If you’re reading this then chances are you are applying to teach abroad with us. First of all, thank you, it’s the start of an exciting adventure! We look forward to discussing our programs and finding the right one for you.
As Founder and Director, and despite my busy schedule, I still find time to do most of our interviews. In this blog post I will give you a few tips on what to expect from the call, and what’s important to us.
Punctuality is key
We care about our teachers and want to help them all have life changing adventures abroad. But we must also look out for our partner schools and do what we can to find motivated and engaging people who they can employ. Given our role of assessing potential candidates, being punctual for your interview with us is essential. We will send you a couple of reminders about the meeting (a video call on Google Meet), and as such you must make sure to attend on time, or cancel if you are unable to join. There’s a ton of things I’m flexible on throughout our selection process, but being on time and punctual for the first call isn’t one of them.
What excites you about teaching?
Our call will be a free flowing conversation for around 30-40 minutes. In this time, we’ll talk about all sorts of things such as your CV, what you expect from the country you may move to, any questions you have, things you’re excited about, and things you have concerns about.
But the most significant criteria I am looking for in candidates is that there’s an element of teaching which motivates them and they think they’ll enjoy.
This doesn’t mean we’re only looking for candidates who plan to become teachers longer term, most of them are not infact. If you are, that’s great and could be part of your drive for doing this. But if not, it can still work if you have the drive to teach and something that excites you about it.
I did social science and politics at university, and I found the idea of talking to Chinese students about their lives and future plans incredibly interesting and eye-opening. That made every day fun for me, and teaching never felt like a job as a result.
For others it may be a love of languages, and that learning a new language yourself whilst helping others with their English development appeals to you.
Whatever your reason, if you’re having a blast in class you will be a good teacher, and it will work out great!
Do your research
Once we have confirmed the call, I’ll send you a small list of 4-5 items to review. These include information about our company and mission, the program structure and fee, blogs on our website that give you an idea how other candidates have gotten on, and videos on our YouTube channel.
Reviewing these will help you get an idea about what to expect, which will hopefully help you make an informed decision about taking part.
It can also jog your memory on questions you have for us that you can ask during the call.
Ask questions, and don’t hesitate to express concerns
I approach the call as an open conversation that can help both of us assess whether this program makes sense for you. As such, I want you to ask questions and I want to hear about concerns you have.
I actually get most worried when candidates tell me they have no questions, and they think everything about moving abroad will be smooth sailing. As much as it’s likely to be a brilliant experience, there will be good and bad days, and you have to be ready for that.
So please don’t hesitate to ask me anything, and tell me what you may be worried about.
I speak to our teachers regularly throughout their placements, so I can usually give you some recent examples or impressions from our teachers in the country you are looking to move to.
One example which comes to mind is hearing from candidates that they think they’d be more comfortable in a teaching assistant role, rather than as a main classroom teacher.
There’s nothing wrong with this, but we recruit for main teacher positions rather than for teaching assistants.
So if you are after a teaching assistant role, I don’t think our program will be a good fit, and I’ll tell you.
How will you make your mark?
I usually end the call by asking you about the ways you think you may make an impact on this placement.
Being a teacher abroad is a unique role, because you combine the considerable impact all teachers have with the fact you will likely be one of the first foreigners your young students have extensively engaged with. You will also be a person of cultural influence and general interest to those you work with.
They will ask you what you eat in your home country, what people are like and what attending university there may be like, besides lots of (sometimes slightly inappropriate) questions about yourself!
Just you being there will have an impact, let alone all of the amazing things you will do.
It’s an exciting prospect and is so much fun! As such, I’m curious what’s most notable about you and what tends to stand out about you to people, so have a think about that.
I hope this has given you an idea about how we approach candidate interviews, and what we care about.
Thanks for reading, and if you would like to apply, you can do so here.
If you have any questions for me, you can reach me by email: arnold@impact-teaching.com
