Job Discussion Forums

[midlifetraveller]

Hi - I'm new to this game and have been offered a telephone interview with an International House school in Eastern Europe.
It's my first interview and I'm wondering what kinds of questions will be asked - can anyone give me some examples?
I really don't want to screw up this opportunity!!

[denise]

They'll ask about your past teaching experiences, what you would do in given situations in a classroom, which levels and ages you prefer and why, what your future goals are, why you want to teach at their school and live in their country, past living abroad experiences and how you coped with the new country and culture, etc.

d

[Frizzie Lizzie]

They should also give you the chance to ask them questions - make sure you come up with a list in advance, such as what course books they use, what resources they provide (in terms of books for teachers, as well as teaching aids such as tape recorders, OHP), professional development programmes (workshops), working hours (and what exactly is an "hour", e.g. 45 minutes, 60 minutes), and anything else you might consider of importance.
Good luck.

[midlifetraveller]

Thanks Denise - that's a very useful answer!

[midlifetraveller]

Thanks too Frizzie Lizzie. I know these things should be obvious but I'm just really nervous undergoing this career change in my fifties!

[Ariadne]

Sometimes they just want to hear your voice to find out basic info... such as if you sound like a native speaker and whether you have any speech impediments. I'd advise you to speak very clearly and try to avoid slang and idioms. It would also be wise to try to sound friendly and interested. Like someone already said, have your own list of questions handy. Don't smoke or drink while you're on the phone. Those little sounds have a way of making a big impression. It might make you feel more at ease to walk while you're talking, but do it quietly. Try to eliminate all distractions during the time of the call.

Good luck to you!

.

[Scribble]

I really hate talking on the telephone at the best of times and my first Telephonic interview was a complete nightmare. I was shambling back home at 9am after a pretty entertaining night out when the phone rang and idiot me answered. Turned out it was a school I'd applied for; the whole thing went pretty much as you'd expect with me not being able to remember the difference between the present perfect and my shoelaces.

Despite that it was a good experience in the same way your first terrifying job interview was after school. Essentially it informs you not only only the questions you are likely to be asked but the right response to them. The subsequent interview was much better.

I'm an utter newbie so I may be offering stupid advice, but perhaps try and go for a 'dummy' interview first for a school your not -that- interested in. Then once your confidence and proficiency are raised, try for something more serious.

[tedkarma]

Keep your notes right by the phone so you don't have to rush about looking for them when the call comes.

Smile while you talk.

[denise]

I think the dummy interview suggestion is excellent. It's authentic interview practice with nothing to lose.

Sounds like you had rotten luck, Scribble! Ideally they're supposed to pre-arrange a time to call. No surprise interviews!

And if you've got internet access at home and the school has a website, you may want to have the site open in front of you. Similar to tedkarma's suggestion about keeping your notes handy.

d

[MELEE]

I've been on both sides of the telephone interview, though more often on the hiring side. In addition to not using a lot of slang and idioms, also speak slowly and clearly, even if the person interviewing you is a native speaker, some schools look for that and may be thinking, will our students understand this person?

And this is probably going to sound really obvious, but you'd be surprised. If you have applied at a lot of differnt school in a lot of different countries, please try to keep them straight in you mind. Others have mentioned having notes, keep them straight from your notes on other schools. I had a person tell me how interested he was in moving to Turkey in an interview for a job in Mexico.

Also we don't have a lot of money for phone interviews so we try not to let them go over 30 minutes. We also send candidates a lot of written information pre-interview. I want people to ask questions, because you learn alot about them based on the questions they choose to ask, but I don't want you to ask so many questions that you extend the interview to an hour and I don't want you to ask questions that I have already emailed you the answers to. Please read that information carefully.

[Scribble]

[tedkarma]

[quote="Scribble"]