Interview Tips

Note on Interview Tips:

I`ve always felt personally that like many athletes or artists, good teachers are born and not made. I can tell who has a good personality for teaching. That said, when I interview I often ask questions unrelated to teaching. I ask about personal interests and other things that reveal character more than about knowledge of teaching methodology. I can teach the latter, I cannot change your character. Too many people should never have become teachers. They know a lot about methodology, but they are not very good teachers. They just don`t have it.

Interview Tips

Practice

Have friends and family members interview you and give you interview tips. Anticipate what you will be asked before the interview.

Answer honestly!

Most interviewers like myself have a well honed BS detector that goes off on target. Whether you interview on the phone or in person just be yourself, just be honest.

Don`t regurgitate things you read from the school website. We know it too, and know when you are doing it. Trying to impress simply shows that you are trying to impress. Again, be yourself. Relax.

Other Interview Tips:

Dress well! Get a haircut! Wear a suit and be sure to wear a tie.

Lose some weight. Okay I`m being politically incorrect but managers are people too, they might hire the thinner teacher over the chubby one if all things are equal.

For schools and company lessons you must dress well--dress smartly.

Character:

Many schools prefer cheerful and lively as the students tend to be quiet and serious.

If the pay offer is too low. Look unhappy but don`t say anything.

Wait it out. The interviewer may offer you more later in the interview or you can politely bring it up. Money shouldn`t be the first thing you haggle about. It leaves a bad impression--that all you are concerned about is money.

Questions you should ask:

How many hours per week will I work?

I always tried for a position that had very little administration work and between 20-26 hours per week of teaching. When I am not teaching, I feel I shouldn`t have to be in the school. I can prep at home. When I taught at ECC I was in the school 20 hours per week. I did some prep at home and some at the school. For Nunoike they made us be in the building about 36 hours a week when I worked there. It was too much. I wasn`t tenured and I wasn`t a fulltime employee. The pay too was below average at that time--235,000/month.

So decide what situation you want and make sure you get it. Find out what the situation is before you sign that contract.

What kind of shifts are there?

If you can, avoid split shifts. Some schools will want you to work mornings then come back for afternoon-evening.

One or two days a week like this may be okay if you are young and energetic, but a five day a week schedule like this will run you ragged. Check on the schedule and make sure you are happy with it.

Where will I teach?

Will you be at one school or many schools? Are the schools far apart?

Is it long, crowded train travel? Or is it pretty easy to get from one location to the next? Will you be paid for travel time? Or will your travel costs be reimbursed?

How much will I be paid?

Is it an hourly wage and varied month to month, or is it a fixed salary? Is there a guaranteed minimum in terms of salary or hours.

Is there a maximum of hours for that salary? Is there a bonus? Some schools offer a contract completion bonus or other such incentive.

What if a class is cancelled? Are you still paid all or part of the money for that class?

What holidays will I receive?

Are they paid holidays? Are they fixed holidays or can you take them anytime? If the positon is part-time, will you be paid for public holidays? Probably not-but it is worth asking.

What are the ages and backgrounds of the students I will be teaching?

Will it be mostly children? Junior high? Adults? How large are the classes? How long do they last? (Children can stand a class of 45-50 minutes but no longer.) How young are the children? Will I be teaching private lessons? Will I have an assistant teacher?

Resources and Training

Will I be trained? If so what is the training program? What materials will I have access to? Will there be other teachers around?

Who are they? Do I have to use a certain teaching method or will I be free to choose my own? Some schools have had microphones and even video cameras in the classroom to monitor teachers.

Will your school be monitoring you? If so in what way? Will the principal suddenly come into the classroom?

*If a lot of these questions are answered on the school website or information package then don`t ask. If you do ask them and the information is freely available on the internet. It shows you haven`t done your homework. Or worse, they may think you are lazy.

If you want clarification or simply to keep the interview going-- you can say, I know it says so and so on the website, but still I was wondering about so and so. Point out that you have done your homework. It shows you are very interested in that particular school.

*No school will be perfect for you. You have to weigh up the variables including salary, to see if the school is a pretty good fit.

If you interview by phone it is much more difficult to be hired. But not impossible, especially if the school is not in one of the major cities in Japan. (It is more difficult to get teachers there). Yet often those places are the best places to live and work!

By making your way to Japan and going to a face to face interview, you show your commitment to teaching in Japan. This puts you way ahead of anyone applying from outside Japan.

Be early!

Remember that it can be very difficult to find things in a foreign country and still most signs are written in Chinese characters (kanji). In spite of this, find the location well ahead of time and be early. Some people will be late so this will make you look better.

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Interview tips: books and magazines about working here.

More interview tips here.