So you’ve completed your TEFL course and started applying for jobs in your dream destination country? The next step on becoming a successful English teacher is the TEFL interview.
Interviews for teaching jobs can take a couple of different formats and these are face-to-face, over the phone, or via Skype. Each type of interview has its own particular points that need addressing. For face-to-face interviews it is important to be early but not too early make sure that you research the route to the school before the interview day. You must remember to dress smartly; many teaching jobs are in holiday destinations and some people seem to forget the difference between what is suitable for work and what is suitable for the beach. If you are being interviewed over the phone, be clear on the time difference between you and the interviewer. Double-check who is meant to call, is it you or the other person? For video calls make sure you dress as you would for a face-to-face interview and make sure there is no inappropriate clutter in the background.
You should also prepare yourself thoroughly for the interview. Check out the school’s website if they have one, and talk to former and current teachers if you can. Try to find out what age of students you are likely to be teaching. During the interview the interviewer will be trying to gauge your understanding of teaching methods, classroom management, grammar etc. It is a good idea to review these units from your course before the interview. As part of the interview process you may be asked to do a demo lesson and you should aim to find out about class level, length of class, students, lesson objective etc.
A couple of days after the interview you should send a follow up email thanking the person who interview and reasserting your interest in the job but don’t be too pushy.
If you wish to display this infographic on your website, please copy and paste the code below into your own web pages.
View an enlarged version of this infographic:
big version
