If you have been through a few interviews already, you will know that they are definitely cumbersome to handle.
If your preparation is not up to the mark, there is a huge chance that you will fail the interview stage – or at least, not impress the hiring manager too much. You have to be extraordinarily wonderful for an employer to sit up and take notice of you, and deem you as a possible candidate.
Interviews are designed differently based on the position for which they are being conducted.
If you are being hired for a technical position, there is a great chance that you will be analyzed in a technical way. Some interview questions and answers are provided below for you to see how this works:
High School Counselor Interview Questions and Answers
1. What made you choose to counsel as a career?
Ever since I took up my first course in psychology, I knew working as a counselor was what I wanted to do. The fact that one can be a great source of comfort and help for someone is motivation enough.
2. And why did you decide to take up working as a counselor in a high school environment?
I believe that high school is a very tricky stage in a student’s life. There is so much that is going on with a student – educational pressure, coupled with hormonal issues is not a pleasant combination. A properly counseled teenager results in a positive thinking and mature adult. Hoping to help students at this very difficult stage in their lives is what prompted me to work as a counselor in a high school environment.
3. Is emotional counseling all that you do?
No. Working as a counselor in a school means that you have to handle many areas where you can make a difference. This may mean providing assistance with deciding which college programs to take up, helping with school course selection, and even advising parents on how to deal with troubled children.
4. What skill set does one need in order to work as a successful high school counselor?
As a high school counselor, it is imperative for you to be patient. This quality will lead you to better manage issues and crises. In addition to this, you have to be highly analytic, firm when required, soft when needed, and possess the knowledge of high school curriculums to ensure that your own programs can be correlated with them.
5. If you weren’t working as a high school counselor, what would you be doing?
I would still be a high school counselor! I cannot think of another position that suits me more.
6. How would you rate your skills as far as problem-solving is concerned?
On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the lowest), I would rate myself at a realistic 7. This is because I know that I am a great problem solver, but of course, there is still a lot more to learn.
7. As a high school counselor, what have been your prime duties so far?
During the 5 years that I have worked as a high school counselor, I have been actively counseling students about their academic and social issues. Ensuring that students understand their strengths and limitations, and work around them is something that I do very often. Creating and implementing core counseling and direction programs is one of the major areas of my work. In addition to this, I have been diligently identifying students’ requirements pertaining to their career plans, so that they remain on the right path.
8. What skills have you acquired over the years that make you an excellent person to hire as a high school counselor?
I have acquired a strong skill set over the years that I have worked in this capacity. I possess exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, allowing me to work effectively with students from different backgrounds and personalities. I am well-versed in providing advice to students to help them meet their academic goals in sync with their abilities, and I am exceptionally talented in handling crises situations in a profound, and urgent manner.
9. How do you handle the obvious stress associated with working as a high school counselor?
Stress is something that everyone has to deal with, in all jobs. It is true that working as a high school counselor means that you do sometimes get emotionally involved in students’ problems, but as a professional, I keep my distance and focus on the problem. It took me a while to work in a detached manner, but I have mastered this now.
10. What is the most difficult case that you have handled up till now?
I was once assigned a student who showed constant signs of being abused at home, but she was mum about it. It took all the expertise that I had to get her to speak up about her problems. This process took an entire academic year!
11. What is the one accomplishment that you are truly proud of?
I have had a string of accomplishments in my career, but the one that I am really proud of is the development and implementation of a series of counseling programs, which can be tweaked to meet the individual needs of each high school student.