Interviews

[westybrook]

What are some of your experiences of the interviews that you or someone you know had to go through to get the job.

Was it a nice experience or was it something to be forgotten?

What advice would you give for people wanting to get into teaching but having to face there first interview to be a teacher of English

[Totster]

What are some of your experiences of the interviews that you or someone you know had to go through to get the job.

Was it a nice experience or was it something to be forgotten?

What advice would you give for people wanting to get into teaching but having to face there first interview to be a teacher of English

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey westybrook, I would concentrate on getting the qualification first mate...

totster

[westybrook]

Cheers

I mean for others if they are soon to take a job teaching, hey and for me. I know I need to qualification first and that, but its good to get a good idea what I and others are up against!

P.S Totster I love your avatar!

Edited August 11, 2005 by westybrook

[Thaiboxer]

Check out www.ajarn.com. Scroll down on the main page and look for a heading that indicates what to expect at an interview, etc. There is an excellent article of what questions to ask and what to look/listen for at job interviews. Regardless of the interviewer's English ability (or lack of) the process can be a tricky one. Many places will promise a lot and deliver little or perhaps switch things around at the last minute. This is the situation both during the interview process and even after you're employed. I think most of us English teachers in Thailand have felt the brunt of this at one time or other. If you have some qualifications under your belt (Bachelor's degree, TEFL certificate, etc) and you want to work in Bangkok it's often a matter of just choosing which job suits you best. There are TONS of jobs out there and nowadays there are more and more popping up in the provinces. In Bangkok the majority of jobs on offer seem to be centered around teaching Kindergarten and Primary students however there are still pleny of jobs available to those who want to teach older students. Good luck!

[paulfr]

The important thing is being able to teach when you do get the first job, not the interview. That is the easiest part. Just be yourself and be honest and you will get a job. As was said, there are more jobs than teachers. Many places/interviewers will say after 5 minutes .... "can you start tomorrow morning ?"

1/ Find out the differences in the various kinds of English teaching jobs; Primary 1-6, Mattayom 7-12, Govt schools, Private schools, University, Language schools. Then you can save yourself a year or two of bouncing around trying to find out where you fit.

2/ Take a TEFL Course (Text and Talk is good) or pay some very well known to be good (go ask at a school who their best are) and pay them 1000B/hr to tell you what you need to know to be a good teacher in LOS. It is very very different from the West. You already know the subject cold, English. You just need to learn bottom up techniques rather than top down lecture/dumping styles.

Read ajarn.com and daveseslcafe as much as you can.

Books by Jeremy Harmer on Teaching English are very good.

Edited August 12, 2005 by paulfr

[Ice Maiden]

I know this actually wasn't for a teaching job. But I got an interview for a teaching assistant at a secondary school, luckly for me my english teacher from my college gave me a great refrence. So I got the job.

[PeaceBlondie]

What are some of your experiences of the interviews that you or someone you know had to go through to get the job.

Was it a nice experience or was it something to be forgotten?

What advice would you give for people wanting to get into teaching but having to face there first interview to be a teacher of English

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The initial stage for my first teaching job was in the front shop of a teacher's house on a Sunday evening. She saw my paperwork and assured me I'd be hired. Next morning, she took me to the school, where the 'interview' was helter skelter, committee members drifting in and out, asking some good questions and some poor ones, collecting or making copies of my documents. Then suddenly two demo classes, and I was hired (effective that day). They weren't that picky. I worked there 1.5 semesters and am convinced that, while they're fairly good as Thai teachers of English (which isn't saying a whole lot), it takes them a couple weeks to determine if anybody's any good, and their interview techniques lacked a lot of detail. But their teaching techniques lacked detail, too.

Most folks will say that for your interview, just look good, and speak more or less kinda sorta standard English. Smile, agree, etc.

Now that I know better, I can walk out of an interview halfway, saying "No thank you" because if they don't know what questions to ask, they aren't going to know enough answers to my questions.

IJWT and I have made lists of questions YOU should ask the interviewers. Salary (nail down the details), working hours and contact hours (not the same; nail down the details); visa and work permit. If they can't show you copies of prior work permits they secured for teachers - run, do not walk, for the nearest exit. However, if you really need to earn a salary, you may have to work like Burmese and 'Mexican wetbacks,' and learn to enjoy frequent, expensive visa runs.

[westybrook]

Peaceblondie thanks for that, great post. I like the end where you brought to our attention questions to ask.

Also about the past WP documents great!

What demos did you have to do? Is it common for schools to ask you to do a mock class, and use the committee interviewing you as fake students. If so what did you teach them and for how long?

Thanks in advance

[Thaiboxer]

When I first hit the teaching job market here in Thailand. I had to do a demo class in front of the school big wigs. I was told the lesson would last for twenty minutes but they were satisfied after just five or ten. It's often more important how you look and how much you smile than your actual teaching abilities. There is a major shortage of teachers worldwide and Thailand is no exception. Schools desperately need teachers and will often accept those with fewer credentials/ less experience than what would be required to land a teaching job in the West. As my mother always said, "Beggars can't be choosers"!

[Ijustwannateach]

Westybrook, look here (and read all the threads I recently listed in the Questions About Qualifications thread):

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=16941

[westybrook]

Thank you IJUSTWANNATEACH

Great post

[meelousee]

Check out www.ajarn.com. Scroll down on the main page and look for a heading that indicates what to expect at an interview, etc.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I did not find this article, "what to expect at an interview"

Are you refering to "The Job Survey" ?

One question more what if you have bad teeth? You know the kind that looks like you have been eating rocks all your life, laced with coffie and brown pencils?

[teacherinthailand]

That must suck if you have those mate!

[Ijustwannateach]

Maybe get some veneers applied to your front teeth???

[meelousee]

Maybe get some veneers applied to your front teeth???

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually I made it sound allot worse than it actual is. I broke a tooth off on some tough beef; I think it was the consistency of rhino hide.

The cap and tooth broke so no way to recap gives me that snag tooth look. Kinda sorta, makes a feeling of being self-conscious. I can overcome this.

The information I really am interested in is the discussion on "what to expect at an interview"

[teacherinthailand]

I have read this post from start to finish and I really really enjoyed it

[johnnyk]

I'm qualified and experienced, taught in France and Taiwan.

problem for me in Siam is $$$.

How far can you go in bargaining your salary upwards?

[PeaceBlondie]

Not very far, unless you've got related degrees, verified teaching of many years, and can teach university or science/math secondary.

[DavieA]

Now that I know better, I can walk out of an interview halfway, saying "No thank you" because if they don't know what questions to ask, they aren't going to know enough answers to my questions.

IJWT and I have made lists of questions YOU should ask the interviewers. Salary (nail down the details), working hours and contact hours (not the same; nail down the details); visa and work permit. If they can't show you copies of prior work permits they secured for teachers - run, do not walk, for the nearest exit. However, if you really need to earn a salary, you may have to work like Burmese and 'Mexican wetbacks,' and learn to enjoy frequent, expensive visa runs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Great work Blondie, well said!

My experience of job interviews in Thailand have been short and sweet.......eerr "What is your name?..eerrr..where are you from?".....er,er,er...ok, when can you start?

No wonder those jobs turned out to be nightmares. Listen to Blondie!

[Bryan in Isaan]

Another old thread, but if you guys are still around....

In my province, noone other than my wife even speaks English. How in the world could they even conduct an interview, much less the substantial interviews described in this thread??

Bryan

[PeaceBlondie]

Another old thread, but if you guys are still around....

In my province, noone other than my wife even speaks English. How in the world could they even conduct an interview, much less the substantial interviews described in this thread??

Bryan

I don't see how they could conduct a realistic interview. I met quite a few prathom teachers of English from the rural parts of a northern province, and these Thai teachers never even learned English!!

I'm just guessing what it's like in such a remote province as yours: unless you're fluent in Thai, you are going to be an alien, like from Jupiter or Mars. No communication.

[Bryan in Isaan]

After spending years in the villages, I can certainly relate to the part about being a Martian or alien from Jupiter.

I have a hunch that I could do well in interviews and many other situations if fluent or even barely able to communicate in Thai. From what I have read on the forum, that doesn't necessarily lead to a high paying job, but would help greatly in job hunting, networking and interviewing. Maybe some of the previous posters assumed fluency in Thai.

Edited July 4, 2006 by Bryan in Isaan

[a269652]

Just be yourself and be honest and you will get a job.

TiT. Many schools are so desparate that they'll probably lie to you, just to get you to accept a poorly paid job with poor conditions of employment. Many farangs desparate to stay in Thailand for an extended sampling of the culture will allegedly lie & even falsify documents just to get offerred a poorly paid job with poor conditions of employment.

It makes it awfully difficult for the honest schools & teachers to operate, imo.

Edited July 6, 2006 by a269652

[toptuan]

My interviews at a both a college and university were similar to DavieA's experience: "When can you start?" was asked within the first 5 minutes of the interviews. I had brought several copies of my portfolio in an attractive binder, stuffed with transcripts, teaching certificates, letters of recommendation, etc. No one bothered to ask for it nor take a glance when I offered it. TIT