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The importance of interviews

 
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clarke501



Joined: 18 Feb 2011
Posts: 44

PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 7:23 pm    Post subject: The importance of interviews Reply with quote

I wanted those more experienced whether they deem a lack of a 'real' interview to be a major red flag or not?

I've interviewed for a few positions in China over the last couple of years without ever actually taking up one of the offers. The only interview which included questions regarding grammar or my teaching abilities more generally was with Wall Street. Each time I have interviewed for a university position it seems the interviewer would rather I ask the questions. They often just regurgitate the general conditions of the offer. My first job in Korea was very similar to this and actually turned out pretty well, so up to this point I have assumed it is just an Asian approach and not something to worry about. But is this in fact the case? I imagine the more stringent the interview process, the better the job, but does a lack of an interview necessarily mean a trainwreck is going to follow?
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7969



Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong

PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 1:03 am    Post subject: Re: The importance of interviews Reply with quote

clarke501 wrote:
I've interviewed for a few positions in China over the last couple of years without ever actually taking up one of the offers. The only interview which included questions regarding grammar or my teaching abilities more generally was with Wall Street. Each time I have interviewed for a university position it seems the interviewer would rather I ask the questions. They often just regurgitate the general conditions of the offer. My first job in Korea was very similar to this and actually turned out pretty well, so up to this point I have assumed it is just an Asian approach and not something to worry about. But is this in fact the case?

An interview like the one you described is not a red flag. It's normal. Your performance in an interview here is probably almost 100% irrelevant, other than to confirm the lovely song that is your Anglo-Saxon voice.

clarke501 wrote:
I imagine the more stringent the interview process, the better the job, but does a lack of an interview necessarily mean a trainwreck is going to follow?

No. I doubt there's any relation between the interview and the quality of the job. My interview for my current job was sort of like you described above. Seven years later I'm still there. Either the job's really good. Or I'm really dumb Laughing
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johntpartee



Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Posts: 3258

PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 1:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The interview is (usually) just to make sure that you are relatively intelligible.

And, no, the more in-depth interviews are NOT usually the better jobs, they just wanna make the foreign clown jump through a few hoops for their amusement.
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GreatApe



Joined: 11 Apr 2012
Posts: 582
Location: South of Heaven and East of Nowhere

PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 12:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The two most recent interviews I've had were for the I.S. where I currently work. It was pretty much a "How soon can you get here?" type interview. The job is good, but they were fairly desperate for a native English speaker when they hired me.

The second interview was for a small college I was curious about last semester when I was particularly frustrated and feeling like I REALLY wanted to get back to teaching older students. The college's contact and interviewer, who was working with her boss to hire a foreign teacher, actually began the interview by insulting me as to my qualifications. Once that rough patch was over, the interview basically turned into a regurgitation of what I had put on my application.

Then came the job offer and the push to get my credentials and paperwork to the college as soon as possible. Due to a lack of willingness to negotiate the salary spread offered in the college's job advertisement, I declined the job.

--GA
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dean_a_jones



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 1151
Location: Wuhan, China

PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 6:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think the only time the interview might have more importance is if you are interviewed by a foreign head teacher etc., in which case they may be giving feedback based on your performance or helping choose between a few options.

If you are just speaking to general staff at the school, it is often someone who cannot speak English well (and the often crappy connections online don't help) and they just want to hear your string a few words together. It makes sense to ask a few simple questions (or at least have them prepared so if they ask, you have something to say) but nothing really important--anything said verbally might as well be written on water in terms of promises or agreements.
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