How Should You Behave During an Interview for English Teaching Jobs in China?
English teaching jobs are welcomed by more and more foreigners all over the world. Especially in China, a great need of foreign teachers create a lot of job opportunities. Chinese teachers’ English teaching couldn’t meet students’ expectation. Most foreigners find English teaching jobs through Chinese agents. What is the main and the most important part of getting an ESL job in China or Asia, even any other country? Of course it is interviewing. You will need to take interviews and discuss contract details, finally reach agreement and finally come. Therefore, an interview means a lot. It could directly decide whether you can get the offer. Interviews will be the key to success. Passing all the interviews and leave a good impression is always good for you, and may be helpful for your future employment. Here are some tips I can think of.
- Dress appropriately
Some foreigners will think teachers should dress formally when they take an interview with a school. It is true at certain circumstances. Suppose you will talk with a public school or an international school, especially with a university, that is a good idea. Such schools usually tell by this whether you are a real teacher. I know it’s not convictive enough, but some schools do think like this. At least it will affect some. Besides, try to hide your tattoo, that is what all schools care or don’t like, though some could only accept. For training centers or kindergartens, I don’t think you need to dress very formally, since you will work with little kids full of energy and fun. If you dress very formally, kids will feel uneasy in class and it’s not convenient to do activities with your students. Usually training centers have their own uniforms, very cute and casual dressing. However, you should dress clean and don’t expose too much, I think this is the most important.
- Be in a quiet and bright place
The interview for English teaching jobs is usually done by skype video, so you should choose a place that is quiet enough and bright enough, so the interviewer can see you clearly. Otherwise it’s meaningless to do video interview. All schools prefer to see you in person, and communicate and understand each other better. A noisy environment will affect the quality or even the result of the interview for sure.
- Be positive and ready to answer any question
Try to answer every question with several sentences, not just yes or no, that’s really frustrating. If you give a simple yes or no, that will show you are interested in talking with them any more. Interviewers prefer to hear your opinion about something and give the specific reasons. If you show your interest in a question, that will promote the conversation. Even though when you don’t know how to answer, you should be honest and give your personal opinion. Not many schools are waiting to hear perfect answers from you, they prefer an honest answer and want to see your attitude about their school and offer.
- Ask questions at a right time
I think when a foreigner applies for a job, he will be curious to know more about the position and the school, you may ask some questions you want after answering their questions or when they ask you what questions you have about their offer. It’s better not to ask some tricky questions, like the pay or visa things. Interviews are scheduled to tell your personality and teaching ability. If you want to know more about the benefits or the visa, you should ask your agent or schedule another time to discuss these things. Interviewers are not clear about other things except teaching. Different teachers have different responsibilities. If you don’t ask any questions during the interview, they might think you are not interested in their offer. That’s not helpful and will affect the interview result. Only after a school thinks you are very suitable for their position, ask them about the benefits. Unless they ask you first.
- Show your energy and positive aspect.
All schools like a person full of energy and positive ideas. Smiling and explaining things clearly is very important. Do not speak too fast or too slowly, and seldom use slang. Show your advantages or hobbies, especially those related to teaching or can be adopted while teaching. Some foreigners choose to play the piano and sing at the same time when they take an interview with a kindergarten. That is a big plus and will certainly help you earn more score.
Finally, wish you are successful in interviewing with all schools!