Career Services hosts Annual “Teacher Interview Day”

The Interviewing process is one of the important steps that people go through to obtain a job. On Wednesday, Feb. 18, Career Services hosted their annual “Teacher Interview Day.” This event was held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the John Lance Arena in Garfield Weede Building.   

During this time, students had the opportunity to interview with representatives from various schools and school districts. The interviews were used to aid education majors and those in the teaching related fields to obtain careers.  

“Our goal is to help students make connections with the school districts,” said Mindy Cloninger, Director of Career Services. 

According to the Pitt State website there were over 100 school districts present. The school districts came from the states of Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma. The students come in, dressed and prepared with their resumes, to be interviewed for various positions within the teaching field.  

“There are more teacher candidates this year,” Cloninger said. “It’s nice to see that number increase.”  

Career services offers many resources that are available to students to help them prepare for interviews and other professional settings that they encounter. They offer the Career Clothes Closet; which students are allowed to have three pieces of professional clothing a semester. Career Services also offers to help with students resumes, by helping them create one or updating their existing one.   

“I went to career services to make sure that my resume was squared away, so that employers would choose me as a potential employee,” said Justice Hylton, senior in physical education.  

Research is an important aspect in the interview process, because it is beneficial to know about the history and characteristics that is behind the company that someone interviews for. While waiting to be interviewed. students spent time familiarizing themselves with the schools that they would potentially meet with.  

“I looked up questions online that a lot of schools ask,” said Abbagail Blick, senior in family and consumer sciences.  

According to “National Center for Education Statistics,” 580,000 new teachers are hired each year. This number shows how beneficial it is to have a lot of school districts present at the “Teacher Interview Day.” This way students have the opportunity to explore schools that offer different benefits. Career Services also provided workshops specifically for students attending this event.  

“We went into their classrooms at the end of the fall semester,” Cloninger said. “We worked with them on resume presentation, and we also held the mock teacher interview.” 

The mock teacher interview day was arranged for students, so they can experience what the interview process is like and prepare for the “Teacher Interview Day.”  

At the event students had the opportunity to interview with up to 10 schools. 

“We encourage students to do as many (interviews) as they’re willing.” Cloninger said.  

Each career field has different requirements, and in teaching one of them is to have a focus to children. 

“Developing relationships with students, working with them and helping them reach their full potential is what I want to do as a teacher,” Hylton said.  

Career Services is preparing to host their “Spring Career Day” on Mar. 12, 2020. This is another event that students meet with companies to secure jobs for the future.