I applied online. The process took 4 months. I interviewed at Teach for America (Seattle, WA) in Jan 2015
Interview
The interview process was long and way too serious. There are like 5 steps before you even get accepted. Then from there you have to accept before you get a placement. I made it to the phone interview process but did not make it past that. I thought I had a good phone interview, but something that happens. I think they do look for people who have quite a bit of experience with children. Also if you do get past the phone interview and in person interview and get an offer, you could get an offer anywhere and for any grade. It felt like you were gambling.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
When did you disagree with a policy your manager has in place and what did you do about it?
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Teach for America
Interview
Submitted the online application with essay and was automatically bumped to the final round. The final all day interview involved a 5 minute lesson with 1 minute of prep time (they literally time you to the second and will not allow you to go over). From there, we had a series of group activities to model how we work in a group. Finally, the day ended with a one on one interview that lasted anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes.
On the day that I interviewed, four of the ten applicants did not finish their lesson within the time frame. None of these applicants were admitted (even the applicant with a really engaging science lesson). One applicant had a lesson in which he lectured for the entire 5 minutes, he was also not admitted. The other 5 applicants (myself included) had lessons that were under time and involved some element of teacher modeling, grouping practice, and final assessment/closing. This is the basic structure of a lesson that you will be teaching should you be admitted. For this reason, make sure you create a lesson that is under time, practice it multiple times, and include instruction, practice, and assessment. For anyone that is wondering, I taught my group how to ask someone their name in Spanish and how to respond when someone asks your name. I included specific points on pronunciation and inflection.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Why do you want to serve in low income, under resourced schools?
I applied online. The process took 5 months. I interviewed at Teach for America (Berkeley, CA) in Apr 2014
Interview
The hiring process includes an online application, phone interview, online activity, and final interview. Although this is the full multi-step layout, some applicants may be invited straight to the final interview and thus be able to skip the phone interview and/or online activity portions. Over all, Teach For America is an amazing organization and their leadership team members were very informative and positive to interact with throughout the entire recruitment/application process.