9 Lessons Learned Regarding International School Hiring Fairs","author":"ISCommunity","date":"January 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"January: RECRUITMENT FAIR SEASON STARTS! \u2022 Stressing out about the upcoming international school recruitment fair that you are going to this year? \u2022 Want to get all the \"head's up\" you can get? \u2022 Want a review of all the basics so that you can be the most prepared as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Information for Members&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Information for Members","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/information-for-members\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iscommunity-blog-series-highlight-9-lessons-learned-regarding-international-school-hiring-fairs_2566_52bc0.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iscommunity-blog-series-highlight-9-lessons-learned-regarding-international-school-hiring-fairs_2566_52bc0.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iscommunity-blog-series-highlight-9-lessons-learned-regarding-international-school-hiring-fairs_2566_52bc0.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iscommunity-blog-series-highlight-9-lessons-learned-regarding-international-school-hiring-fairs_2566_52bc0.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":319,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/the-wonderful-world-of-international-school-hiring-fairs-lesson-1-bad-interviews-are-good-things\/","url_meta":{"origin":231,"position":1},"title":"Lesson #1 at International School Hiring Fairs: Why Bad Interviews Are Actually a Good Thing","author":"ISCommunity","date":"December 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"No matter how glossy a school\u2019s reputation may be, the people sitting across from you in a hotel room asking questions in that school\u2019s name are a far stronger indicator of what it would actually feel like to work there. During my own recruitment journey, I spoke with English department\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;9 Lessons Learned Regarding Intl School Hiring Fairs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"9 Lessons Learned Regarding Intl School Hiring Fairs","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/9-lessons-learned-regarding-intl-school-hiring-fairs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-22-at-21.30.00.png?fit=1200%2C807&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-22-at-21.30.00.png?fit=1200%2C807&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-22-at-21.30.00.png?fit=1200%2C807&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-22-at-21.30.00.png?fit=1200%2C807&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-22-at-21.30.00.png?fit=1200%2C807&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":135,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/comments-and-information-about-hiring-policies-on-international-school-community-2-beijing-seoul-and-beirut\/","url_meta":{"origin":231,"position":2},"title":"Comments and information about hiring policies on International School Community #2 (Beijing, Seoul and Beirut)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"December 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Comments and information about hiring policies on\u00a0International School Community: Every week members are leaving information and comments about the hiring policies at international schools around the world.\u00a0 Which ones go to the Search Associates Recruitment Fairs?\u00a0 Which ones hold interviews over Skype?\u00a0 Which ones have hiring restrictions imposed on them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hiring Policies at Int\u2019l Schools&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hiring Policies at Int\u2019l Schools","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/hiring-policies-at-intl-schools\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/10\/interview_vidconf_1014.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11610,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/lesson-2-at-international-school-hiring-fairs-energy-is-eternal-delight-so-its-opposite-is\/","url_meta":{"origin":231,"position":3},"title":"Lesson #2 at International School Hiring Fairs: &#8216;Energy is eternal delight&#8217; \u2013 so its opposite is\u2026?","author":"ISCommunity","date":"February 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cEnergy is eternal delight\u201d \u2014 so its opposite is\u2026? \u201c(h\/t to William Blake who, though dead, deserves eternal credit for the eternally delightful maxim.) If, like mine, your own heart seems to pump more espresso than blood, then it may be important to consider the energy coming from those interviewing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;9 Lessons Learned Regarding Intl School Hiring Fairs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"9 Lessons Learned Regarding Intl School Hiring Fairs","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/9-lessons-learned-regarding-intl-school-hiring-fairs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-06-at-17.15.57.png?fit=864%2C591&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-06-at-17.15.57.png?fit=864%2C591&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-06-at-17.15.57.png?fit=864%2C591&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-06-at-17.15.57.png?fit=864%2C591&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":485,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/comments-and-information-about-hiring-policies-on-international-school-community-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":231,"position":4},"title":"Comments and information about hiring policies on International School Community #3","author":"ISCommunity","date":"March 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Comments and information about hiring policies on\u00a0International School Community: Every week members are leaving information and comments about the hiring policies at international schools around the world.\u00a0 Which ones go to the Search Associates Recruitment Fairs?\u00a0 Which ones hold interviews over Skype?\u00a0 Which ones have hiring restrictions imposed on them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hiring Policies at Int\u2019l Schools&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hiring Policies at Int\u2019l Schools","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/hiring-policies-at-intl-schools\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/10\/interview_vidconf_1014.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5124,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/the-international-school-recruitment-fair-toolkit\/","url_meta":{"origin":231,"position":5},"title":"The International School Recruitment Fair Toolkit","author":"ISCommunity","date":"January 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The recruitment fair season has started! 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