Job Discussion Forums

[Hitchie]

So I am heading into my first (skype) job interview on Wednesday for a teaching position in China. I wont bother naming the school or location because that seems to cause far to much bickering between forum members, which I would like to avoid mostly for the sanity of all involved. I will concede it would be considered a "language farm" school in a city of approx 5 million.

Now to my question. What are some of your must ask questions when going into a job interview. I am aware of the standard remuneration, accommodation, location, schedules, etc, etc, questions, but what are some others that you like to ask, or maybe some questions you prepare yourself to answer.

I have also seen advice written around the place to request the email address of previous foreign teachers to contact before committing to a school. Is this common practice, or something else entirely.

Any way, thanks for your time and thoughts and answers. I am always appreciative of the help provided on this forum.

[Denim-Maniac]

As a newbie I think you need to ask about:

On the job and ongoing training and mentoring.

The material and books they use, and do they have teachers books and MP3 or audio to go with them.

Class profiles. How they assess students and monitor them. How they promote them through levels, how many students per class.

And ask for a teachers email. Id normally phrase it to suggest you hope they can give you advice about the area and location, and anything you need to bring. What you actually ask is up to you ... but be aware anything you ask that teacher might get back to the admin.

During the interview make sure you have a positive manner, and try to speak clearly and a touch slower than usual. Good luck

Edit - perhaps you can also ask 'what is their teaching philosophy?'.
Someone asked me that in a Skype interview recently, and it really threw me.

The answers to these questions might be considered more important than the answers to queries about salary, housing and hours for some people.

[Hitchie]

[vikeologist]

Denim maniacs questions are excellent.

I suppose you should also ask some questions about potential pitfalls.

however, and this is important, don't ask too many 'negative' questions. If you as one or two you will come across as sensible and informed. Ask 10 and you'll seem like a troublemaker.

Hopefully you can get the interviewer talking and cross off things that are important to you before you havr to ask your questions.

So;

How many teachers at the school, and what age are they?

If you get two days off, are they always together

How far is the accomodation from the school?

Do you teach at one site, or do you have to travel around the city?

How many students in a class?

How many hours do you work during peak periods?


I'm a bit surprised that you don't want to mention the school. I hope at least you've checked on the internet.

It would not be unusual for the school to mislead you. There are a lot of bad schools out there, especially language mills. Also some schools will be good experiences for some and bad for others. If they don't offer to give you the email addresses of at least a couple of teachers without your asking, I'd say that was a bad sign.

This is all very negative, and as I say i've only gone this direction because dm covered positive questions.

[Hitchie]

[hilena_westb]

Bear in mind that "asking too many questions" or being too inquisitive is a warning sign to many employers, so choose to ask what is clearly relevant to performance, pay, etc. and don't get too "askative" with other information you would feel free to ask back home in a "normal" job.