Making Hiring Decisions

Before Northern Burlington began their spring break, I talked a with Mr. Konowicz through zoom about what he looks for when looking to hire new teachers for the career and technology education programs at Northern Burlington. We discussed some of the characteristics and traits preferred in candidates as well as what programs might be the beneficial to add to the curriculum.



Overall Mr. Konowicz stated that he looks for teacher candidates who have positive energy and charisma, as they tend to keep the students’ interest for longer time periods. In addition to having positive energy it is also important that the teacher candidate meshes well with the existing teachers. If for whatever reason the new teacher were not to get along with the other teachers, they may not have the best working relationship. In addition to the relationships between the teachers, the teachers’ relationships with their students is also important.



The teachers must maintain an appropriate professional relationship with their students but this doesn’t mean the relationship is a one-way street. The teacher needs to maintain the professional relationship but the students need to be comfortable enough to contribute to the classroom. Northern Burlington fosters a community of learners. In a sense they are trying to maintain a learning environment where the students play an active role in their education. This can either be through active participation during classroom experiences or by suggesting possible topics for classroom discussion.



With the possibility of a varied classroom acting as a community of learners the teacher needs to both be flexible and have a good background content knowledge. By having these two traits a teacher would be able to role with what the students are interested in or knowledgeable about while still keeping the class on track to hit all of the important topics. By being flexible a teacher is also prepared for if a specific lesson cannot happen on the day it was originally planned to happen.



Taking this flexibility into consideration it is also important for the teacher to be confident in their presentation of the material. If the teacher is not confident in their ability the students will be less likely to respect the teacher as a teacher. Making sure that the teachers are going to behave in a professional manner with their students is key and providing the students with a structured environment where they can learn all the necessary material.



There are more traits and characteristics to look for when hiring a new teacher but these are the ones that stood out to me the most. Teacher candidates with the traits mentioned can easily learn more background content or skills. It is much more difficult to change who you are as a person then it is to increase your background knowledge. In addition to confidence and professionalism, what do you think are some of the most important traits of a teacher candidate?