Job Discussion Forums

[d1234]

Hi - I recently applied to Westgate to teach university students and didn't get a position. I was kind of surprised and was wondering if anyone has any ideas as to why I might have been rejected. I don't have much experience teaching English (though I have worked in a middle school and taught some English there), but it was my understanding that their typical employee doesn't have any experience teaching English. I've taught university courses for three years, and with that general classroom/teaching experience I was surprised I'd be rejected w/o even an interview or anything.

My main reason for choosing Westgate was so that I could start a career teaching in Japan without having to risk ~$5k and potentially end up with no job after a couple months (I've read about the market) - Westgate seemed like a great way to get my foot in the door without the expense or hassle, and was really hoping that it would work out.
Thanks for any advice
Don

[ripslyme]

How did you describe your teaching experience? You may be overqualified. They merely need a warm body in a suit.

If you've read about the market then you know how scarce jobs are. Westgate may have enough warm bodies applying from within Japan to meet their staffing requirements.

[Glenski]

If you got as far as an interview, then your obvious qualifications (as stated on your resume and cover letter) passed muster initially.

So, you didn't get past the interview itself. That suggests you weren't their kind of person in terms of personal chemistry, or for some other reason (related to how you responded to their questions).

Nobody here is really going to be able to tell you why you didn't get the job.

[passport220]

I work for Westgate now and in terms of teaching experience it seems most teachers hired have about 1 to 2 years of teaching experience (myself and many other had one year teaching experience, many teaching in the Korean public schools). I have not met any Westgate teachers with no teaching experience; did not meet any with years and years of experience.

I think Glenski has the right answer to your question.

[robertokun]

Could be that the person you talked to wasn't really qualified to interview you.

[wintersweet]

Er, didn't the original poster say he was rejected WITHOUT an interview?

[robertokun]

You're right. I think I was thrown off by Glenski's response, and missed the original w/o, I guess.