Dear job seeker,
I will keep this page short and to the point. Here’s what I have for you today:
In the eBook, you will find multiple great answers to each of the following questions:
- Why do you want to work as a paraprofessional?
- How do you imagine your day in a special education class?
- Is there any kind of student (disability) you would find it difficult to work with?
- What is your philosophy when it comes to inclusion and segregation? Please share your opinion with us.
- Imagine that you work one on one with a student with ADHD. What will you do to ensure they stay at least relatively calm in the classroom?
- Imagine that you work in a classroom of ten students with behavioral disorders. What are the most common problems that can occur in the classroom, and how will you address them?
- Do you have any experience with individualized educational plans?
- Do you have any strategies on making your communication with the teachers more effective?
- Imagine that a situation in a classroom escalates, and you feel like shouting at the students. What will you do to stay calm?
- Do you prefer proactive or reactive behavioral management in a classroom?
- You identified that a student has a disruptive behavior because they try to avoid some activity (e.g. a Math lesson or some writing assignment). What will you do in this case? How will you address the situation?
- … and 15 other tough questions you may face in your interview for a job of Paraprofessional Educator.
Check the sample to see how this book can help you:
Sample from the eBook
Q 10: Do you imagine participating in any activities that take place outside of the lessons?
Hint: More than anything else, this is a question of your attitude. Are you in only for a decent paycheck, and once the bell rings and the last lesson is over, you will storm out of the place? Or do you want to take part in the events, maybe help with decorating the classrooms, for Christmas and other occasions, and actively participate in the meetings with the parents?
Needless to say, schools prefer to hire paraprofessionals with proactive approach to work, people who enjoy their time at school, and want to contribute to after school activities (in most places you will be compensated for this extra contribution).
And that’s exactly what you should say in an interview. Once you get a job, you do not have to stick to this promise. Maybe you have a family waiting for you, or some part time job, or basically you want to enjoy your free time activities. Nobody can blame you for it. Once interviewing for the job, however, you should try to show the right attitude…
Sample answers
– I definitely imagine participating in the events, and in the meetings with the parents. I hope to blend into the community, and play my active part on making this school a better place for everyone. Of course, one has to maintain a good work-life balance, and I cannot be here for twelve hours each day. But for a reasonable amount of time each month, I definitely imagine participating in after school activities.
– I would love to participate. I believe to have decent design skills, and I am an artist at heart. It would be great to get a chance to decorate the classroom, involving special needs student in the process. What’s more, I hope to play my part in the meetings with the parents.
But I am new to this field, and it is not entirely clear to me how a paraprofessional can contribute, and what system you have here at this school. Maybe you can tell me more about it right now, so I understand better what I can do outside of the lessons….
Q 13: Imagine that you work one on one with a student with ADHD. What will you do to ensure they stay at least relatively calm in the classroom?
Hint: One of the scenario-based questions, and one you can get often in your paraprofessional interviews, because ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood.
It manifest in many different ways, and, just like with any other disorder, no two children are exactly the same. Therefor it definitely makes sense to emphasize individual approach in your answer, and perhaps even name a remedy for different symptoms for ADHD, or different behavior children with this disorder may display.
As you already learned in the first section on this eBook, it is important to think out loud, to explain your reasoning while answering scenario-based questions. Because honestly, there’s no one-fit-all approach, or solution that works with every child with ADHD. If there was such a solution, we would simply apply it with each child, and solve the problems. But that’s not the case…
One thing I want you to be rather careful about is mentioning medication—psychiatric drugs, in your answer. In fact, almost 7% of children living in the US take psychiatric medication on a daily basis, and many people got accustomed to it as something normal (which is a horrible thing in my view).
But it is still a controversial topic. If you say that giving them some tranquilizers is the easiest way to tame them in the classroom, you are risking a strong disapproval from some members of the hiring committee. And that could, in some scenarios, cost you the job…
Sample answers
– First of all, I want to emphasize that I consider each child individually. ADHD is a rather unclear diagnosis, and it can manifest in many ways. It is good to know more about the child, their behavior in the classroom, perhaps also their family background. We shall talk to them in person, to understand their condition better, before making any decision.
Once we have a better picture of who they are, and what limitations they have, we have some framework to work with. In my opinion, it’s important to provide acknowledgment for any appropriate behavior—even when they sit calmly for one minute, which can, after all, be a mammoth task for someone with ADHD…
But I have also other ideas. We can take them to the gym in between the classes, or to the playground, to ensure that they somehow use the excessive energy for good means—sports, for example, running and playing, and later won’t be hyperactive in the classroom.
As I said though, each child is different, and it may take some time until we find the best way to work with them.
– First of all, I will give them my attention—but especially when they behave, because sometimes they may misbehave just because they seek my attention—attention of an adult, perhaps something they are missing in their family. This is the first thing we need to figure out—why they actually misbehave—what triggers the behavior.
But I also realize that it won’t be always in our hands to identify the real core of the problem, and we will have to address the symptoms, improvising.
What definitely helps with many ADHD children is giving them enough physical activity, and sometimes also mental activity. We should ensure that they are engaged, and also somehow tired, both physically and mentally. This can be done in many ways, and obviously it’s where we play our role as paraprofessionals, because a child with ADHD may need a completely different pace of education.
To sum it up, I will try to identify the triggers, address them one by one, and eventually try my best to ensure that behavioral standards are maintained in the classroom.
End of the sample
These are just two questions. You will find 25 in the eBook, including all difficult scenario-based questions. But that’s not all.
To ensure you will get the job, I included in the book seven principles you need to understand before you can ace this interview.
Without talking too much about them, let me show you another sample from the book:
Sample no. 2
Principle no. 5: Do not wear pink glasses
Obviously it’s great to have high ideals, and to be optimistic about your role and things you want to achieve with the students with disabilities, or problematic students you will work with in the classes.
But you should also know the numbers—you should see your role realistically. Unless you do see it realistically, you’ll burn out quickly, you’ll be depressed sooner or later, and you’ll leave your job.
We do not want it to happen. And we won’t hire you unless we are sure that you count with some disappointment.
The statistics are crystal clear: most students with medium and severe disabilities drop out of school, and even if they don’t, they end up unemployable. They end up living with their parents for the rest of their life, or, in a worse case, on the street…
That’s just how it goes, especially in strongly capitalistic countries that do not support the weakest in society—and the US is the prime example of such an economy.
Now, it doesn’t mean that special education makes no sense, or that we are doing a bad job, or that it is a waste of resources to hire paraprofessionals who work one on one with the students. On the contrary. We are doing most things right and we try our best. But we live in a society which has certain rules, and we can’t change these rules.
Teachers and paraprofessionals who have the right idea of this job won’t cry because they see one of their students dropping out of school, or begging on the street and sleeping on a park bench.
They will feel satisfaction and happiness once they see that some of their students, or even just one, actually made it out there, got a job, started a family, and found their means of earning a living in our predator economy…
And this is actually the attitude you should show in an interview. Focus on doing your job as well as you can, but do not fixate yourself on the end results. Try to convince us that setbacks (which necessarily belong to this job) won’t make you sad, or depressed. Show us that you see the job realistically, and are ready for everything it brings—both good and bad.
Unless you manage to do so, we may send you home empty-handed…
…………
End of the sample
And that’s it. I do not want to waste your time with lengthy sales pages, and imaginary discounts or fake reviews, just like other people do on their websites, while trying to sell you something.
You have read the samples from the eBook, you know what it is about, and surely you can tell whether it will help you or not.
I sincerely believe it will help you in your interview. It will help you a lot. And you can read it easily in two or three hours, it’s 15,000 words. Only things that truly matter, no secondary content.
Plus, of course, like with everything else we sell here on InterviewPenguin.com, you have a risk free sixty days money back guarantee. If you don’t like this eBook for any reason, or no reason at all, just let me know (email me at glen[at]interviewpenguin[dot]com) within 60 days and we will give you a full refund.
Quick Summary
- Brilliant answers to twenty-five difficult questions you may get in your interview for a paraprofessional educator job. Updated in March 2024.
- Several sample answers to each question, so you can choose the one that reflects your values and experience.
- Seven principles of acing the paraprofessional interview, things you simply need to know and understand, in order to make the right impression on the hiring committee.
- Instant download, .PDF format (you can read it on any device (mobile, kindle, PC), and you can easily print it).
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That’s it. Your interview does not have to be stressful, or difficult. You can interview with confidence, and give brilliant answers to all tough questions. Download the guide today, and succeed in your interview for a job of a paraprofessional educator.
Sincerely,
Glen Hughins,
Your personal job interview coach
P.S. Send me a message if you have any questions about the guide or about anything else. I try my best to answer all messages within twelve hours (glen[at]interviewpenguin[dot]com).
