Hiring Effective Teachers.

Preliminary Procedures

Effective recruiting practices for schools must first be developed before they can must determine the traits of bad hiring. Some of the most common hiring mistakes include a too small pool of applicants, hirees are not trained, narrow, hiring criteria, and many more.

First Level Screening

Being the first screening level into an individual, each applicant should provide their own unique materials. The screening team should demand all applicants to present documentation confirming their track records while the application pool is at its greatest. Priority should be given to historical performance on jobs.

Second and Third Level Screening

The screening team should ask for an extended résumé, a brief statement, and a showcase of work. Additionally, the screening team should contact references one more time, thoroughly investigate each applicant's past, and perform two interviews.

The Hiring Interview

When conducting the final hiring interview, the person conducting the interview should have a mix of personal and professional questions. In addition the interviewer should control interruptions, conduct the interview in a pleasant setting, and watch the time to ensure that the interview does not take an budensome amount of time.

Important Interview Question Types

Past Performance Questions

Used to: Request specific examples of prior performance.

Balancing Questions

Used to: Contrast opposing replies to negative or positive statements.


Reflexive Statements

Used to: Guide the direction and tempo of the interview.

Half-right Reflexive Questions

Used to: Evaluate the candidate's capacity for original thought.

Where Can I Find Support for Effective Teaching?

Teaching jobs are fortunate (or unfornate depending on what you believe) to be a part of organized teachers' unions. For this reason, there are plenty of places to choose from such as the American Association of School Administrators, National Council of Professors of Ed. Administration, National School Boards Association, Chronicle of Higher Education and so on.

Reviews on Effective Teacher Hiring

"The book offers a good overview of the hiring process and gives usable material (e.g., questions and forms) for setting up an interview process."


"This serves as a great resource for those that are trying to hire within their respective field. Everything is still applicable in today's market."


"Flexible to use in both small and large school systems, but rigorous enough to ensure that only the best available candidates are ultimately chosen."