- What would you like to accomplish in your first month on the job?
- How did you hear about the position?
- Why are you interested in working for our school?
- How do you intervene with at risk students?
- What do you see as the most challenging part of this role?
Top 20 School Counselor Interview Questions and Answers for 2022
What experiences do you have in working with students with IEPs?
School counselors must often work with students with IEPs, or Individualized Education Programs. These students have highly specialized needs and require specific support to achieve academic and social goals. An interviewer may ask you this question to see if you have experience or whether you will need supplemental training in this area. In your answer, describe your experiences honestly.
Example: “I have limited experience working with students who have IEPs. In my previous role, we had a designated school counselor assigned to special education students. I collaborated closely with her to modify my counseling programming to fit the needs of students with IEPs and try to support their specialized needs. Im excited about the opportunity to gain more experience in this realm.”
How would you help a consistently disruptive student and what protocol would you follow in disciplining them?
An interviewer may ask you this question to better understand your experience working with a wide variety of students. As a school counselor, you should be able to work with students that experience behavioral challenges as well as those who have emotional or situational ones. In your answer, try to show your ability to handle such issues compassionately and effectively while avoiding punitive measures.
Example: “If a student was being repeatedly disruptive in class or other school situations, I would first work with the student to explain the negative effect of their actions and identify the cause of this problem. Behavioral issues are often caused by underlying situational or emotional challenges. If this was the case, I would recommend that the student seek appropriate psychological care and communicate effectively with their parents.”
Can you describe a situation where you collaborated with teachers and administrators to solve a student’s problem? What did you do?
Being a school counselor requires frequent collaboration with the other adults in student lives. You should provide tangible examples of past instances where you worked as a part of a student support team and found success through your problem-solving abilities. Try to demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively and work with relevant stakeholders to find creative solutions.
Example: “**A career in education almost always entails collaborating with various stakeholders to meet the needs of individual students. For example, last year, I worked with a student who experienced severe anxiety when actively speaking and taking part in class. Her teachers, parents, tutors and myself worked out a solution to help her succeed in class and focus on her studies while modifying our expectations for her level of participation.”
What would you do if an at-risk student’s parents or family members didn’t respond to your communication?
As a school counselor, you will interact with a variety of parent personalities—some parents may be over-involved, while others may be passive in their childs education. An interviewer may ask you this question to understand how you would handle such divergent and sometimes challenging situations. In your answer, try to identify methods of collaborating with parents who seem to need support themselves.
Example: “If a students family didnt respond to my repeated communication, it would raise concern for me, since parents are supposed to be the champions of their childrens education and care. I would heighten my approach in communicating with them by involving school leaders who may be able to get in contact. From there, I would work with family members to understand what supports they need to support their student.”
