English Teacher Job Interview With Hampson English (汉普森英语) In China, Guangzhou

In Australia, Sydney, I applied online for a handful of English teaching jobs in China.  Hampson English (汉普森英语) in China, Guangzhou replied to my English teacher online application.

I advised them that I fly into China in a few weeks, and requested to have a job interview with Hampson English (汉普森英语) in China, Guangzhou.  Hampson English accepted.

I flew into China, Guangzhou, Baiyun airport on September 22, 2017.  One day later I arrived to the offices of Hampson English (汉普森英语) to attend an in-China job interview.

Provided a Job Application Form In Hampson English Job Interview

As I came into Hampson English (汉普森英语) Guangzhou branch, I approached reception.  The Chinese reception took me to an office.  I sat down.

The Chinese female receptionist provided me the paperwork to fill, some basic job application forms asking for my personal details, higher education, institutions attended, work experience, study of language and culture, and availability.

Flirtatious Job Interview With Hampson English

Then the Hampson English interviewer entered the classroom.

The interviewer did not dress up to look sexy, but her top was button-up, and I could see the sexy skin on her chest.

She was tall, skinny, with long hair.  Sometimes the Hampson English interviewer unconsciously put her hair into pigtails while we spoke.  That was sexy.

She often played with her hair flirtatiously, pulling her hair forward into little pigtails, deliberately looking me in the eyes as she did so.  I often gave her the eye.

The Hampson English interviewer was an outgoing, fun person to talk to.

All in all, it was a fun, flirtatious interview.

Hampson English HR Consultant Introduces Hampson English

The Hampson English HR consultant explained, “This is a very specialized school, Hampson English.  The English students get to pick their English teacher.  It is different to normal English schools where you go there, and the students are assigned to English teachers.”

The English students will all be between 5-12 years old, in classes of between 1-4 students.

There will be some one-on-one teen students learning IELTS and TOEFL with the purposes to study abroad.

Hampson English Job Interview Questions

Then came the big questions.

After I had signed the Hampson English teacher job application form, the Hampson English HR consultant asked me some questions.

She asked, “Where did you learn?”

“How did you teach English in previous English schools?”

“Did you teach IELTS in Australia.”

In the English teaching job interview I gave an explanation for each question.

I also mentioned I speak Chinese. We sometimes spoke Chinese in the job interview.

The Hampson English interviewer chuckled that she was the organizer (组织者).  She does her normal HR duties, orders office stationary, handles all the office supplies, and fills in for everyone else who is sick.  She said she is that person.

Explaining Cultural Differences In Dating

I struggled in the interview stage, so I wanted to convey some kind of intelligence.  That is when I decided to talk about culture with the female Hampson English interviewer.

I held two pieces of paper in front of me.

I explained, “That is you.  That is me.  This pen represents a decision.  Can you explain in ten words, or one sentence, what do you think culture is? ~ 文化是什么?”

The Hampson English interviewer replied, “I don’t know.  It is many things.  Culture is what the people and what the country think, and do.  It is what people in society choose to do.”

I nodded, and then expanded, as a cultural scholar, on my impression of culture.

I explained, “In Australia for example, we have thongs.”

The Hampson English interviewer did not understand what “thongs” means, so I had to change the example to a more universal “kiss”.  Then she understood the example.

When I said, “kiss” I saw her eyes blinked, and she started to be more flirtatious afterwards.  I was very confident when I talked to her like that.

I explained, “Just imagine a kiss.  Typically in Australia, two people have a few dates, and then within a week, they decide to kiss.  Australia is very open.”

…“China on the other hand is typically traditional (传统).  The Chinese women are also mostly conservative (保守).  A male in China would spend many months to chase (追求) a female before a kiss happens.”

…“Both countries are making the same decision to kiss, but at different times, and that is essentially what culture is.”

…”Culture is defined by equal human decisions made differently over a spectrum of time.”

I think the explanation of cultural differences gave me a few positive ticks.

Hampson English Mock English Class

Soon, the Hampson English interviewer pulled in another Chinese girl.  I discovered both Chinese girls were from the same office.

The Hampson English interviewer smiled, “She is going to pretend to be the student today.”

She had a Korean appearance.  Her eyes had thick make-up, but she looked really cute.

In Mandarin, I complimented, “你的样子是韩国的.”

In English, she said, “Really?  Oh no, I’m Chinese.”

I clarified, “No, I mean what you wear is a good fashion.  It is similar to what Koreans in Australia would wear.  In Australia, there are a lot of Korean and Chinese people who come to the country.  This is the kind of fashion that they wear.”

I chatted to the Chinese office worker, “I have only been in China for two days.”

She exclaimed, “Really two days?  That is amazing!”

I said, “I have lived in China before, so I know what China is about.  But this time, I have only been in China for two days.”

She said, “Oh, that’s great.”

Pronouncing English Words In The Demo Class

The three of us became seated on the same table.

I said, “Welcome to the class.  Today we will be learning about this.”

The Chinese officer worker pretended to be a bit dumb.

I showed the English book to the mock English student.  I then wrote down all the items on post-it notes.  I put all the post-it notes with English words down on the table.

I asked the mock English student to use a loud voice to say all the English words on the post-it notes one by one.  Eventually, I gave one or two sentences to explain what each English word means.

The post-it notes included words such as “jeer” and “stare”.  I remembered previous advice on how an English teacher should never come across as negative.  The advisor had said, “You have to come up with positive comments, and positive feedback.”

However, I began to wonder, with examples like “jeer”, how do I teach an example without sounding negative?  I had to give a negative example.

I said, “When you are at a football game and one side is cheering, then the other side is jeering, in a negative way against the opposition.”  I did a cheer and jeer sound.

The Hampson mock English class went well.  I was nervous in the demo class, saying “um” and “ah” too many times.  I do not come across as confident when I am speaking.  I do come across as confident when I speak on a topic that I have researched and know well.

I have to learn to teach English with more confidence.  I guess that comes to having your own teaching style.  For the next English teacher job interview, I am going to try to be myself and see where that gets me.

Reading An English Book

Then we started on book-reading.

I read English from Queenie Chan’s book.  I had not read the book before then.

While I was teaching, the Hampson English interviewer stood back recording a video of our mock English class.  I felt pressure on me, but that was okay.  I thought I did well.

The Hampson English interviewer came back into the room after 10 minutes.

She said, “I think that is enough.  We are running out of time.”

We had only read two paragraphs of material.

Asking Additional Questions In The Hampson English Teacher Job Interview

When we finished, I thanked the Chinese office worker for the English lesson.  Then she disappeared.

The Hampson English interviewer and I resumed our job interview.

The Hampson English interviewer asked, “Do you have any questions?”

I asked, “What is the size of Hampson English?”

She said, “We have one thousand students, but we do not have enough English teachers to provide teaching for all the students.  There is a waiting list.”

…”Usually when the new English teacher comes to Hampson English, the students will jump on that English teacher because they want to learn, and do not really care who is going to teach English to them.”

…”But, when Hampson English students’ places are full and we have more English teachers, usually the students are pickier.  The students go through two or three English teachers before they settle on the English teacher they like.”

Hampson English Salary Negotiations

Then the Hampson English interviewer talked about Hampson English teacher salary expectations per hour.

Hampson English will pay me weekly, which is a positive.

She said, “There is a 35 hours per week option, and a 30 hours per week option. Five of those hours are dedicated to office work in Hampson English. The rest are for teaching English.”

…”Each English class is Fifty minutes.”

I responded, “We have these kinds of English classes in Australia too, where we teach a short time.  BANG!  The English teacher comes in, comes out, and you are finished.”

Discussing Work Availability

We went through all these extra job interview questions.  I showed interest in the job interview process. I made myself as available as possible.

So, when we came to discuss availability and I ticked every box, I explained a cultural difference.

I said, “In Australia we tick available on all boxes because the business wants to see that you are available for everything.  I am in China anyway.  I have nothing else to do, except to look for an apartment to rent.  Then I am available all the time anyway.  What else do I have to do?”

Discussing Next Steps With Hampson English Interviewer

I am pretty sure we talked for an hour, extended that extra half an hour for questions and flirtation.

The Hampson English interviewer said, “We will send to your WeChat (微信) whether Hampson English head office would have you come in to sign the contract.”

I said, “Okay, how long will that be?  A week?”

She said, “No, almost immediately, within the next day or two.”

I then explained in Australia how long the job interview process takes.

I said, “Sometimes it takes four job interviews to get success.”

I shook her hand as we were sitting down.  Then she walked me to the front of Hampson English.  On the way, I dropped the cup of water that she offered me earlier into the bin.  Then she walked me to the front door.

I said, “Call me on WeChat. Thank you for your time today.”

I finished the job interview at 12:30 pm.

Since the interview with Hampson English, I taught English in their classrooms often over the course of the next few months.  You can read about these classes exclusively on this website.