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Teach for America Interview Questions & Reviews

Getting the Interview  289 Interviews

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Interview Experience  262 Ratings

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289 interview experiences
Updated May 22, 2013
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Coordinator at Teach for America

Accepted Offer – Interviewed on Detroit, MI (US) Apr 2013 – Reviewed Apr 24, 2013

Interview Details One initial phone interview followed by a skills exercise, where they ask you to create a project plan, and a final in-person interview. Really nice environment and people, interview wasn't hard as long as you show your passion for TFA and their mission. Lots of behavioral questions.

Interview Question – One of TFA's core values is Team, can you please tell us how you work in a team? What is one thing the time you work with likes about you and what is one thing that could be improved?   Answer Question

Negotiation Details – No negotiation allowed.

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Corps Member at Teach for America

Accepted Offer – Interviewed on Portland, OR (US) Mar 2010 – Reviewed Apr 22, 2013

Interview Details The selection process changes on a year-to-year basis but tends to follow the same framework of 1) Initial application/letter of intent/minimum qualification check, 2) Secondary Phone Screening (usually with a TFA Alum), 3) An in-person selection day (With a TFA staff member). The in-person interview day is usually 3-5 hours and was composed of a brief sample lesson, group working observation session, a 1:1 interview and a brief written situational response test.

TFA is a teacher-leadership program and it is important to demonstrate leadership ability rather than just knowledge of educational theory or interest in social justice.

Interview Questions

  • "What would cause you to drop out of the corps?"   View Answer
  • "Which of our core values are you most aligned with/not most aligned with?"   Answer Question

Negotiation Details – No negotiation phase. You are placed in your region, subject and school with little to no say. That is part of the commitment that some CM's are not prepared for.

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Campus Campaign Coordinator at Teach for America

Accepted Offer – Reviewed Apr 21, 2013

Interview Details The hiring process was rigorous but if you have experienced interviews before you will be fine! Definitely prepare, know your resume and be able to articulate how your experience translates to the CCC role!

Interview Question – Be able to talk about positives and negatives about yourself   Answer Question

Negotiation Details – None

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Corps Member at Teach for America

Accepted Offer – Reviewed Apr 15, 2013

Interview Details Applied online for the first interview process. Got an email saying I could skip the phone interview and go directly to the in-person interview. The in-person interview took about 3 or 4 hours with a group section and then a personal 1-on-1 interview. I was contacted about a month later and was told I was accepted.

Interview Question – Tell us about a time when you set a goal and didn't reach it. How did you recover?   Answer Question

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Teacher at Teach for America

No Offer – Interviewed in New York, NY (US) Apr 2013 – Reviewed Apr 18, 2013

Interview Details Submit a statement of interest. Then find out if you have a phone interview or can skip straight to the final interview. Final interview day consists of a sample lesson, a group discussion and then one on one interviews. Then 3 weeks later you find out if you've had an offer or not. It's frustrating because they don't give you a reason why you weren't accepted and the entire process is very impersonal.

Interview Question – Under what circumstances would you quit the corps?   Answer Question

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Teacher at Teach for America

No Offer – Reviewed Apr 10, 2013

Interview Details You start off with an initial interview, and then most people get phone interviews as well. The phone interview lasts 30 minutes, and was pretty relaxed for me since it was with a former corps member and she was outgoing and very nice. The downside to the process is that the turnover time between the phone interview, being informed if you made it to the next round, and obtaining recommendations is very short. I had to ask for recommendations before I even knew if I made it to the final interview stage (which I didn't).

Interview Question – When was a time you had to work with someone and had a difficult time?   Answer Question

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Corps Member at Teach for America

Accepted Offer – Interviewed in Jan 2012 – Reviewed Apr 08, 2013

Interview Details Extremely long online application process. (rec letters, transcripts, cover letter, resume, etc.).

You may or may not have to participate in a phone interview before being moved to the next step.

You have to take a 3 hour online "assessment" where you are asked how you would handle certain teaching situations.

The 4 hour interview consists of a private interview where they will ask you about how you answered on your assessment, your cover letter, etc. You also have a sample lesson you present to your group and a group exercise where you talk about articles you were asked to read beforehand. The group exercise is seeing how well you can work with others.

You will then recieve an offer and placement that may or may not be changed.

Interview Question – If you don't want to stay in teaching forever, why do you want to complete this program.   View Answer

Negotiation Details – No negotiation. If you are comfortable being taken advantage of and being in an uncomfortable work enviorment in exchange for doing good, this would be a great position for you. If you get stressed easily, get your feelings hurt, or can't handle hard situations I wouldn't advise accepting a position.

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Corps Member at Teach for America

Accepted Offer – Reviewed Apr 10, 2013

Interview Details The application is lengthy and requires a lot of jumping through hoops. If they like what they see on paper, you get a phone interview. If you pass that, you advance to a final interview day where you complete an activity in a small group, delivery a demo lesson to that group, and do a one-on-one interview.

Interview Question – Why Teach for America in particular?   Answer Question

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Teacher at Teach for America

Declined Offer – Reviewed Apr 11, 2013

Interview Details Long process...application with intent letter, then online activity, phone interview, final interview with sample lesson etc.

Interview Question – Difficult questions when it came to the role playing activity   Answer Question

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TFA Corps Member at Teach for America

Accepted Offer – Reviewed Apr 07, 2013

Interview Details After submitting the online application, there is a phone interview that you may or may not have to complete. I skipped to the final interview which was in person. There was a 5 minute presentation that each interviewee had to deliver to display creativity and speaking skills. There was also a group conversation and a one-on-one interview.

Interview Question – The questions were not very difficult, however the role play was unexpected.   Answer Question

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