Job Discussion Forums

[studmuffin]

I have an interview next week for the HK Pnet position. I would appreciate it if anyone could let me know about the interview. Is the interview conducted by an actual principal that I would be working for if I was to get the job? I hear that in the past many applicants were not offered positions until well in to the summer. Is this still the case? Is it true that they still have many Pnet positions needed to be filled? Also, if you could suggest a reasonable 3 star hotel on the island. Many thx and good luck to fellow applicants!

[Smoog]

Last question first: Yes there's still lots of PNET positions going. At the start of the year, they'd only filled 41 of the 100 positions going. I can't remember off-hand but a lot of PNETs didn't renew their contracts last year (50% or more I think).

When I applied at the start of last year, I didn't get an interview until May, but was accepted only 2 days later. However this is where the problems started. It took them more than 2 months to process my application (the Aussie organisation they had contracted to handle this were frigging hopeless and kept giving me the wrong advice as to what I had to send in - they even forgot to tell me I had an interview at 3pm until I turned up for my 5pm interview) and they don't send your details out until they've done that. They finally told me in at the end of June that they had finished processing everything and would only then start trying to find a school for me, but couldn't guarantee anything!
I gave up on them and came here anyway, and found myself a job in a private centre. Then at the start of August I received an email from a school offering me a position, which of course I couldn't take up because I'd already started the other job.
Though I am starting a PNET position, starting tomorrow. They were advertsing at the start of this year, wantng people to start asap. The school I'll be in had their PNET leave after just 2 months, so they haven't had one since November last year.

Best advice I can give is that you is make sure you have a Police cert (showing you have committed no major crimes), your full academic quals, (including academic records), letters of service from ex-employers, and anything else the EMB says is needed. My problem was I listened to the Aussie company who told me the academic records weren't necessary until the end of May and it took a fortnight to get them off the universities I'd attended. They also gave me a request form to sign so they could get the police clearance cert themselves. However 3 weeks later they informed me that only I could request said letter and that took another 2 weeks to get. Meanwhile the EMB was waiting until they got all the paperwork before going ahead with the processing.

As for the job interview - if it's just the introductory one, it'll likely to be a video interview with 2 people, a Westerner and an Asian. It won't be the principal of the school you'll be working for. They first interview you and if accepted then send your details out to various schools and they decide whether they want you or not. Even then, they'll probably want to interview you themselves. If you're over here, it's pretty daunting. I had one interview where there was more than 10 people in attendance. 3 prinicipals, 2 DPs, the head of the English dept, Head of the ESOL dept, another NET teacher, 2 other english teachers, and a couple of others whose reasons for being there I can't recall. It freaked me out, as I had no idea there would be so many. Suffice to say I didn't get the job.

For the intial interview, the EMB sent me a big long list of questions, which was invaluable as they ask some pretty specific thorny ones. They especially like to know what extra-curricular activities you can offer, as this is a big part of NET teaching. And they use Big Books as their primary source of teaching, so really push how mush you use and like them.
They ask you about classroom management skills (how would you deal with uninterested/lazy/belligerent students etc). This one I personally found difficult to answer. The school I was teaching in at the time in the previous month had an arson attack, a shooting, a suicide, a 14 yr-old becoming pregnant and 10 suspensions in one day alone for fighting and/or drug use (admittedly it was a particularly bad month). You quickly learnt to have extremely effective classroom management schools and the idea of a 6 yr old saying they don't want to learn barely registers a flicker on the classroom-problem-o-meter.
But I digress.
They really want their PNETs to be lively, energetic and humourous. So try to be very enthusiastic and cheerful.
Oh, and don't say you hate children. That doesn't go down too well.

As for the hotels, they send you a list if you're accepted by a school. I had somewhere to stay here, so I can't help you at all in that regard sorry.

[studmuffin]

Thx for th info, but I'm a little bit freaked out now. I am flying next week from Dubai to Hong Kong for the initial interview (at my own expense). From what I understand, this initial interview will be conducted by probably 2 people. If that goes well, I also understand that I will probably be contacted within a few days to let me know that I have been selected for the PNET program.
Does this mean once they select me, I will need to go back to Hong Kong for another interview, the "daunting" one you talked about?
I have my documents, including college transcripts, so hopefully that end of it will go smoothly.
Thx again.

[Smoog]

I wouldn't think so. I was here already. I would imagine that they would just contact you by phone. Thinking back to last year, I was sent an email offering me a position and asking when was the best time to call me.
I seriously doubt they'd expect you to fly over for every interview! You might have several. I had 3 myself.
Well, good luck.

[studmuffin]

Ok, thx Smoog.
In the first email you sent you said:

" For the intial interview, the EMB sent me a big long list of questions, which was invaluable as they ask some pretty specific thorny ones."

How can i get this list? Just want to be sure I have all the bases covered.

[Smoog]

I was sent the list when they confirmed the initial interview. I don't have it any more I'm afraid. Maybe you could email the EMB and ask them for it.
They were pretty detailed questions from what I remember. Like how you would plan several lessons around using a Big Book, what extra-curricula activities you could do, how would you set up a English corner, what would you do if you ended up in a school where there is minimal english usage and how would you encourage the school and students to become more involved. That sort of thing.