In order to get a job as a pre-k teacher, the ideal candidate must truly love working with four-year-old children, be able to handle feedback from a supervisor and approach the job with a fair amount of flexibility —  literally.

“You have to be able to get on the rug,” said Moria Cappio, vice president of early childhood programs at the Children’s Aid Society. “Whether it’s a demo lesson or whether you’re meeting kids on a tour of a prospective site, you know, do the whole eye-level thing and really be able to get in there because I think that speaks volumes.”

Cappio spoke as part of a panel Tuesday night to a room full of potential new hires at New York University. The panel was the last of three planned for this spring by the city’s Department of Education as a way to reach prospective teachers.

The city estimated it would need about 1,000 new pre-k teachers to serve an additional 17,000 four-year-olds in pre-k programs next school year, according to Sophia Pappas, who heads the department's early childhood division. In particular, she said, the city needed teachers willing to work with English language learners and students with disabilities.

To boost its workforce, the city has recruited at local universities, paid for online advertising and held webinars to answer questions about pre-k teaching opportunities. And, new this year, the city organized panel discussions with those who run pre-k programs to allow applicants to learn more about their choices.

“One thing we learned was that pre-k teacher candidates need as much information as possible about what it’s like to work in different pre-k programs," said Pappas.

She stressed that each program, whether in a public school or community organization, has a different vibe. And prospective teachers should do their research.

"It is very important to me that I find a school that has a strong sense of community," said Ethan Cobb, who is graduating in May from NYU Steinhardt with a master's degree in early childhood education. "I’ve seen schools that do not do that well, and I’ve seen schools that do it extremely well, and you can simply see the difference in the children’s faces."

Approximately 1,300 people have already applied for pre-k jobs, city education officials said. The city will continue to take applications until the end of June.