Interview Questions
- What are your names and job titles in this institution?
- Would you kindly tell me how your typical day at work is like?
- What opportunities are available for professional development in your field?
- What is the salary range for the position of a school administrator?
- What are the fringe benefits you get from your role in the school?
- What are the common problems you face in your current role in the school?
- Do you think that the demand for school administrators is on the rise?
- What are your greatest strengths within the current role in the school?
- What are your weaknesses within the current role in the school?
- What determines the success of a career in the field of school administration?
Interview Synopsis: Mr. Anthony Jones
Personal information
The person I chose to interview was Mr. Anthony Jones. The title of Mr. Jones’s job at the school is a senior development administrator. His contact number is 607-761-4999 and his email address is [email protected]. He has a degree in administration. He has worked for three years at Hazelwood Elementary as one of the school administrators. He is currently holding the position of the strategic development administrator at Hazelwood Elementary, with the responsibility of overseeing the day to day running of the department of development. I met Mr. Jones on 23rd, 24th, and 25th of March, 2015 from 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm daily at the school’s administration block. The meetings took place in his office, which is on the first floor.
I chose to interview Mr. Jones because he is my mentor. Besides, his job description is familiar to me and poses a challenge that would be a great opportunity for growth and advancement in my career. Since I am currently taking a degree program promising career with the same duties and requirements as Mr. Jones’ job position, the interview was instrumental towards understanding the implementation of tasks as per the job profile of a school administrator. Besides, I was able to grasp the practical experience of serving as a school administrator.
Experience of shadowing the administrator
In the process of shadowing the administrator, I learned that the administrator job is very demanding and requires a focused person. Apart from being the office manager, a school administrator must file reports, follow up on development initiatives, track performance indicators, and be the link between the development board and other stakeholders. Also, the job entails running the school from the business perspective as an efficient organization.
The typical work responsibilities of Mr. Jones’ current position involve generating reports, attending meetings, and reviewing the running of the school daily, especially in terms of the development plans. Mr. Jones has developed a discursive approach to explaining and exploring shared and coordinated actions and channels through which career framework functions.
Questions and interview experience
I learned that the main opportunities available for professional development in Mr. Jones’ field call for taking different training programs on management systems and learning new strategies through seminars. The business administration position has a salary range of $6,000 to $20,000 per month, depending on the size of the school. The fringe benefits identified by Mr. Jones include house allowance, vacation allowance, health insurance, and education insurance for his family members. The common problems identified by Mr. Jones as an administrator are the management responsibility for school stakeholders and working for very long hours under pressure. Despite this challenge, Mr. Jones is very optimistic that the demand for school administrators will increase in the next five years since more schools are being established every day.
Mr. Jones’ greatest strength is commitment and this helped him to overcome many challenges. His other strengths include being a team player, a good listener, and being able to use a proactive approach to work. His major weakness is getting a bit angry sometimes, especially when his ideas are confronted by other administrators. Rather, he prefers a firm assertion of mistakes without shouting. Mr. Jones stated that a successful career in the school administration field requires individual effective communication expertise, such as electronic, written, oral and visual skills to move through the promotion ladder as a negotiator, report analyst, and an authoritative team leader. Besides, the individual should be a keen observer of events as a development executive. Also, the person must be an assertive speaker and a good team player besides being a very approachable person since his position involves interacting with many people.
Personal reflection
The interview experience was life-changing. I learned that a successful career in school administration is backed with proper training, proper financial and management skills, and the ability to work under pressure. It is prudent for a person aspiring to develop a successful career in school administration to gain job experience through attending seminars and workshops organized by those already doing well in the field.
Mr. Jones’ business card
