Job Discussion Forums

[omarr380]

Hello. When applying to a job of some kind, how do you READ what the company is looking for? In other words, how can I tell if a language school is about seriously teaching or looking for more "customer service reps" and entertainers? I ask because I applied for a part-time job with a school and I tried reading the school during the interview with inconclusive results. All the "face" people, the first people you see when you walk in, were young, attractive Japanese women. The interviewer said that the adult students were there studying English as a hobby. So are they looking for another entertainer for the students (I can do that)? The interviewer was a middle-aged, slightly over-weight, average-looking European man who seemed to have no sense of humor. He did not smile for the entire interview. If the school is about appearence and entertainment, how would a guy like this last at the school for 7 years?

To restate my question clearly: How does one tell if a school is looking for serious teachers, or young guys to bring in Japanese women (and their money) and young girls to do likewise with J-men? I AM NOT a professional teacher and I don't plan to be (yes, I AM A CLOWN AND I AM PROUD OF IT), so I want to try to keep myself out of a situation that I don't belong in. Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.

[Glenski]

omarr,

Most eikaiwas (and most businesses for that matter) have pretty, young, usually single women at the front desk. You can't use this as any measure to read the company/school.

Most eikaiwas' adult students are there as a hobby, or to meet people, not to study English seriously, so again you cannot use this to judge the eikaiwa.

What you need to know to assess the seriousness of the school is to find out the following.
1. Will you be teaching students that have passed an interview for level check, or perhaps even passed some sort of qualifying exam from one class to the next? If not, you are going to have problems and likely be an entertainer.

2. How textbooks do they use?

3. How much time do you have to spend preparing lessons vs. using a standardized format that the school designed?

4. How much socializing is expected of you to help sales?

5. What are the credentials of the current teachers? How long have they stayed? Will the school let you talk to them?

[JimDunlop2]

I dunno... I guess the obvious cliche answer comes to mind: be yourself. I've never seen a company yet that doesn't interview candidates before hiring them -- that's what an interview is for... I wouldn't worry so much about reading THEM -- they'll read YOU...

ALL schools want (and need) is happy people filling classroom seats. That's what pays the bills (and your salary)... To what extent your role involves facilitating this task is up to each individual company. Some have "sales quotas" while others give you a bonus IF you bring in new students, while others yet don't seem to care either way -- as they have their own advertising network and marketing system. They will often tell you in the interview. If they don't, you can ask. Same goes for READING the company.... If I were in your shoes, I'd just ask if they have in mind someone who is a serious, professional teacher, or if the students like to have a song & dance routine.... It's a legitimate question.

I wouldn't gauge a company based on the interviewer necessarily... Although if the guy (or gal) gives you a bad vibe, mabe it's good to listen to your instinct. But I've also heard of "hostile interviews" (maybe not in Japan -- but definitely in N. America) where the interviewer not only doesn't smile, but does his best to discredit you, the answers you give, and may even get angry in the middle of the interview..... But that's usually just to get an idea of how react in stressful situations.

Then again, sometimes being yourself isn't always the best policy. A friend of mine was interviewed for a job... The story he told was absolutely hilarious! (I apologize to him if he's reading this)..... This a loose paraphrase of what happened:

INTERVIEWER: Can you tell us of a time in your previous job when you were faced with a stressful situation?

MY FRIEND: Well, I was waiting tables in a restaurant and I had four tables in my section that had customers... They were all ordering at the same time and I had to deal with getting all the orders right and everything...

INTERVIEWER: So, what did you do?

MY FRIEND: I lost my sh*t and started screaming!

Well, you can guess how the interview ended up.... I asked him if he *REALLY* said that in the interview.. (about losing his sh*t and screaming)
His answer: "I told you -- I just can't do interviews well!"

[AgentMulderUK]

My current boss (Japanese) openly admitted he will also employ someone if they have 'the kind of face that Japanese people like to see', then cited an individual who left recently, whose English was dire....

He will also employ people who are good teachers, of course.

But a lot of conversation schools do seem to get a lot of business from female students who just want to meet foreigners, which is hard for them to do under normal circumstances. So, it seems language teaching ability is not a primary requisite!!! Just a friendly manner and preferrably looks to match..... ?!

Having said that about my boss, he is quite young and also a remarkably successful one-man-band. So, he knows what they want and supplies it....

[bearcat]

Ekaiwa are all about image and selling a product: the stereotype foreigner teaching English. It isn't English by itself. Its a service industry not an educational one.

ALT's/Preschools: Same as above but with a little more placed into classroom management of students through enthusiasm and engery. Education still for the most part takes a back seat.

Business English/Corportate Classes: This is where image and Education start to get 50/50.

Universities or International Schools: Primarily its education skills over anything else.

However with all the above the less high maintenance you are the better and the more attractive you are for the job.

So in general a bright out going sort of person who can have the students like them will win out over pretty much anything else. Most of the above will train you to what they want you to teach, thus the skills on that side of the coin will come.