Interviewing for ESL/EFL/TEFL Teaching Jobs – Virtual or Face to Face

I wanted to talk about interviewing from both perspectives which are that of the ESL/EFL teacher looking for a new teaching job and that from the ESL/EFL school looking for a new teacher to fill their available teaching position. Keep in mind that this is just my advice and opinion on the matter. You should decide what you find useful and what does or doesn't work for you.

Clarity is a very necessary ingredient to an interview whether it is for a teaching job or any other job. In a virtual interview, your interview questions and answers must be clear because you can't rely on body language to make your point. Even most video interviews via web chat sites are only from the shoulders up. Also, remember to be concise. Rambling or long winded questions and answers can be confusing as well as paint a bad picture of your professionalism as a teacher and potential employee.

Once you have identified the perfect teaching job or teacher candidate based on the skills or requirements you are looking for, it is time to prepare for the potential interview. Interviewing is never an easy thing and having to be interviewed or conduct an interview virtually (via the internet or over the phone) can add a whole new set of issues.

Teachers: Remember to review your resume and cover letter prior to the job interview so that you can highlight your key points and don’t have to “fumble” for the information. You never know what the school has focused on and will want to talk to you about so review all your points for the teaching resume you sent them.

Schools: Remember to have all your teaching job information as well as school information ready for the interview. This would include a list of duties and benefits as well as links to your website to further explain the position. Teachers are very sought after and may base their whole decision on whether to take your teaching job based on the detail of the information you gave them.

Finally for everyone, remember to show some passion (not too much) because it shows that you take an active interest in what you do and this is an active ingredient of any good ESL/EFL school and class.

The most important thing to do for any interview is simple...prepare!

Teachers:
o Know your positive and negative aspects.
o Research the school, company and position.
Schools:
o Know the positive and negative aspects of the position.
o Research your candidate.

Here are some great online resources for both the interviewer and interviewee:

TEACH California - Virtual Teacher Interviews - This is a great site with actual video of teachers about interviewing – Don’t know why they use an IP address instead of a URL.
Interactive Interview Questions from Monster.com
Monster.com Quizzes - Great stuff like resume readiness, virtual interviews and culture quizzes


About The Author
M. G. Hines
Michael G. Hines is an educator teaching in Bangkok, Thailand and founder of TotalESL.com - First Stop for Your Second Language Needs. ESL/EFL/TEFL teaching resource for all the needs of teachers, schools and students in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the world - ESL/EFL/TEFL jobs, resumes, lessons, articles, resources and training. http://www.totalesl.com