I know I'm not really much of a social butterfly on here, so most people wouldn't know that I recently got my teaching certificate.  I graduated with a degree in English and am certified to teach grades 7-12.  With my newly acquired certificate comes the job hunting process, so I thought I'd come here for some advice.  I've got a decent idea of some questions that might be asked, but do you guys have any suggestions for actually sitting in the interview? Not even for teaching specifically, just in general. Anything helps =]

Thanks in advance guys!

I always found for myself, conversation outside of the normal interview questions are a bonus. They see who you are and the connection you would have if you worked together. Simply be yourself. I hate job hutning haha so I feel you. Professional appearence but be you. :D this is not much but its what I found works for me :)

What Pei said and then I would add researching common interview questions as well as teaching-related ones. Come up with answers and practice them. 

I got my last job on my first interview, and I haven't really done much interviewing... but my advice (whatever that's worth... this is what I did in the lead up to my interview) is to google commonly asked questions by interviewers as an idea of what other people have been asked, and try and think about how you might answer as many of them as you can. You're likely gonna do fine on the questions around the subject of your job, but they're also gonna throw in some HR-oriented questions, etc. One of the questions I was asked was 'If you think a colleague is behaving poorly, how would you address the situation' or 'If you're already over capacity and your manager demands that you take on more work, how do you approach that situation'. Those are the ones that tripped me a little.

And yeah, the rest is common sense. Dress nice, be polite to everyone no matter how you're feeling. It is SUPER good if you and the interviewers can chat about more casual things and it is generally a very good sign if that happens in the interview, so don't be afraid of that.

Also, for the personal self-care because being interviewed is a nerve-racking experience for most of us - be prepared, get a good nights sleep, give yourself plenty of time to get where you need to go. If by chance something happens and it's going to affect your ability to get to the interview, give the people you're meeting fair warning (so have their numbers on hand). Breathe, try and stay calm, and treat yourself afterwards no matter how it goes, because you deserve it :)

I think all of the advice so far is spot on! The only thing I have to add is, if all else fails, stay present. An interview can be a terrifying experience, especially if it's your first and it can go by so fast. 

Remember to breathe and make eye contact. Really see the person!

The manager is looking for an answer to their hiring problem and instead of thinking of an interview as a test that you might fail, think of yourself as the solution to their hiring problem and the interview is your chance to show them. (Or maybe you aren't the answer, and that's okay too! Cuz maybe they aren't the place for you either.)

Congrats! :).

My best advice for you is to call them back and check on the job after your interview. So many times, they will hire people who they know for sure are interested enough in the job to check back, and you'll make sure that you're still on their mind. It's up to you, and how long the hiring process is, on how long to wait, but I would call BEFORE the date that you expect them to make a decision. So if they're deciding by Friday, and you interview on Monday, call on Wednesday.

Also, for whatever it's worth, I was told in business school to print my resume on heavyweight paper rather than normal computer paper so that when someone is holding the stack of them, yours will stand out more. Plus even if you submitted it online, bring a copy or two of your resume with you just in case!

As far as interview questions, I would just google and prepare to answer common questions! Plus maybe prepare some questions of your own for them. Like questions about the work environment, HR policies, benefits packages, etc. And afterwards thank them for the interview!

-takes notes- Good stuff to know when once I finally finish school and get a legit big-girl job! Nursing homes are so desperate for staff, I didn't even know a cover letter was a thing until 6 months ago and I still got hired in three different facilities xD

Seconding what Sam said about the paper.

People commented on how nice my resume looked several different times.

It does make a difference.

I got mine printed on this nice cotton paper and it wasn't that much more.

Go to a print shop if you're able and ask them what they have.

Rephrase the question in your answer! Working in residence life at univeristy gave me a lot of opprotunities to be apart of hiring processes, so I learned that a lot of people don't always get to answering the full question.

So for example the quesiton may be, "Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a coworker and what you did to overcome it".

I would say, "One conflict that I had with a cowoker was... yadda yadda. And I overcame it by... yadda yadda."

This really works two folds by helping you focus on the question at hand without getting lost and it ensures you answer the question.

And the biggest piece of advice is just to be yourself. Sure you can stretch your expereiences a little to fit the job you are applying for, BUT if they ask you about being a team player or working solo and you lie to get yourself the job, you'll find pretty quick that it isn't the job for you.

Lastly if you go awhile without interviews, or not getting hired after interviews, try your best not to take it personally. They may be thinking this person doesn't fit the job, but in reality you should be happy because what it means is the job wasn't a good fit for you.