1. Get lost and show up late. Sometimes we schedule interview teams on very tight timelines. Many charter school leaders are one-deep and don’t have time to waste, so spending ten minutes waiting for you sours the start of the interview. Show up late and you make our job easier than it should be.
2. Disclose character flaws. There is a big difference between an error in execution, an error in judgment, and a character flaw. A candidate who told us he cheated his way through high school geometry told us enough to say, “No thanks.”
3. Bash your last boss/school. We are eager to prune negative and disgruntled employees. Charter schools are small enough to feel claustrophobic. We don’t like to bathe in sour grape juice. Show us your critical side and we’ll show you the door.
4. Shine us on. If you inflate your resume, overstate your responsibilities, finesse your degrees, or otherwise engage in puffery, we will find out. We check references carefully because we can’t afford to hire badly.
5. Stay general at all times. When we ask for specific answers and stories give us platitudes and generalities. Fill the interview with sunny mush. If you can’t tell us how you did it, we can’t tell you to sign on.
6. Confuse us with private schools or our neighborhood district. The charter school movement is unique and has a particular identity and self-image. To survive, we are advocates bordering on zealotry so we react strongly if you get us confused with our cousins. If you misname us or confuse us with what we are not, we’ll invite you to go apply at one of those schools.
7. Make it all about you. Ask us about salary, request special exceptions, challenge the work hours, compare us to some more desirable job. Charter schools are all about us and we. Make it about you and we’ll give a chance to make a quiet exit.
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