Every hiring season, the same thing happens in schools across Lahore. A chemistry graduate comes for her interview with 40 slides on chemical bonding. The projector won’t turn on. She has no plan B, so she reads from her phone for twelve minutes while the coordinator keeps looking at the clock.
She knew her chemistry well. That wasn’t the problem. Subject-based teaching interviews don’t test how much you know. They test whether you can teach it to a 14-year-old, on a bad day, with a broken projector and three people watching you.
We hire teachers at Profyd too, and we’ve sat through more demo lessons than we can count. Most people who don’t make it aren’t bad teachers. They just got ready for the wrong thing. So here’s what actually matters on the day, from what we’ve seen. The teaching demo class gets the most attention here, because that’s where most jobs are won or lost.
What Subject-Based Teaching Interviews Actually Test
Most schools and tutoring companies in Pakistan use the same three steps. First a short written test on your subject. Then a demo lesson. Then a talk with the principal or the subject head. Some schools skip the test. Almost no school skips the demo.
The written test is usually easier than people think. If you’re applying to teach O Level physics, you’ll get O Level physics questions, maybe with one or two harder ones to see how far your knowledge goes. Schools mostly use it to catch people who lied on their CV.
The demo is where the real decision happens. You can do well on the test and still lose the job in the demo. We’ve hardly ever seen it go the other way.
Study the school syllabus, not your university notes
Fresh graduates make this mistake all the time. They open their university notes and start revising. Then the panel asks them to explain photosynthesis to Grade 7, and they get stuck. The university version is full of words a Grade 7 child has never heard.
Before the interview, find out which syllabus the school uses. In Lahore, it’s usually the Punjab board for matric, Cambridge for O and A Level, or the Single National Curriculum for primary classes. Download the syllabus and a few past papers. Then read the chapters for the classes you’d teach. You already know the subject. What you’re learning is how to say it at their level. Our post on challenges in math teaching and their solutions shows how teachers simplify hard topics.
Practise explaining one topic to different kinds of students
Pick a topic you’ll surely teach, like fractions, the water cycle or Newton’s second law. Explain it out loud to an imaginary student who understands quickly. Then explain it again to a student who is totally lost.
Now picture a student who learned it wrong and keeps repeating the same mistake. Panels love asking about this kid. “A student says heavy things fall faster than light things. What will you do?” If you’ve thought about it before, you’ll sound like a teacher. If not, you’ll sound like you’re reading from a book.
Here’s one simple answer to that question. Drop a book and a flat sheet of paper together. Then scrunch the paper into a ball and drop both again. The student sees it with their own eyes, and you didn’t have to argue. Answers like this, where you show instead of tell, are the ones panels remember.
Plan a demo lesson that fits in fifteen minutes
Most demos last between 10 and 20 minutes. That’s shorter than it sounds. Nearly everyone plans too much and then rushes the part where students try the work themselves. A simple one-page lesson plan keeps you on track.
Teach one thing only. Start with a quick question to see what the class already knows. Explain the idea with one example on the board. Give students a short task and walk around while they do it. Finish by asking a few students one question each to check they got it.
For example, a 15-minute maths demo on the area of a triangle could look like this. Two minutes asking students what area means. Four minutes showing how a triangle is half of a rectangle. Six minutes for students to solve three questions in their notebooks. Three minutes checking answers together. Nothing fancy. But the panel sees a full lesson from start to end, and that’s really all they want.
Write your plan on one page and bring copies for the panel. Also keep a backup plan that only needs a whiteboard marker, because projectors stop working more often than you’d think.
If you’re interviewing for an online job, things work a bit differently. Our guide on teaching engaging online lessons shows how to keep students active through a screen, and most of it works for any subject.
Know what the panel is watching
The panel rarely stops you during a demo, so it’s easy to think they’re marking your subject knowledge. Mostly, they aren’t. They’re watching what you do when a student gives a wrong answer. Do you just say “wrong” and move on, or do you ask a question that helps the student find the mistake?
They notice small things too. Can your writing on the board be read from the back row? Do you learn a few names? Are you talking to the students, or do you keep looking at the principal? Our advice? Teach the kids and forget the panel is even there. Easier said than done, we know.
Get ready for the questions that always come up
After the demo, the talk usually goes the same way. They’ll ask why you want to teach, how you’d handle a student who disturbs the class, and how you’d help a weak student. There’s often a question about parents, and one about how you’d know if your lesson worked.
Keep one real example ready for each. Home tuition counts. So does teaching practice during your B.Ed, or helping your cousin pass his matric maths paper. A short true story works better than a perfect answer anyone could give.
Say they ask how you’d help a weak student. Don’t say “I will give extra attention.” Everyone says that. Try something like: “I’d sit with her for five minutes during the task, find the exact step where she gets stuck, and give her two easier questions on just that step before moving on.” The second answer tells the panel you’ve sat next to a struggling kid before. The first one doesn’t. Our online teaching interview tips cover more of the common questions.
Don’t have much teaching experience yet? Lots of good teachers started in the same place. Our post on getting teaching jobs without experience has simple ways to build your experience fast.
Keep a few questions of your own ready
At the end, someone will ask, “Do you have any questions?” Don’t say no. Ask how many periods a week you’d teach, which classes you’d get, and whether checking copies and parent meetings happen during school hours or after.
Also ask how new teachers get help in their first term. If the school has a clear answer, like a senior teacher who sits in your classes and gives feedback, that’s usually a better place to start than a school that pays a bit more but leaves you on your own.
Rehearse out loud, not in your head
Reading your lesson plan quietly on the bus the night before isn’t practice. You need to hear yourself say it. Stand up, teach the demo to an empty room or someone at home, and time it on your phone.
Your first try will probably run over time. That’s a good thing. It shows you what to cut, and it’s much better to find that out at home than in front of a coordinator holding up two fingers to say you have two minutes left.
If you can, record one try and watch it. You’ll probably wince a bit, everyone does. Most of us talk way too fast when we’re nervous. And a lot of us turn our backs to the class while writing on the board without even noticing. Both are easy to fix once you see them.
Reach early and dress like a teacher
Try to reach the school at least 20 minutes early. You know what Lahore traffic is like. Rushing in hot and out of breath right before a demo is a tough start. Reaching early also lets you see the classroom, check the board, and ask if the projector works.
Dress the way teachers at that school dress on a normal day, maybe a little neater. Be polite to everyone you meet, including the guard at the gate and the front desk staff. In small schools, the principal often asks them later what they thought of you.
Take the right documents with you
Bring a printed CV even if you already emailed one. Add copies of your degree, transcripts and CNIC, two passport-size photos and your lesson plan. Bring experience letters if you have them. Keep your original documents in a folder in case they want to see them, but don’t leave them behind.
Panels often look at your CV while they talk to you, so it matters more than you’d expect. If yours still starts with a general line about being hardworking, our guide to writing a strong CV for teaching jobs shows how to put your real teaching work at the top.
Watch out for fake jobs
Most schools are real, but fake jobs do get shared in WhatsApp and Facebook groups. Be careful if anyone asks for a “registration fee” or “training fee” before the interview, or if everything happens on voice notes with no address and no official email. A real school pays you. You never pay them.
Before you go, search the school on Google Maps and check the address matches what you were told. Look it up on Facebook too. A real school will have parents commenting, event photos and posts going back years. If the page was made last month and has no reviews, call the school office before you travel anywhere.
Where to find subject teaching jobs right now
Once your demo and answers are ready, apply where jobs are actually open. Profyd lists subject teaching jobs for schools and online tutoring, and you can see what’s open today on our current jobs page.
If you teach English, the English Teacher Jobs listing is open now. Read what they’re asking for, note the class levels, and plan your demo on a topic from that level before you apply.
Conclusion
Yes, a lot rides on one short demo. That’s exactly why one evening of practice makes such a difference. You know the steps, you know most of the questions, and you can practise the demo at home in front of a mirror or a younger brother or sister until it feels normal.
Study at the level you’ll teach. Keep the demo small. Bring real stories, not big words. Do those three things and you’re already ahead of most people walking into that room. When you’re ready to apply, see teaching careers at Profyd.
FAQs
What should I take to a teaching interview?
A printed CV, copies of your degree, transcripts and CNIC, two passport-size photos and a one-page plan for your demo. Bring experience letters if you have them, and keep your original documents with you in a folder.
How long is a demo lesson in a teaching interview?
Usually 10 to 20 minutes. Ask the school before the day which class and topic they want, and whether you’ll teach real students or staff acting as students.
How can a fresh graduate prepare for a subject-based teaching interview?
Study the school’s syllabus for the class you’d teach, practise a short demo out loud, and collect examples from tuition, teaching practice or volunteering. Panels care much more about how you explain things than how many years you’ve worked.
What if I make a mistake during the demo?
Fix it calmly and carry on. Teachers make small mistakes in real classes all the time. The panel cares more about how you handle it than the mistake itself.
Do I need a B.Ed for subject teaching jobs?
Not always. Many private schools in Pakistan hire subject graduates and train them, mostly for secondary classes. A B.Ed does help with bigger school chains and can get you a better starting salary.