School Counselor Mock Interview
Practice 40 School Counselor interview questions covering crisis intervention, student advocacy, and collaboration with families.
Question 35 of 40
You witnessed a bullying incident. How will you address the situation?
How to Answer
Example Answer
Community Answers
Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.
Do not be afraid to use 'I' when answering situational questions. It is important to demonstrate what YOU would actually do, and not just provide a theoretical answer that would 'sound good' to the interviewer. Apart from providing solutions for the current problem, also offer a 'moving forward' strategy that would prevent this from happening again. It shows that you have the foresight and the ability to act on it.
Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.
"I will call the attention of the bully and the victim immediately and ask for their presence in my office separately. I believe confronting both of them in public will not solve the problem. First, I will talk the victim to let him/her know that I (and the school) care for her and that this issue will be addressed. Then, I will talk to the bully to get to the bottom of this act and reiterate the repercussions of his/her actions. Afterwards, I will notify the parents of both parties to request a meeting so that this issue can be discussed further and sanctions can be implemented. Moving forward, I will seek the approval of the school management to conduct an information drive on bullying to raise awareness amongst students and their parents. If there are already anti-bullying initiatives in the school, then I shall propose a relaunch to affirm victims of bullying that the school is with them in this, and that bullies will not be tolerated."
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Anonymous Answer
I would intervene, using the TCI (Therapeutic Crisis Intervention) skills that I have learned to de-escalate the situation and invite them both to come with me to speak with me separately. I would support both students, offer my help/assistance to resolving any conflict, document incidents, report as per school policy, contact parents to inform them of the situation, explain the process regarding disciplinary actions to the bully. It may help to assess bullying in the school. For example, the school might benefit from a bully prevention program (training for staff and guidance for students), establishing and enforcing rules regarding bullying, and increasing adult supervision in certain areas.
Stephanie's Feedback
Excellent response! It's evident that you've given thoughtful consideration to how you would address bullying, and you clearly walk your interviewers through the steps that you would take to ensure safety and offer support.
Anonymous Answer
I would make sure to follow the school's protocol on bullying. In the past, it was to have each student write an incident report about what had happened. I would then interview each student separately. If the incident was something I could handle I would work to resolve it with the students. If it was a bit more serious issue I brought the incident to the Dean since there are strict guidelines in a bullying case. If I handled the incident I would contact the parents to help them understand the issue.
Cindy's Feedback
Great. The question is asking you to put yourself in the situation and describe it. Since you have a lot of actual experience, pick one incident and step the interviewer through your process of resolving the situation. What action did you take? Were there any unexpected situations requiring problem-solving? What was the resolution?
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