EPIK Fail.
Interview Preparation: The Calm
I scoured the internet for questions that EPIK tended to ask. I made a list of all my answers so I knew the answers in my head and had the list with me just before the interview so I would be ready. I set up a desk light to give me lighting (and a piece of paper over as a makeshift light diffuser, the straight on light was too harsh), cleared my my background to make it look nice and neat, put my computer on a stack of books to make the webcam sit at eye level, and dressed up in a blazer to impress.
Jay prepped me telling me to relax, tie back my hair to look more pro and asked me an example interview question. What would you do if your co-teacher was shy and didn't get along with you? I answered the question and was praised for my answer being through and what not. I was told to speak a little slower but my dictation was fine.
Jay prepped me telling me to relax, tie back my hair to look more pro and asked me an example interview question. What would you do if your co-teacher was shy and didn't get along with you? I answered the question and was praised for my answer being through and what not. I was told to speak a little slower but my dictation was fine.
Interview: The Storm
"Greetings, your interview will start in~3min, please prepare to teach me something interesting about ANY topic that you find interesting and is not widely known^^ "
...
1 minute of panicking trying to pick a topic; decide on explaining surface tension in water (why you can slightly overfill a glass with water without spillage).
This was not a fun start.
Once the actual interview started I got back in the groove. We went over my application form and he asked me about my GPA. It is not particularly high nor low and he asked me why it was. Kind of a difficult question for me to answer because truthfully, I never aimed for straight A's and was happy with B's and not overworking myself. We never went through to my essay or lesson plan. He asked me some of the typical questions (Why Korea, Why teaching, and the typical questions found on glassdoor and other blogs) then it got into situational questions.
This is the part I was not prepared for. My answers became short and vague because I didn't know exactly how to answer and didn't want to ramble too much but I think it came off as not much going on in the noggin. Here are some of the questions that threw me off.
1 minute of panicking trying to pick a topic; decide on explaining surface tension in water (why you can slightly overfill a glass with water without spillage).
This was not a fun start.
Once the actual interview started I got back in the groove. We went over my application form and he asked me about my GPA. It is not particularly high nor low and he asked me why it was. Kind of a difficult question for me to answer because truthfully, I never aimed for straight A's and was happy with B's and not overworking myself. We never went through to my essay or lesson plan. He asked me some of the typical questions (Why Korea, Why teaching, and the typical questions found on glassdoor and other blogs) then it got into situational questions.
This is the part I was not prepared for. My answers became short and vague because I didn't know exactly how to answer and didn't want to ramble too much but I think it came off as not much going on in the noggin. Here are some of the questions that threw me off.
- Describe a situation in your travels that you were faced with culture shock and how you got over it.
- Describe a situation in your travels where you learned an important lesson.
- What are the 3 most important qualities in being a teacher.
- What are the three most important concepts in Chemistry.
I don't feel like I have really gone through culture shock since Europe, my main place of travel, was a huge interest to me and I had lots of encounters a little at a time through reading, and talking to people. As for Asia, I come from a Chinese family so I was not surprised culturally. Yes, I was taken aback by how pushy sales people were but there was no process of getting use to it. You just realize it is normal there and you get over it.
I believe my answers consisted of being a friendly and approachable teacher, being passionate about your subject and knowing your material. My reasoning behind the first is so the students are not intimidated so they can ask questions. It is also good in terms of working with your boss and co-workers. Being passionate about your subject makes the class more fun for your students and therefore more appealing and less of a chore. Knowing your material is a given as you are suppose to teach it.
The most important concept of Chemistry had me stumped. Not really sure how this relates but I paused to think about this and he changed his question to the single most important. Great. So much better. I settled on understanding electrons since they bond atoms to one another and are responsible for electric charge as well as many properties of the elements.
I believe my answers consisted of being a friendly and approachable teacher, being passionate about your subject and knowing your material. My reasoning behind the first is so the students are not intimidated so they can ask questions. It is also good in terms of working with your boss and co-workers. Being passionate about your subject makes the class more fun for your students and therefore more appealing and less of a chore. Knowing your material is a given as you are suppose to teach it.
The most important concept of Chemistry had me stumped. Not really sure how this relates but I paused to think about this and he changed his question to the single most important. Great. So much better. I settled on understanding electrons since they bond atoms to one another and are responsible for electric charge as well as many properties of the elements.
The interview lasted about 24 minutes, which was much shorter than I expected. Coming out of it, I had a feeling that I had not done very well. I could tell he was cold in his demeanor and usually with all the interviews that I have had so far, I am good at getting the interviewer to be warm and friendly. I was a lot more nervous about this interview so that may have been part of it. The other part was my unpreparedness and over confidence. I really believed I was going to be accepted and that I would rock the interview hard.
Results: The Panic
Receiving that email was no surprise though it still made my heart drop to my stomach. I had spent months preparing the documents and what not. I had researched as much as I could about the interview process and questions. I, stupidly, had not made a backup plan because I was so sure I was going to get this, no problem.
The good thing was that I had started my process extremely early and going through KorVia, they had been on my butt about getting all my E2-Visa documents ready. I had my degree, TESOL certificate, CBC, passport all ready to go so the process for finding a job would be just that and I would be able to get my visa ASAP. This would be very appealing to anyone working with me since I do want leave in February 2014 (4 months away at this point). I still had time even though it felt like a huge slap in the face.
The good thing was that I had started my process extremely early and going through KorVia, they had been on my butt about getting all my E2-Visa documents ready. I had my degree, TESOL certificate, CBC, passport all ready to go so the process for finding a job would be just that and I would be able to get my visa ASAP. This would be very appealing to anyone working with me since I do want leave in February 2014 (4 months away at this point). I still had time even though it felt like a huge slap in the face.
For anyone who did not get into EPIK, there are other options! Keep reading for what I did to secure a job.