The final interview consists of several parts. First we will have an information session that will cover everything we need to know about moving to Japan, getting paperwork together, info about the company, and of course more info about the job. After that we have one-on-one interviews with our recruiter. My recruiter is a woman, she seemed very kind and outgoing on the phone when I talked with her. Having a bubbly person doing the interview will definitely help push away any shyness that I have!
After that we begin the part that I've been preparing the most for, the video-taped interview. I will be introducing myself in both English and Japanese, reading from a script to record my pronunciation, providing an Elementary level warm-up, and finally a high school lesson on directions!! Whew!
Thankfully I had a friend look over my introduction and correct my poor attempt at grammar (not my thing in any language) so I've had several weeks to practice it. I'm confident that everything will be said correctly! I've been reciting it to myself a lot at work, so I'm sure my co-workers think I am mildly insane by this point. Essentially I am sharing my name, college education, a few things I like to do, and thanking them for their time.
For the warm-up I plan to do the fantastic song 'Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes'. I had wanted to do the penguin dance from marching band just for fun, but figured that the words would be more than a 3rd grader could handle.
Then there is my demo high school lesson on directions. Here is my poster-board representing the worksheets I will have handed out to the imaginary students.
Essentially I will be walking my students through a practice game and having them demonstrate for me. And no, there will be no actual students. Just me, the interviewer, and the video camera. As one person so perfectly put it... "If you don't leave the video taped lessons feeling like you made a complete fool of yourself, then you did something wrong".
I'm completely prepared for tomorrow. Visa paperwork has been in for a few weeks, references have been contacted, business suit was bought and steamed, nails are done, hair will be done soon....now I just have to anxiously wait until tomorrow!!
Wish me luck! I'll be sure to post an update once I am home from the interview. If things go smoothly then I'll be full of confidence and waiting on the call to tell me when I'm leaving for Japan :)
-- UPDATE --
Just
got home from the interview, and I am so relieved!!! It was an all day
even running from 9am until 6pm, however now the real waiting game
begins.
I
will find out if I've been accepted in around 3-4 weeks. However, the
interviewer let me know that I was one of the few who would be ready and
willing to leave ASAP, and that there are positions opening up here in
June/July instead of August or later. Also, she was asking me
specifically if I would be comfortable working with special needs
students. I wasn't able to ask the others who were there for interviews
as well if they received that question, however they didn't mention it
when they came out, so I'm wondering if she seems me as a fit for
something along those lines...
My
demo lesson went really smoothly, and thankfully we were able to help
each other out by being each others 'classroom' so we weren't talking to
imaginary people. It was so nice to be able to talk to others who are
going through this process. We were able to go get lunch together
before the one-on-one interviews and share our Japan stories with each
other. Had such a fun and rewarding day!
I
will keep everyone updated on whether or not I get offered the
position, but I am certainly happy with how things went today so chances
are looking good!!
じゃね！！！
Thanks for writing these posts and making the youtube videos that you have. I am currently trying to get a job teaching english in Japan and your writing and videos have been clear, concise and practical. I am in the initial stages of applying for jobs and interviewing and have just been offered my first of what I hope will be several interviews.
ReplyDeleteIf you had any books/websites that you found helpful as you were preparing to teach, and specifically teach in Japan I'm looking for relevant resources. If you don't mind sharing your trade secrets, my email is sirlagan@gmail.com.
Any of your experienced advice is very appreciated.
Thank you very much
Caleb L.