As a talent professional and lifetime sports fan, I often find that my personal passion (sports) and my professional passion (human capital) have many connections. With the NCAA National Football Championship game set for Monday, I have found there are some parallels between the post-bowl game period for college football and the spring teacher recruitment season .The post-bowl period is the time when college coaches call a zone blitz to get players- both committed and undecided, to lock in before National Signing Day. At Meeting Street Schools (MSS) we are in a similarly urgent time of our recruiting season. So we put a lot of effort into closing out the recruiting process with candidates in the same way coaches do with players. MSS has a comprehensive selection process that culminates with Interview Day, our version of an official visit.
The application process at MSS is selective and has three main steps:
- Complete an online application
- Participate in a pre-recorded video interview
- Participate in Interview Day.
All candidates follow this process. Sometimes we request an additional phone interview in order to get to know our candidates better, but generally it’s a third down conversion situation.
Interview Day is one of our favorite days at MSS! We invite a group of candidates for a full day visit at one of our schools. Candidates get an opportunity to tour our schools; meet our students, teachers and leaders; and participate in a formal interview. Instructional candidates also execute a 20 minute demo lesson to a class of students. Following the demo lesson these candidates participate in a coaching session to debrief their demo lesson. There is a lot of time and preparation that goes into this day for candidates and our school teams, so we look forward to being able to meet our candidates in person and see all of the preparation come to life.
The Purpose of Interview Day
The purpose of the Interview Day is two fold: we want to determine if a candidate is a fit for our schools, and we also want candidates to determine if we are a fit for them. It’s important to us that candidates are making an informed decision about where they will learn, grow and create an impact.
Our aim is that candidates will walk away from interview day with three main takeaways:
- The day should spark joy, and candidates should leave feeling inspired about what’s possible.
- Candidates should also leave with a very clear feeling that they have somehow grown from the experience. If we are truly living our mission as a school of innovation, then there is always something candidates can learn by visiting our campuses, meeting our leaders and observing our classrooms in action.
- We want candidates to be very clear about what the expectations are working at Meeting Street Schools. We have high expectations for teachers because we have high expectations for students, and we make no apologies for the work and commitment we require from our teachers or students.
Preparing for Interview Day
- Prior to applying, please know that our final interview day is a full day commitment at one of our four campuses. If you are invited to Interview Day, please be 100% sure that you can attend and participate in the full day before accepting the invitation.
- Once you accept the interview opportunity, make sure you prepare by following the Interview Day guide and the demo lesson instructions. Ask our talent team questions as you prepare; and solicit feedback from friends, colleagues and professors before you finalize your lesson. During the time you have to teach your lesson, our students are your students, so be all in.
- Be prepared for feedback when it’s time to debrief your lesson. This is another time when we want candidates to be all in. During the lesson debrief we follow the same coaching structure we do with our MSS teachers and coaches. Through this process candidates get to experience what it’s like to be coached and developed in a collaborative and rigorous environment.
Meeting Street Schools is a magical place to work. It is also a place that is demanding and a place where people work relentlessly because we’re all driven by our desire to give kids everything they deserve to have through their educational experience. If you’ve set your mind and heart on your desire to be at a place like this, then we encourage you to apply now!
