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vieux canaille

Okay, so I borrowed this line from a Violent Femmes song...seems like the genre of question some employers might ask in an interview; sometimes they can be kind of cryptic. Anyhooo, a question for those of you who conduct interviews, in person or on the phone--what are the most important things you look for in a prospective employee? That is, if you could ask two or three questions, which would be the most important in your book?
Thanks for any and all input.

Phil_K · Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 2041 Location: A World of my Own

1) Do you want my job (I want someone at least as good as me, good for both of us)

2) If you got my job what would you do/change etc

3) What would you do if you found yourself with time on your hands at work.

MELEE

vieux canaille · Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:16 pm Post subject:

thank you melee, and thank you phil k for your insightful responses...something to chew on this weekend as I prepare for a phone interview that may lead to a potentially kick-arse job...
how true, melee, that we should never consider ourselves completely learned in our field.
phil, not sure what you meant by your first question, "do you want my job"--i would have to say no if your main responsability was administration. don't know if i read that question right...
and in response to question 3: if i found myself with time on my hands at work, i would wash them immediately before returning to work! Razz

no, seriously, i would probably take up origami or sudoku. just kiddin'!
of course i would use that time to better my lessons, research a topic for class, or make up activities or sth along those lines.
thanks again for your thoughts.

Gary Denness · Guest

MELEE · Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 6:55 pm Post subject:

Gary, sometimes I feel like that myself.
When a new hire contacts us a week before the semester starts to inform us that they won't be coming after all, I often feel like we ought to just hold a job rush. First person to arrive with all the required papers in hand gets the job!

Luckily that hasn't happened in couple of years (knock knock)

Phil_K · Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 2041 Location: A World of my Own

MELEE · Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:02 pm Post subject:

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

And how do y'all respond to the applicants who have visited the beach in Mexico for a short vacation or maybe not at all, that proclaim their desire to be teaching in Mexico because they "love the culture" and "want to improve the lives of Mexicans".

danielita · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 281 Location: SLP

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

My point blew over your head I guess. YOU obviously came to teach and not to do the Mexicans a favour simply because you just "love the culture" and can't wait to make things better for the poor sods. What can you possibly learn about the culture in a short vacation was part of my point yet so many mention that when arriving to teach here. Can you tell I'm sick of tourists about now? If you have done favours or not since you've been here is none of my business. Laughing

MELEE · Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 2:50 pm Post subject:

Sam,
We get a lot of cover letters that say something like, "I spent a week in Oaxaca in 2003 and fell in love with the place. I've very excited at the prospect of living and working there."

This always makes me very apprehensive about the appliant.
Our city is 2 and 1/2 hours away from Oaxaca City and has little of the charm Oaxaca is famous for.

We also see the otherside of the coin--"I've visited Cancun, now I want to see the real Mexico. Confused

The most important thing is to be sincere. If you are naive, but sincere, that's fine. I hate those cover letters that are just full of stock phrases they think we want to hear. The cover letter should give us our first idea about who you are. No who you think we want you to be.