Job Discussion Forums

sedaa91 · Joined: 07 Jan 2012 Posts: 34

Hi all!

I have just been offered an interview with Private Bilkent Primary in Ankara... does anyone know anything about this school? Any pointers would be great. I am super nervous.

The interview will be conducted over Skype, so any tips on that would be great as well.

Thank you and Happy Valentine's Day!

gator07 · Joined: 26 Sep 2011 Posts: 45

To be honest, I don't know a ton about the primary school. Those I've known who have worked at the high school/prep school have said the students are quite challenging and classroom management is a major issue. But, that can be an issue no matter where you go. However, Bilkent is a reliable employer and typically offers a good package. Good luck!

kaurinz · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 24 Location: Istanbul, Turkey

Don't know anything about the school you mentioned just a little bit about skype.

If you are having an audio chat, it usually helps to have a headset on, as it will cut down on feedback and echo for the person on the other end. We have also found that if we are far away (i.e. 10k km or more) from the other party on the call that doing a video chat usually leads to a frozen picture and distorted audio. You can usually just turn off the video, and after several seconds the audio should clear up.

If you are at home it is always a good idea to ensure that you are not doing any other high-bandwidth task at the same time, such as downloading a large file in the background using file sharing or streaming video to a console.

If you are sharing your internet connection with others and it is sometimes quite slow then you might find that you will be unable to have a video chat without a lot of distortion or time delay.

Hope some of those tips help. Good luck with the interview.

gator07 · Joined: 26 Sep 2011 Posts: 45

I'd also recommend having some sort of example lesson sketched out and a teaching philosophy. It doesn't need to be super in-depth, just something you can fall back on just in case they ask. Being over-prepared always makes me less nervous. Plus, in the last few interviews I've had, they've always asked for those things. Smile

sedaa91 · Joined: 07 Jan 2012 Posts: 34

gator07 - what would you recommend? This would be my first job ever after graduating if I were to get it.

Thanks everyone!

gursky · Joined: 01 Nov 2011 Posts: 19

Kids might be spoilt but I think that's the case in many private schools.
Bilkent is well known and probably one of the most reliable (in terms of getting paid on time etc.) schools in Turkey.
Good luck!

OnurluOnur · Joined: 12 Aug 2011 Posts: 8

Bilkent Uni. is a good place to get training though it may be tough to work with a management who sees you a potential troublemaker

OnurluOnur · Joined: 12 Aug 2011 Posts: 8

and a sad thing is that local teachers get much less than international ones, which is quite unfair.
the flats on campus are pretty small as well.

sedaa91 · Joined: 07 Jan 2012 Posts: 34

OnurluOnur - what do you mean by that? I've seen the flats they seem pretty decent. I haven't seen the school in person though obviously I'm overseas. However, if you were to check my username you would see that I am of Turkish origin. How would I be considered an international teacher?

OnurluOnur · Joined: 12 Aug 2011 Posts: 8

Don't know what the policy there exactly is now, but I know of schools that employ people of Turkish origins, who cannot actually speak Turkish, and pay them what they pay to local teacher. I would ask this to the school openly if I were you.

Some of the flats are fine(ish) but some are just tiny.

Wish you luck