The College of Education’s Department of Leadership and Instruction hosted the third annual Hiring Simulation Fair last spring. The Hiring Simulation Fair gives UWG’s graduating education students the chance to practice interviewing with school administrators.
The school administrators are all working professionals who are also enrolled as graduate students in UWG’s Educational Leadership Program. Educational Leadership faculty served to oversee the event. Participation in the Hiring Simulation Fair is a course requirement for students who wish to graduate from the Secondary Education or Health and Physical Education programs.
“It is important that we train our students to be excellent interviewees, and this process facilitates that,” says Brian Mosier, assistant professor of Physical Education at UWG. “The faculty of the Department of Leadership and Instruction have gone to great lengths to make this experience as authentic as possible. As a result, the interviewees really feel as if they are applying for a teaching position.”
“The interviewers also receive a great deal in this process,” Brian continues. “The graduate students are guided by their individual professors and instructional coaches as they critically analyze the information they gather from each candidate. Each interviewer is given individual feedback on how they worked with their panel of colleagues, on their questioning techniques and in other areas.”
Before the interviews, each teaching candidate will prepare and submit a cover letter and résumé to their desired school. The administrators will review the materials in advance. On the day of the fair, the candidates will experience a panel-style interview. Afterward, administrators will give each student individual feedback on his or her interview performance and overall hiring attractiveness.
The “interviewers” represent 19 Georgia school systems: Catoosa, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Cobb-Charter, Coweta-Heritage, Douglas, Fayette, Floyd, Fulton, Fulton (N), Griffin-Spaulding, Gwinnett, Heard, Henry, Meriwether, Rockdale, Thomaston-Upson and Walker. Please contact Brian Mosier at bmosier@westga.edu for more information.
