The TEFL Times

Some friends of Naturegirl123 were talking about interview questions that they got. Here are some difficult ones to answer and suggested answers.

What religion are you?/ Are you X religion?

This could be a legit question if you’re applying to a religious school. If you have the same religion as the school, simply say so. They might then ask you if you attend church.

If you don’t practise the same religion, say that while you are not X religion, you will respect their practises during class time.

If the school isn’t religious, simply say that you believe in keeping your personal beliefs personal and out of the classroom.

DO you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?

This could also be legit if the school is very religious or if you are being placed by a recruiter. Often they try to place partners in the same school or city.

If the school is relgious, tell the truth, but you might want to be careful. If you’re living together, you might have to live apart while working for the school. Some places are very strict. I wasn’t allowed to live with my husband because we were only married civilly and not in the church.

If the school isn’t religious, or you’re not dealing with a recruiter, then tell the interviewer that you believe in keeping your personal life separate from your work life.

How much are you earning now?

Bad question. Even worse if you answer it. There are a couple reasons why you could be asked this. First, the school wants to know what competitors are paying. Second, they want to gauge what they will pay you to what you’re currently getting. Third, you can’t really compare. Let’s say that your current school is only paying you 500 usd, but gives you free housing, lunch, medical insurance, contribute to your pension, and transport. Total per month is about 600 usd in benefits. They also paid for your visa, your flight and will give you an end of contract bonus. Total is 2100 usd per year. And this school gives you 900 usd, but nothing else. You may simply assume that you get the extras, but they don’t give them to you. Result? Although you would get 900 usd a month, your current job is probably better due to the benefits.

When asked this question, it’s probably best to tell a white lie. If you don’t have a fixed salary, maybe you teach privates or do consultating, simply say that it varies. If you are on a contract, simply tell them that your employer has forbidden you to discuss your salary and your contract also states this. After all, they have to respect the fact that you promised not to discuss your salary.

If they keep pushing, it’s probably best to pass this one by. A professional institute will have fixed salaries.

How much is your expected salary?

This is even worse than the one above. Basically, you’re being asked, “What do you think you’re worth?” Let’s say you make 500 usd, and they were going to offer 1000, but when they find out that you only make 500, they might simply offer you 750. OR, let’s say you make 1000 usd, but they only offer 700. If you accept, you’ll look desperate, or they might think that you lied about your salary.

So what do you do? Put the ball back into their court. There are a couple of things you could say. It would depend on the English level of the interviewer and your experience/qualifications.

First, you could say, “I would expect to be paid what you’re paying your current teachers.”

If you’re just starting out “I would expect to be paid what you’re paying your teachers who have similary qualifications/experience as I do.”

Or, if you have lots of experience/qualifications, “I would expect to be paid in the upper salary range because I have X”

Or, “I know that (your institute) is a professional one, and as such, you much have a salary scale, what could I expect to earn with X experience and X qualifications?”

Why did you leave X job after only 3/6 months?

There are two reasons for a short term job. First, it was a short contract. If that’s the case, you have nothing to worry about. Second, either you or your employer ended it early. If that’s the case, you’ve got some explaining to do.

If you pulled a runner, I would suggest you take that job off your CV. If they ask about the gap on your CV, there are tons of things that you could say you were doing, like volunteer work, travelling, visiting family, studying, taking a hiatus, etc.

If you quit, and remain on decent terms with your employer, you might want to leave it on your CV. Let’s say you quit because you were paid hourly, but due to the recession, you only had 3 hours a week. That’s a legit reason.

If you were fired, you might want to take it off. Unless the person who fired you has left and someone else at the institute would give you a good reference. If you were fired for stealing, dating students, lying, etc, I would take it off your CV. And if you got fired for something along those lines, I certainly hope that you have changed.

Why do you want to leave your current job?

A legit question. It could cause problems if you just started your job a couple of months ago. If that’s the case, see above. But, if you’re simply finishing your contract, be honest. BUT, never ever speak badly about an employer. EVER. You could say something like “Although I’ve enjoyed my time at X teaching primary students, I’m looking for a position teaching secondary students.” Or, “Although I’ve enjoyed my time at X, I’m looking for new opportunies in the education sector.”

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