Google Interview Hacks

How have you used data to inform the development of your counselling program? I used data first hand for a community project that I created about prescription drug awareness .. I used pre and post surveys to give to the students so I could see the effectiveness of my program. I also had parents evaluate my program at the end for feedback as well. The data I collected helped me see what worked and what I could improve on if I choose to implement the program somewhere else.

Have you ever disagreed with your principal about how to handle an issue involving a student? What did you do? I did not have a situation during my field experience where I disagreed with the principal on a situation with a student. At the end of the day, myself and the principall are a team and I would want to be comfortable running ideas back and forth, receiving feedback from them, and being able to work together to help students resolve issues. If I really did not agree with the principal, I would try to have a conversation where we each talk about our side and see if I could see where he or she was coming from. We could work towards a compromise, but if the principal is adament about something, I would respect their wishes. If for some reason, I really felt the way it was handled was not in the students best interest, I would try to have a conversation about it with my principal in a very cautious way not to make them think I did not respect their decision.

What would you do if a student said they said they planned on killing themselves? I would immediately be alarmed and take it as an extremely serious thing. I would keep them in my office, and talk to them. I would try to find out more, have they just thought about it, or do they have a plan? Do they have access to the thing they want to use at home? I would gather information about the situation and immediately call and tell my principal. We would contact the parents but keep the child with me and comfort them, maybe let them play a game or colour in the meantime. I would explain that I am glad they told me and that I am here for them. I would have the parents come pick the child up and explain to them the process for when a child says they want to kill themselves. Whatever the school policy is, the parents would have to follow that. They might have to have their child evaluated before they can come back to school. I would keep doing follow-ups with the child and help connect the ...

If you had to develop your own comprehensive school counselling program on your first day on the job, how would you start? The first thing I would do would be to give out a needs assessment to faculty and parents. Since it would be a new place for me, I would want to gather data from the people who have been in school far longer than me. Depending on the age of the students, I would also give one to students as well to see what the believe the biggest issues in the school are. Once I got the needs assessment data, I could work on creating beliefs, a vision statement and a mission statement for how I want this program to help students in the future.

How would you help a child with anxiety feel better about school? Help get the parents connected with the teacher before the school year starts, or during the year. Have a meeting between the teacher, counsellor, and parents. Find out what routines take place within the class every day and see if the parents would be willing to do the same things at home to make the child feel more comfortable.

What are some personal goals? Know every student in my case loads name by end of year, that is very important to me, nothing is worse than someone saying Hi Ms.Burnett and I can't say Hi and there name back. Be proactive, instead of reactive. Making myself visible, not always in office. I also want to create something in the school that is new and my own, something that was not previously in place. Make myself feel like an asset to the building.

How do you deal with a difficult parent? Always let them know you hear them; listen; diffuse; set goal;) I would try my best to keep an open mind in any situation involving a difficult parent. I had to make a few calls to parents that were less than happy with what I was telling them, and I got good advice from my supervisor. She told me that there were times where a parent was so angry with her that no matter what she said, it did not matter. She had to tell a parent before that she was going to hang up the phone for a few minutes until things calmed down and that the parent could call back when they felt comfortable. This was usually a good way to diffuse some of the anger. I would always want to let the parents know that I am on their side and see things how they see it. I think establishing some kind of common ground would help and then once they realize I am an advocate for them as well, we can work towards a common goal.

Have I experienced burnout, how do I cope with it? I did experience burnout a bit during my internship when I was trying to balance work, school, and life .. I tried to set some time out for myself and I find that it's important to spend time with my family .. they ground me .. and I feel like exercising is also really important .. you know I was also a swimming coach, and coaches sometimes take on a counseling role .. so with me .. sometimes exercise helps me vent my problems ..

How would you deal with a teacher who does not respect the school counselor? I have come across that during my time during my internship .. and it's usually because the teacher doesn't understand the role of a school counselor. I would first try to understand where the teacher was coming from, and just listen .. try to collaborate with them .. maybe they had an unpleasant with another counselor .. I would try my best to support that teacher in some way .. maybe in the beginning of the year .. I could administer a survey to teachers and find out what they think a counselor's role is .. and then go from there. I feel like teachers spend the most time with the kids, so they are a valuable resource ..

What counselling theories most influence me? Because I feel like I'm still learning and sorting out my own counseling style, I subscribe to a couple of theories: for example .. rebt and cbt .. both of them are behavior based, and deal with a student's thinking pattern .. I also like solution focused because it's time oriented, and helps the student change the way they feel .. But I would have to build rapport and trust with the student before we even begin ..

How do you get a group of rowdy kids attention? In order to get a group of rowdy kids to pay attention to me or to the teacher I would try to get their attention by talking about something that greatly interests them. I would try to relate to something on their level whether it be a game they like, a sport, a movie etc. I would try to incorporate something they love into our conversation or a lesson to them. If there behavior is more intrusive to the school day than that, I would like to start a 6-8 group with the students where we could work towards better behaviors in a small group setting. I could create group lessons and activities geared toward appropriate classroom behavior, following rules, consequences of rowdy behavior, etc.

How do I handle a disruptive child? I would handle a disruptive child by trying to figure out what the root of the disruptive behavior is. Maybe it has to do with a lack of attention at home, maybe it could be ADHD, or it could be because the student just had a bad day, or forgot homework , or had an argument with a student that day. Usually, there is some reason behind it and I would want to meet with the student to get to the bottom of the behavior. If it was just something that happened one time, I would find out what caused the behavior and help support the student in resolving whatever it was that caused the behavior. If it was reoccurring, I would talk to the parents to find out if they are seeing the behavior at home, talk with the teacher to gain more information, and maybe see if we could come up with a motivating behavior plan for the student that could be informed in school, at home, or both. If that didn't work, we could maybe see if the student could get referred ...

What type of students am I most drawn to and which student do I have the most difficulty working with? I am most drawn to the students who tend to come from home where they do not get adequate attention from their parents, whether it be from a home where one parent is not in the picture, or if parents are occupied with work and other things just trying to survive that they cannot always give the child undivided attention. Those students that I have seen in my experience have tended to cling to me and relied on me for comfort during the school day. I formed many bonds with students that I started to love like they were my own children. I have such a desire to give students the support they lack at home and found myself really loving spending time with those children because they were so receptive to me and really enjoyed our time together. I find it difficult to work with students who do not understand the concept of cause and affect, or consequences in general. Students that do ...

What would you do if a student made a drawing that is alarming or concerning? I saw this first hand during my internship many times where teachers would come down to our office to show us an essay that seemed to give off some red flags. There was one that was very inappropriate and we had the student come down to the office and asked questions first to just see what the students intentions were. Sometimes it seems as though the child was very innocent in what they did, and other times it seems alarming. If I believe that the drawing is giving way to some other issue that is important, I will ask the student if they have talked about it with anyone, and that I should probably share it with their parent. I give them the option to call with me in the office, or to have me do it privately.

What does a successful and safe school environment look like to me? A successful and safe school environment would look like a few of these things. It would mean students wanting to come to school every day, having faculty greet them by name when they come into the building, giving them a positive start to the day each and every day. No matter what happened that morning, that maybe put their day off to a bad start, it would mean that someone in the school has the ability to turn it around and make the student feel like everything is going to be okay. I believe it would also mean that the faculty is engaged with the students in various activities such as assemblies, trips, guidance lessons, one on one meetings, etc. There would be strict policies in place that the students and faculty were educated on and students would know what to do in case of an emergency. The students would feel supported and would feel like they are not just another name in the school.

What is my main goal as a school counsellor? My main goal is to give students confidence in every area, including academic, personal/social, and career. I've learned through teaching and interning, that there's usually a lack of confidence in one of those areas, or all 3. The greatest gift as a counsellor is hearing a student succeed. Even students that face the biggest obstacles at home, deserve to feel like their future is wide open and that anything is possible. We do want our students to be realistic, but we also want to give them hope.

What is my experience with special education? I have experience teaching special education students in the general ed classroom. I've served on ARDS, and worked with other teachers and parents in coming up with IEP's In my internship, I advocated for a special education student whose teachers were having difficulty with her, and they felt like they couldn't reach her, so we worked together one on one on her organizational skills, and I also worked with the nurse to come up with a plan to help her remember to take her medication.

How a counsellor should and would work with a family who does not respond to communication or show much interest in working with the school faculty? Reach out in various ways, emails, calls, letters home, etc. I would continue to reach out because at least if the parents did not want to be involved, they could never argue that I did not put in all my effort. I would try to create a connection with the parents, make myself relatable to them, talk with my student to find out if there are reasons the parents are not communicating. Maybe there is a language barrier, maybe they do not have access to a computer, finding out these answers could lead me to a more beneficial way of communicating with them.

What is your general attitude toward disciplining students? Students need structure, but also it is important to be patient and flexible with them. Explain consequences to actions. At my practicum and internship, I did not have to discipline students. The principal or vice principal dealt with the disciplining, and I would meet with the students to talk about what happened and how we could move toward. This usually meant we discussed the actions, the thought process, and then set goals or decided on ways we could make a better decision for the future to keep the student from facing this kind of trouble again.

How do you intervene with at-risk students? I start by talking to the students and work with them to set personal goals. I often suggest getting involved with sports teams or after school programs. Finding motivation for them, something they enjoy, a passion, something to give them a sense of belonging. Lunch bunch groups at my internship- helping students make social connections. Help them get into a routine