Acing Your First Teaching Job Interview After CELTA

Now that you've finished your CELTA, having worked hard, developed a new set of teaching skills, and earned one of the most widely recognised qualifications in English language teaching, it's time to consider the next step: securing a job.

The good news is that CELTA-qualified teachers remain in demand around the world, in language schools, colleges, summer programmes, and online platforms. The slightly more daunting news? You’ll need to get through at least one job interview first.

This post will walk you through the types of questions you’re likely to face in an English teaching job interview, how to prepare for them, and how to use your CELTA experience to your advantage, even if you’ve never worked as a teacher before.

How to Prepare for Your EFL Interview

A successful interview begins well before the first question. Preparation helps reduce nerves, builds confidence, and shows potential employers that you take the opportunity seriously.

Start by researching the school or organisation. Look at the courses they offer, the learner age groups they focus on, and any information about their teaching style. Try to identify one or two genuine reasons the role interests you, even something simple like “I liked how your website talked had videos of students talking about their experience” shows you’ve engaged.

Review your CELTA materials, especially your own lesson plans, tutor feedback, and any moments that challenged you. Reflect on what you learned from both successful and difficult lessons. It's very normal to be asked about a good or bad prior teaching experience. You should also review lesson frameworks and staging as this will help as the basic building block of any question about planning lessons.

Refresh your grammar knowledge, particularly the areas you struggled with during CELTA. You might not be tested, but it’s not very unusual to be asked how you might approach a lesson about present perfect or about conditionals. Focus on clarity, not jargon because they'll want to know you can communicate with learners, not impress other teachers.

Think through what you know about classroom management, including how you’d handle common challenges like dominant students, late arrivals, or students that won’t speak. Be ready to describe your instincts, but also mention how you’d reflect, adapt, or seek advice if things didn’t go to plan.

Prepare some questions to ask the interviewer. This could include support for new teachers, materials provided, class sizes, or professional development opportunities. Finally, if the interview is online, check your tech and dress professionally, even if it’s a video call from your bedroom.

Personal Qualities and First Impressions

Most job interviews begin with general questions designed to get a sense of who you are, how you communicate, and how well you might fit into a team. Common questions include:

• “Tell me a bit about yourself.”

• “Why did you decide to become an English teacher?”

• “What do you enjoy most about teaching?”

• “What are your strengths and areas for development?”

These questions aren’t meant to be tricky. They’re an invitation to present yourself with warmth and professionalism. Avoid rehearsed monologues. Instead, speak naturally about your interests, your background, and what drew you to teaching. You don’t need to pretend you’re already an expert, but do show that you’re reflective, curious, and eager to learn.

If you’re applying for work abroad, you may also be asked about how you cope with new environments or challenges:

• “Have you lived or worked abroad before?”

• “What would you do if you felt homesick or isolated?”

Interviewers want to know that you’ll handle the adjustment — not that you’re fearless, but that you’re resourceful and self-aware. If you’ve studied abroad, worked in a new city, or managed a difficult transition in life, share that.

What Do You Know About the School?

Sooner or later, you’ll almost always be asked a version of:

• “Why do you want to work here?”

• “What do you know about our school or courses?”

This is where your research matters. Employers don’t expect you to know everything, but they do expect more than “I saw your ad on TEFL.com.” Try to mention something specific, like the age group they teach, their methodology, their support for new teachers, or even the country’s appeal. This shows that you’ve thought about the role and aren’t just applying to anything with a job title.

If you can’t find much about the school online, then it's fine to say so politely, and pivot to what you’re looking for in a role, and why their job description appealed to you.

Teaching Knowledge and Classroom Scenarios

This is often the most substantial part of an EFL interview. The interviewer is looking to understand how you think as a teacher. You might be asked to comment on a piece of material, respond to a classroom scenario, or answer a grammar question on the spot.

Typical questions include:

• “What would you do with this page from a coursebook?”

• “Can you describe a lesson that went well? Why?”

• “How would you deal with a student who keeps interrupting others?”

• “How would you explain the difference between the past simple and present perfect to a B1 learner?”

• “How would you handle a class that’s unusually quiet or reluctant to speak?”

Take your time. For materials-based questions, show that you think about lesson aims, interaction patterns, and student engagement not just getting through exercises. For grammar, don’t worry about being perfect. Focus on clarity and learner-friendly explanations. If you're unsure, it's better to say “I'd double-check this before teaching it” than to bluff.

When talking about classroom management, avoid sounding punitive. Employers want to see empathy, flexibility, and awareness of cultural differences, especially if you're applying abroad. Acknowledge that things don’t always go smoothly, and show how you’d reflect, adapt, or ask for support.

Drawing on Your CELTA Experience

If you’ve never taught outside CELTA, that’s absolutely fine — but you do need to frame it confidently. CELTA is intense, practical, and widely respected. Use it.

Rather than saying “I don’t have experience”, say things like:

• “On CELTA, I taught a group of pre-intermediate adults and learned how to adapt tasks when students finished at different speeds.”

• “In one lesson, my instructions didn’t work the first time, so I paused, got the students' attention, and rephrased.”

These kinds of answers show the qualities employers are looking for: self-awareness, adaptability, and a willingness to learn. If you worked in other sectors before CELTA, whether hospitality, care, administration, it’s also worth drawing on those experiences where relevant.

Safeguarding and Professional Conduct

If you're applying to teach children or teenagers, especially in the UK or Europe, interviewers may ask about safeguarding or child protection. You could hear:

• “What would you do if a learner told you something concerning?”

• “Have you had any safeguarding training?”

• “What are the boundaries between teachers and students?”

If you don’t have direct experience, it’s fine, but don’t say “I don’t know.” Instead, say you’re aware of the importance of safeguarding, describe what you'd do in principle (e.g., report concerns to a designated staff member, never promise confidentiality), and express your willingness to take any required training.

Even if safeguarding doesn’t come up, you may still be asked about professionalism, particularly if you're a younger applicant or applying for a job abroad. Some schools have had issues in the past with teachers partying with students, arriving late, or breaking contract commitments. Expect questions like:

• “Would you socialise with students outside class?”

• “What would you do if you felt unwell or overwhelmed during your contract?”

These questions aren’t there to trip you up. They’re a test of maturity. Be honest, but make it clear that you understand professional boundaries and take the job seriously. A school isn’t just looking for someone who can teach. They’re looking for someone they can trust.

You’ve Got the Qualification — Now Get the Job

The CELTA opens a lot of doors — but interviews are where you prove that you're ready to walk through them. With the right preparation, a little reflection, and a calm, honest approach, you can show schools not just what you know, but how you think, how you work, and how you'll grow.

Teaching is a people-centred profession. Use the interview to show that you're someone worth having on the team.

Ready to start your CELTA journey?

Find out more about our CELTA courses online, and across the UK — and take the first step toward a career in English teaching here. Or you can find more posts about working in the world of English teaching here.

About the author:

Dr Connor O'Donoghue hails from Ireland and he started teaching English as a foreign language in Poland in 2003 and he became a CELTA trainer in 2008. He has taught and trained in Ireland, the UK, France, Italy, Slovenia, Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. Connor also holds a Masters and a PhD in Education from Trinity College in Dublin. He has previously managed large teacher training centres in Vietnam and in London before founding DC Teacher Training.