Job Discussion Forums

Meesh · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Posts: 7

I have a telephone interview with Westgate Corporation next week. I am very keen because I can only accept short contracts, and Westgate has 'em. I have read all the threads on Dave's that have to do with Westgate.

I have plenty of teaching experience but I have rarely worked for a certain company for over a year. Also I am a married woman and I wonder if that will hurt my chances (they already e-mailed me to warn me that I cannot bring my spouse with me).

Any advice about the kinds of questions, how to respond, how long the call will be, and anything else I should research?[/u]

Much appreciated!

rdb · Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 10

It�s been a while so I can only remember a few things:

There were a few standard questions like, �Why to you want to teach in Japan?� Then a few to find out about how you would behave in the classroom. Ex. �What would you do if a student was taking a very long time to answer a question?� and �Japanese students are sometimes shy�how will you get students to participate in class?� The whole thing only lasted about 15 minutes and was nothing to stress about. Good luck.

Meesh · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Posts: 7

Hello and thanks for the advice. I feel a little better.

I had expected a more thorough grilling since they told me to allow an hour and a half for the call.

In any case, I do appreciate the help. A lot depends on the one interview in my case. Very Happy

rdb · Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 10

Yeah, I can remember being surprised by how short the interview was, having being told it would take an hour. I thought for sure I had blown it, but, in the end they offered me two positions - I turned one down based on the location (I had to be in Nagoya for personal reasons) and they still offered me my first choice after that. Please let us know how you go!

Meesh · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Posts: 7

Thanks. Now I will know that I didn't necessarily lose the offer if the interview does seem short and superficial.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

And why did they say you couldn't bring your spouse with you? I suppose it was some lame excuse about not enough room in the apartment?

Meesh · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Posts: 7

They just said that those apartments are reserved for employees.

I didn't ask for clarification about whether they mean he can't live there (which I kinda understand) or he can't visit (which poses a worse problem).