First of all, congratulations to all you new grads! You've worked so very hard, and now it's off to the races for a job search! We here at the office occasionally listen in on phone interviews that we've arranged (not emulating the NSA or anything). We like to be available for both our clients and the interviewee to answer questions or to clarify anything that might not have been covered in our interview prep. We also learn a lot more about the job being offered, details about the school district and common questions that special ed directors/lead therapists/superintendents ask in interviews. Below is a compilation of some of these queries to help you prepare for an interview:
Dealing with:
Education and Training
1. What prompted you to choose Speech Pathology/Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy as your major?
2. Walk me through your academic background.
3. Have you taken PRAXIS?
4. Do you have your credentials or are you eligible to obtain licensing?
Work Experience
1. Tell me about your current position/practicum.
2. Tell me about your previous position/practicum.
3. Why did you leave your last position?
4. Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty for a patient.
5. What was the most interesting job or project so far in your career/studies?
Questions specific to the field
1. What are some of the challenges you think you might meet as a Speech Language Pathologist/Occuational Therapist/Physical Therapist?
2. What do you deem as the best aspects of your chosen profession?
3. What ages do you prefer to work with and why?
4. Have you had parents observe you? How did that go?
Personal
1. Tell me about 3 qualities that co-workers would describe as your work/therapy style.
Hopefully, this will give you a "leg up" as you compete with your fellow therapists for the same position!!!!
