The initial phone screening and phone interview went well and were overall positive experiences. After my phone interview I was asked if I was looking for a leadership role solely or a teaching/leadership hybrid role- to which I responded that I was interested in dedicating all my time to leadership responsibilities. I was then invited to an in person interview 3 business days in advance, and I was traveling from out of state. Despite my previous feedback, I was told I would be teaching a 15 minute demo lesson one day before my scheduled interview. I was sent the lesson requirements the morning of the day I was flying out. I worked quickly to plan a quality lesson as I figured it was important for me to demonstrate competency since as a Dean I would be coaching teachers on their instruction. The day of my interview, the recruiter gave me a school tour, I observed a few classrooms on my own, then conducted a demo lesson. I met the hiring managers as I was starting my demo lesson. You are given life feedback during your lesson- which is fine if you’ve been in education and are used to receiving feedback. However, all of my feedback was around the extent of and specificity of my behavioral expectations. The rest of the interview consisted of role plays with feedback after each part. I like receiving feedback, however, by the end of the experience I was confused as to what they valued and what type of candidate they were looking for based on the feedback I was given. The behavior management systems and expectations for scholars and staff was very clear- in the end I left feeling as if I was not a good fit and the feeling was mutual because I was not extended an offer.

I spoke over the phone with two recruiters before coming in for a finalist interview. During my in-person interview day, I taught a demo lesson, met with two members of leadership team, observed in classrooms, and participated in role plays for coaching and supervisory conversations. Throughout the process, my recruiter was incredibly supportive and went above and beyond to answer all of my questions. Everyone I met during my interview day was warm and welcoming, and it was a very positive experience overall.