School Counselor Mock Interview
Practice 40 School Counselor interview questions covering crisis intervention, student advocacy, and collaboration with families.
Question 6 of 40
Describe a challenging experience while you were counseling a student. What did you do to overcome it?
How to Answer
Example Answer
Community Answers
Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.
Similar to the other questions, the basic guide to answering situational questions is to describe the circumstance, explain your course of action and then the result of your action. Answering this way also shows the interviewer that you know how to organize your thoughts.
Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.
"There was a time when I had to counsel a student who was giving me an attitude the entire time because she didn't want to talk to me. I told the student that if she didn't cooperate, she'll be seeing more of me in the coming days because I'll schedule more sessions until she decides to cooperate. I believe she wants to get it over with and so she cooperated. In return, I made the sessions worth her while by being very understanding of her concerns. Eventually, we were able to complete her sessions with me."
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Anonymous Answer
I was working with an adolescent male who did not want to work with me, and I just kept showing up. I started building rapport with him by discussing his interests, listening to some of his favorite music, and talking about that, playing games that he enjoyed. He eventually came around and began sharing his concerns with me.
Stephanie's Feedback
Great response; it's clear that you were able to build a genuine connection with this young man, which caused him to open up to you. My only feedback would be adding a bit more detail to the part where you mention that he "did not want to work with me." Was he just quiet or openly defiant? This information might be helpful to your interviewer.
Anonymous Answer
There was a time when I was counseling a student who did not want to talk with me and was difficult in our counseling sessions. I continued to question the student learning more about the student's interests, hobbies, or outside activities. I built a rapport with the student by greeting in the morning or in the lunchroom. Showed interest in the student's life at school and outside of school. Eventually, the student warmed up to me and worked with me in a more positive manner.
Cindy's Feedback
Good start. The example provides good information about your problem-solving skills and judgment.
Anonymous Answer
I think a challenging experience might be when a student won't talk and just sits in my office, pouting or being silent. I would overcome this by giving the child options to express themselves in other ways like coloring a picture or journaling.
Marcie's Feedback
This is a good example but too vague. Instead, discuss a specific instance when a student reacted in this way. Provide lots of information about how you helped the student get past this. Doing so will strengthen your answer and make it much more meaningful to the interviewer. Good job!
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