San Joaquin Valley College Interview Questions
& Process

The online application was pretty straightforward. The recruiter seemed really energetic and chatted with me a lot, which made me feel good going into the Teams interview. I met with four people, ranging from Director to Team Leads. They briefly introduced themselves. Most of the questions focused on my background and what I know about the job. It wasn't really a chatty interview. It was supposed to be 30 minutes, but it wrapped up in about 25.

It was a good interview, and the atmosphere was professional but also comfortable. The questions asked were smart, fair, and directly relevant to the job. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but the interviewers were patient and gave me plenty of time to answer, which helped me relax.

It started with a face-to-face meeting with the supervisor or dean. Then, I had a few days to get ready for a 10-minute teaching demo. This demo had to cover any subject I was teaching and include a PowerPoint presentation. I gave this presentation to a group of peers and managers. After I left, they talked about it. Later, they called me at home to offer me a written job offer and wanted me to sign it right then. I figured the "Instructor" offer was standard, like starting part-time to learn the ropes before moving up to full-time. But honestly, very few ever get promoted, even after years. It seems like they realized after 2005 that promoting most Instructors wasn't necessary because they're easily replaceable, and part-time staff is better for profits. If you were hired after 2005, you likely haven't been promoted and probably won't be unless you teach a really unique vocational skill. I wasn't given a clear idea of what a typical General Education Instructor's job really entails. The school runs on 5-week terms, with classes 4 days a week, Monday to Thursday. My daily schedule changes every term. Students usually attend either morning, afternoon, or evening shifts, with two classes each. Classes start and end at the same time for everyone on campus. Some terms I'd teach nights, others afternoons, others mornings. Most of the time, though, I taught two classes a day, in two different shifts, covering different subjects. Sometimes my day could start at 9 am and end at 10:40 pm with a big break in between, or even longer breaks of 2.5 or 5.5 hours.

There were 3 interview rounds for this job. The first was basically a meet and greet to talk about the pay and benefits. The second interview was with the hiring manager, and it had questions about customer service and how you connect with people. The last interview was the only in-person one, with the manager and the campus president, asking more about customer service and education experience. I started to think this role was more sales-focused after that last interview.