You know what to wear to your teacher interview and you know when you’re arriving, but now you need to figure out what to bring to your teacher interview!

What to Bring to a Teacher Interview

I will always suggest bringing a teaching portfolio to your interview. Though it might not be required, or won’t even possibly come up, in the chance it does, you’re ready! Plus, you can use your portfolio to share specific work and examples, which is always a plus when answering interview questions.

Here are just a few suggestions of what you might want to include:

Cover letter (minimum 5 copies)
Resume (Minimum 5 copies)
Letters of Recommendation

School Admin
Anyone you’ve directly worked with within the school
Cooperating Teacher
Students
University Supervisor or professor

Lesson plan you’re proud of
Student work sample(s)
Classroom Management Plan

First Year Teacher Cover Letter

Your Cover Letter is a one pager that is meant to showcase why you’re the perfect candidate for the job. It’s important to open with a a little bit about you and the excitement you have for the position you’re applying for. Don’t forget to share the name of the school and the position you’re applying for. I often get asked if it’s okay to just make a generic cover letter and submit it for all positions. If you’re submitting a cover letter for a job fair, then yes, a generic one is fine. However, if it’s going to a specific school or district, it should be personalized to them. Taking the extra few minutes to personalize it is just one way to stand out above the rest.

Additionally, you’ll want to include your qualifications by highlighting your educational qualifications, your degree and any certifications, as well as any possible professional development you may have done if applicable.

It’s helpful to discuss your teaching experience, such as the grade levels and subjects you’ve taught. If you have specific examples of successful teaching strategies that you’ve used with these grades such as classroom management strategies, differentiation, or PBL’s you’ve done, you could give thm a glimpse of that as well.

As teachers, we want to highlight that we are learners and always excited to grow professionally.You can also share your openmindedness, eagerness to collaborate with others, and dedication to your students.

Lastly, you’ll want to close by expressuing your enthusiasm once again and then close with gratitude for the opportunity. Don’t forget to include your contact information so they can reach out as well!

Though not perfect, here is the cover letter for the very first teaching position I ever applied for. Looking back at it now nearly a decade later, I see typos, and areas for improvement.

I absolutely do not want you to copy my letter, but I do hope it stands as a good starting place. I especially hope you at least capitalize, “To Whom It May Concern,” lol. Anyway, if I can give you ANY advice when it comes to cover letters and resumes, it’s to have everyone you know read through it to check for typos and grammatical errors. Send it to your bestie. Send it to your mom. Send it to a professor or even your cooperating teacher. Ask for feedback. Ask for improvements. Constructive criticism can only make us stronger!

Letters of Recommendation from Students

If you’re looking for a super cute way to stand out while sharing your teacher porfolio, be sure to include these letters of recommendations from your students. There are 24 options to choose from, all you have to do is print them and let your students fill them out!

First Year Teacher Resume

Your teacher resume is another thing you want to keep as a one pager. Clear and concise is key! If an experience isn’t recent or relevant, leave it off. Additionally, resumes are typically something that can be quickly skimmed. Be sure that your first few bullet points are strong hitters with a powerful opening verb, as they are most likely to be read.

A few (okay more than a few) verbs I love seeing on resumes are:

Implemented
Supported
Incorporated
Collaborated
Developed
Achieved
Accomplished
Modeled
Enhanced
Maintained
Displayed
Managed
Designed
Engaged
Differentiated
Adapted
Assessed
Encouraged
Championed
Facilitated
Provided
Enabled

With that, please only list items on your resume that you’ve actually accomplished. Even though you might read through examples and find some really strong hitters that you want to add to yours, if it doesn’t align with what you’ve been involved it, save it for a goal for the future! There is quite a chance an interviewing committee might have your resume right in front of them and say something along the lines of, “So I read that you’ve XYZ…” and when this happens, you want to be sure you can speak to exactly what you have written on your resume with strong supporting details and experience.

What else?

A few more items to bring to your teacher interview include pictures of activities you’ve participated in with your students, lesson plans you’ve written, student work samples from units you’ve taught, and your classroom management plan. Interviewing committees always want to know how you plan on managing your classroom.

Lastly, don’t forget to bring your smile!

If you’re feeling nervous about your interview, be sure to grab this four-week mini-training series filled with everything you need to know to feel confident and successful going into your first teacher interview! And don’t forget to grab this free teacher interview workbook filled with over 200+ teacher interview questions to practice!

I can’t wait for you to land your dream job! Just remember, you’re right where you are meant to be!

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