Despite the worldwide pandemic, our recruitment team has still actively been interviewing candidates over the past 12 months.

Teaching in China is a wonderful, rewarding and exciting experience and it has been incredible to see how people continue to want to travel and teach, even with the many hurdles they need to jump over to reach their TEFL dream!

If you're considering teaching in China, we want to help you prepare for your first step - your interviews!
Interviews are mostly done over Skype, WeChat or Zoom and this is your chance to show your potential employer who you are - and as you know first impressions are very important.

So we've compiled a list of go-to tips to help you ACE your interviews:

1. Do your research! Nine out of ten times, you will be asked to give your interviewer some information on their company. This is not to test how many facts you know about the company per say, but rather to see if you are genuinely interested in the position. So look into the company culture as well and mention why you would be a good fit. This also gives you an opportunity to see if the company is reputable and well established; both of these being important factors to consider if you are going to be moving halfway across the world!

2. You wouldn't arrive at an in-person job interview in your pajamas right? And you shouldn't on a video call interview either! Our recruiters have told us some funny stories of interviewing candidates who are lying on their beds or lounging in the pjs...
What you wear makes just as much of an impression as what you say. So remember to dress appropriately.

3. Location, location, location! We've had some candidates in our interviews in some interesting places, like the car, in the airport, a noisy department store or like we mentioned previously, lying on their bed. We do understand that sometimes it's difficult to find a location that is quiet and where you can sit comfortably to chat, but try schedule a time when you know you'll have little disturbances and you can interview somewhere with little distractions. Along with noise comes lighting; remember that our recruiters would like to see who they are interviewing too!

4. Technology can be fickle and sometimes technical difficulties happen; so be sure to check that you have a stable internet connection before your scheduled interview time. Recruiters usually have another interview after yours, so they don't always have the time to wait for you to figure out why your Skype isn't working.

5. Your 30 to 60 minute interview slot is your time to show your interviewer who you are, so show enthusiasm and remember to smile! Teaching is all about high energy and passion, so it's important to highlight that in your body language and answers.

6. Besides getting to know your personality, your interviewer will also want to get a sense of your teaching style and ESL knowledge, therefore be ready to answer some questions on classroom management, grammar and different teaching scenarios.

7. While doing your research on your potential new employer, think of some questions you'd like to ask. You'll have time, usually at the end to ask anything you'd like to know or clarify from the interviewer. This doesn't only help you decide if the school is a good fit for you, but it also shows the interviewer that you take interest in their school by wanting to know more.

8. Relax and have fun! It can be a bit nerve wracking to take part in interviews, but try to enjoy the process and learn as you go along. If you are well prepared you have nothing to stress about. At Kid Castle, we like to view our interviews as a nice chat where we can get to know each other a little bit better.

If you'd like to apply for a position at Kid Castle you can shoot us an email with you resume and other supporting documents to ft_recruiting@kidcastle.org.cn or apply directly on our website!