Top 10 Interview Questions for Teaching Assistants

Preparing for an interview can be incredibly daunting, especially if you’ve never interviewed before, or it’s been a while since you’ve sat in the ‘interview seat’. Within education, each school will have a different way of screening teachers, whether this is through a more conversational style of interviewing through to more formal approaches.

Often, it can be difficult to gauge the type of personality who will be interviewing you until you are there in the flesh. If you’re someone who struggles with pre-interview nerves, the thought of this can throw you off even more.

However, some questions tend to crop up across the board, which gives you the opportunity to prepare and think about your answers! We’ve put together the top 10 questions that are typically asked as well as some suggestions on how you can answer these to showcase yourself best within an interview.

Why do you want to be a teaching assistant?

This is probably the most common question asked, and for good reason, too! Your interviewer will want to know your motivations behind being a teaching assistant, and it’s important to clearly highlight at least three reasons why you want to be a teaching assistant. Think about your personal motivations, why you enjoy working with children, and why you think that being a teaching assistant will enrich your career long-term. 

Being able to clearly highlight your ‘WHY’ enables you to stand out from the crowd. Also, giving variety in your answer (2-3 reasons) will enable your interviewer to understand you better, beyond your professional experience listed on your CV.

Why do you think you’d be a good TA?

Simply put, it’s time to get confident talking about yourself! For a lot of us, this can be difficult, as it can feel that we are bragging about ourselves or seeming over-confident. 

However, it’s also important to be able to recognise your strengths and what makes you good at your job. After all, we spend the majority of our lives at work – so think of two reasons as to why you’d be a good TA as a minimum.

Can you tell us about your experience working with children?

If this is your first interview as a TA, we understand that it can be tricky to provide examples. So, think about other scenarios where you’ve worked with children and use this as your answer. 

If you’re an experienced TA, try to give a brief overview of your professional experience, discussing the schools you’ve worked in and giving an idea of classroom size as well as the age ranges that you were working with.

What made you pick this school?

Understandably, your interviewer is going to want to know what has motivated you to apply for an interview at their school. It’s crucial that you’ve done background research on the school and know exactly why it appeals to you. 

Try to avoid saying things like ‘the location is convenient’ or ‘I saw you had an open role’. Now is your time to talk about the specific things that you like about the school, as opposed to generalised answers that aren’t as impressive.

What do you think makes a good TA?

Think of the 5-7 things that make a good TA and create a list. If you’re allowed to take notes into the interview – feel free to do so. Try to think outside the box and come up with your own spin on answers, whilst also honouring the basic requirements of a TA to show your knowledge and experience.

How do you deal with disruptive children?

It’s crucial to think of a specific example to answer this question. Think of a moment in your career (or in your personal life if you don’t have TA experience yet) and focus on the following:

• Highlighting the disruption
• Painting a picture of the scenario and environment
• How you dealt with the situation
• Why you chose to deal with it in that way

How do you support teachers in the classroom/how would you support a teacher in the classroom?

Being a TA is more than just working with students in a classroom, a huge portion of it is working alongside the teacher you’re supporting and ensuring that you are a team. Discuss 1–2 examples of how you’ve supported teachers in classrooms previously and your approach to working collaboratively with teachers as a TA.

What ideas do you have for helping a child who is struggling in class?

Similar to the question about disruptive children, follow the same format so you can give evidence to the interviewer about how you deal with children who have slightly different temperaments. 

This could be a child who is struggling with schoolwork, struggling with their mental health, or struggling with the social elements of school. Get clarification from your interviewer before answering this question.

What is your experience level when it comes to dealing with parents?

Not all TA’s will deal with parents, but if you do (and if you have) then it’s important to talk about your experience extensively and give an example of where you’ve had to deal with a difficult situation involving parents. It’s important to always finish off with the solution that was provided and the outcome of that.

What’s the most challenging situation you’ve had to deal with and how did you deal with it?

If you don’t have examples within a classroom environment, you can use an example from your personal life – especially if this is your first interview as a TA!

If you want any more guidance on how to prepare for a TA role, speak to one of our specialist recruiters here at Engage, and we’ll be happy to help! Looking for your next role in a TA position? Search our available jobs here.