Congratulations on passing your Demo Interview! If you missed our last post on helpful resources for the basic info section and demo, feel free to have a read here. Now for the next stages of the interview process.
These are the main rules they are grading you on when you apply to be a VIPKID teacher. Here’s a very helpful video explaining the entire interview process.
No.1: BE ON TIME
You may not think you will miss class, you may forget check your schedule while it is still new to you or you may be a few minutes late. However, an online class is only 25 minutes, so being late just a few minutes, means you likely won’t get through the class, and may receive a No Show record.
No.2: BE PROFESSIONAL
Ensure your background is clean, your lighting is excellent, and you have no issues with your IT connection. has no issues and provides your students with the most appropriate environment for them to learn effectively.
No.3: BE ACTIVE
You are going to teach young children in another country thousands miles away through a camera, it’s so important for you to keep high energy levels for every class to engage your students and bring an interesting lesson to your lovely students!
Mock Class 1:
Now, on to Mock Class 1. You have to teach a lesson to a veteran VIPKID teacher. The teacher pretends to be a young student, while you teach them the class. Almost everyone does two mock classes, but if you do really well on your first one, you may not have to do another one! You will also need to choose if you would like to get certified as a Lower level teacher, Level 2-3 Certification or an upper level, 4-5. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to prepare for your interview. The proctor will know right away if you haven’t prepared the material well enough ahead of time. VIPKID’s teaching techniques are very specific and can be learned all on YouTube.
The best part of VIPKID is that you don’t have to lesson plan! The lessons are provided for you and each student is on their own pace in the curriculum. You have access to the slides before you teach, so in the beginning you’ll definitely want to look over them before getting in the classroom. The longer you teach, the more lessons you will teach and it will all get easier! It takes a bit of time for every teacher to get in their own specific teaching rhythm, so just be patient and it will all get easier!
Here are some helpful videos for the Level 2-3 Certification and the Level 4-5 Certification
Mock Class 2:
Congratulations on passing Mock Class 1! Now onto Mock Class 2 where the most important aspect is showing off your new skills. Be sure to take the advice from any of the feedback you got from the veteran teacher. They expect you to take the feedback and implement into your teaching, so make sure you take it seriously!
Here are some helpful videos for your Mock Class 2. Level 2-3 Certification and Level 4-5 Certification.
TESOL Certification:
VIPKID now requires all teachers to have a TESOL Certification as it is a requirement by the Chinese government. If you already have a TEFL or TESOL from another accredited company, that qualifies. They say it takes 10 hours to complete the certification, but most people get through it in 2-4 hours max.
Once you complete the TESOL, you’ll fill out your contract info and VIPKID does a background check on you, which takes a few days.
The whole hiring process takes a week to a week and a half. VIPKID prefers that you do it all quickly. Keep your momentum going and get hired quickly!
Attendance Policy:
The VIPKID attendance policy is VERY STRICT. This is completely reasonable as it’s a job where you make your own hours, so if you open a slot, you are expected to be there. You are only allowed 6 “No Shows” per teaching contract. Your contract lasts 6 months. A “No Show” is given when you are more than 1 minute late to class. This is the worst class labeling because it goes on your record and you are required to pay for that class. You do not get paid, and you have to pay your base rate, which gets deducted from your monthly payment.
So long story short, AVOID NO SHOWS in all cases possible! VIPKID does understand that emergencies happen, so they have “soft cancellations” but those require doctor’s notes. Another finished class labeling that you want to avoid is “Teacher IT issue.” VIPKID has "firemen” which are their IT specialists there to help in case there are teacher or student IT issues in class. The best way to avoid IT issues is make sure your WIFI is at a fast speed and if there are any power outages or issues, to have your mobile hot spot ready. If you’ve never used your mobile hot spot before, it’s easy. You are able to use the data from your phone, to connect to your laptop. You don’t want to do this all the time, in case you don’t have much data on your phone, but it’s great for traveling and power outage situations. Here’s a quick video on using a hot spot for iPhone and Android.
After You’re Hired:
The number one mistake that VIPKID teachers make, is missing their first class. VIPKID emails you A LOT throughout the interview process and when you’re a teacher, but they don’t email you when your classes get booked or anything like that. So make sure to check back often to see which slots got booked and download the VIPKID app. An alarm goes off 15 minutes before your class starts.
Please use my referral link or Code (AMAND0043). I am more than happy to help you through the interview process. Feel free to share this article, comment below or email info@settleinabroad.com with any questions.
Good luck on your mock classes!
