School Counselor Mock Interview

Practice 40 School Counselor interview questions covering crisis intervention, student advocacy, and collaboration with families.

Question 10 of 40

How do you handle criticism?

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Ryan Brown

Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.

Criticisms can either be negative or constructive, so it would help if you could share an experience for both. This would show your ability to discern the feedback that you get from others and how you act on what you hear from them.

Ryan Brown

Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.

"Before I react, I try to assess first if it was a negative or a constructive criticism. Constructive criticisms are helpful, so when I receive one, I reflect on what I did and try to look at it through the eyes of my critic. Then I take note of what I need to improve on or change moving forward. But if it's a negative criticism that was given just for the sake of criticising, I ignore it and focus my attention on more important items."

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Jaymie

A real coach, not AI. I read every answer myself and write back with personalized feedback.

Typically responds within 24 hours.

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Anonymous Answer

I appreciate constructive criticism as I believe it is an opportunity to learn and grow in both my personal and professional lives; in fact, I ask for feedback periodically in order to gauge what I am doing well and what I can improve. For example, one criticism that I can remember that I received is that I asked for some clarification about something that I thought was "vague," and I was told that characterizing something as "vague" might be insulting to some people. I thanked them for their feedback and have made a more concerted effort to choose my words more carefully.

Stephanie's Feedback

It's clear that you're self-reflective and open to feedback. The specific example that you provided was helpful in illustrating how you exhibit an openness to constructive criticism.

Anonymous Answer

I don't see it as criticism but as healthy feedback. Every few weeks I like to ask colleagues and supervisors to give me feedback on how to improve as an intern and that allows me to take in what they have said and evaluate what I can do differently. I think there is also a difference between negative criticism and positive.

Stephanie's Feedback

It is evident that you want to continue to improve yourself as a school counseling professional, and that you're receptive and open to feedback. You may wish to consider deepening your response by adding a specific example of a time when you used feedback to improve a specific skill or trait. Additionally, I suggest re-wording the last sentence a bit to say "constructive feedback" rather than "negative" and "positive" criticism.

Anonymous Answer

I appreciate constructive criticism. I can use constructive criticism to grow in certain areas of my career and personal life. Therefore, I welcome it wholeheartedly.

Jaymie's Feedback

Great job! Interviewers want to know that you are open-minded and receptive to feedback and criticism and that you can use that to grow and develop.

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40School Counselor Interview Questions & Answers

Direct

1.Why did you choose to apply in our school?

Compatibility

2.Why would you make a great school counselor?

Problem Solving

3.What would you do when a student tells you that he or she wants to drop out of school?

Customer Service

4.Can you share an experience when you went above and beyond to help a student?

Discovery

5.What makes you most passionate about being a school counselor?

Scenario Based

6.Describe a challenging experience while you were counseling a student. What did you do to overcome it?

Role-Specific

7.For you, what is the role of a school counselor?

Critical Thinking

8.How do you try to counsel students who are known to cause violence?

Discovery

9.What influenced you to be a school counselor?

Communication

10.How do you handle criticism?

Scenario Based

11.Can you share an experience when you had to work on a project with teachers? What was your role and how did your group go about the task?

Tough

12.What steps would you take if a student told you he or she was being abused?

Tough

13.What would you do if a student tells you that they want to end their life?

Discovery

14.What is your greatest weakness? What are you doing to improve it?

Compatibility

15.What is your greatest strength?

Role-Specific

16.What is the role of the school counselor in relation to teachers, parents, and administrators?

Discovery

17.Why did you choose a career as a counselor?

Operational

18.How would you divide your time between meeting the immediate needs of the students and keeping up with the paperwork?

Stress

19.What do you do to relieve stress?

Conflict

20.How would you handle an irate parent?

Diversity

21.How would you explain cultural differences to students?

Competency

22.What is the difference between a therapist and a school counselor?

Organizational

23.How do you keep yourself organized?

Career Goals

24.Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Experience

25.What experiences have you had that make you feel capable of being a counselor?

Critical Thinking

26.What would you do if a student told you they were touched inappropriately by a teacher?

Capability

27.As a counselor, how would you use your role to prevent violence in school?

Discovery

28.Who is your role model? Why do you look up to this person?

Situational

29.Can you walk us through a time when a case you handled failed? If you would be given the chance to redo it, what would you do differently?

Experience

30.What experiences have you had in working with special education students?

Direct

31.Why should we hire you?

Role-Specific

32.How do you manage your time?

Experience

33.What is your experience with parenting programs?

Competency

34.What is the difference between Counseling and Coaching?

Situational

35.You witnessed a bullying incident. How will you address the situation?

Discovery

36.How would your role as a school counselor support this school's mission?

Tough

37.How do you think our school could improve?

Direct

38.What is your counseling philosophy?

Compatibility

39.What is your favorite age group to work with and why?

Role-Specific

School Counselor Mock Interview

How do you handle criticism?

40School Counselor Interview Questions & Answers

1.Why did you choose to apply in our school?

2.Why would you make a great school counselor?

3.What would you do when a student tells you that he or she wants to drop out of school?

4.Can you share an experience when you went above and beyond to help a student?

5.What makes you most passionate about being a school counselor?

6.Describe a challenging experience while you were counseling a student. What did you do to overcome it?

7.For you, what is the role of a school counselor?

8.How do you try to counsel students who are known to cause violence?

9.What influenced you to be a school counselor?

10.How do you handle criticism?

11.Can you share an experience when you had to work on a project with teachers? What was your role and how did your group go about the task?

12.What steps would you take if a student told you he or she was being abused?

13.What would you do if a student tells you that they want to end their life?

14.What is your greatest weakness? What are you doing to improve it?

15.What is your greatest strength?

16.What is the role of the school counselor in relation to teachers, parents, and administrators?

17.Why did you choose a career as a counselor?

18.How would you divide your time between meeting the immediate needs of the students and keeping up with the paperwork?

19.What do you do to relieve stress?

20.How would you handle an irate parent?

21.How would you explain cultural differences to students?

22.What is the difference between a therapist and a school counselor?

23.How do you keep yourself organized?

24.Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

25.What experiences have you had that make you feel capable of being a counselor?

26.What would you do if a student told you they were touched inappropriately by a teacher?

27.As a counselor, how would you use your role to prevent violence in school?

28.Who is your role model? Why do you look up to this person?

29.Can you walk us through a time when a case you handled failed? If you would be given the chance to redo it, what would you do differently?

30.What experiences have you had in working with special education students?

31.Why should we hire you?

32.How do you manage your time?

33.What is your experience with parenting programs?

34.What is the difference between Counseling and Coaching?

35.You witnessed a bullying incident. How will you address the situation?

36.How would your role as a school counselor support this school's mission?

37.How do you think our school could improve?

38.What is your counseling philosophy?

39.What is your favorite age group to work with and why?

40.How do you advocate for students?