Job Discussion Forums

Sarcastro · Joined: 18 Dec 2010 Posts: 89 Location: Ann Arbor, MI

Hey everyone, I have a Skype interview with "CSWEF and Whitestone Academy". I have no idea what I am doing or what things to look for. If any of you have some pro tips on what to do, what to say, or what to not to Smile

.

Also if you have any thing on CSWEF and Whitestone Academy Id like to hear your experiences.

Thanks!

doogsville · Joined: 17 Nov 2011 Posts: 924 Location: China

A bit more information might help you garner a few more replies. I'm guessing it's teaching job, but what kind? Will you be teaching kindergarten, children or adults? What kind of school is it. What previous experience do you have? Why do you want to work in China? All these things are relevant and all of them could come up at the interview. Have you ever had a job interview before of any kind? If so, it's hard to imagine this one will be much different.

I've only ever had a telephone interview before, and my impression was the employer was just making sure I was, in fact, a native speaker. My current job asked my two colleagues to do demo classes over Skype though, since they were both in other cities at the time.

Sarcastro · Joined: 18 Dec 2010 Posts: 89 Location: Ann Arbor, MI

Heh Right!

I am just back from a nearly two year stint in Georgia where I was teaching ESL to elem students. This particular job Im interviewing for has already seen my CV and has shown interested in speaking with me. It is with what I assume is a Chinese recruiting company and their first opening is for a High School in Haimen. The job opening in particular is for teaching History and what they named as "Culture" though the write-up didnt mention very many specifics which I do plan on asking in our interview.

I have had an interview like this before so no Im not too worried about it. But Im a huge novice when it comes to Eastern culture. I have a sis who is a head buyer with a big-box store chain and she told me to be careful. She says that at her work they have workshops and such for those who are new to doing business with China and they warn about seemingly innocuous things that may cause cultural tensions. Now I know this isnt as major as a multi-million dollar product deal but it did make me a bit wary and brought me here.

So, as I asked before, any words of advice?

roadwalker · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 1750 Location: Ch

doogsville · Joined: 17 Nov 2011 Posts: 924 Location: China

And ask what, if any textbooks they want you to teach from, so you can plan in advance, or if they want you to recommend textbooks. I'm guessing you'll be teaching 'western' history and culture, so you might want to ask them if there's any one particular country you should concentrate on out of the 191 member states of the UN that are not China. Kidding, but it's worth asking if there's any particular areas they want you to cover. The likelihood is that they'll leave it up to you what to teach.

I'm with Roadwalker on the causing offence part. Just be polite and treat it like you would any other interview. There are a ton of rules regarding etiquette and social position and politics with a small p over here. The good thing is most of them don't apply to us since we are still seen as 'barbarians' to a large extent, who do not know how to, so cannot be relied on, to behave in a civilised manner. You can get away with a lot because of that. I've worked with loud, rude, ignorant alcoholics who were tolerated with a smile and had their contracts renewed. I've witnessed behaviour from FT's that would have seen them out on the street in minutes in their own countries. I neither condone nor recommend that kind of behaviour though. Try to relax and enjoy it.