Ready to start teaching English online?
Teach with VIPKidTeaching English online with VIPKid is one of the best ways to make money online. But potential teachers often ask us, “How can I prepare for my interview with VIPKid?” Well look no further! In this post, we’ll break down how VIPKid’s application process works, and how you can best prepare for each step of the interview process.
First, let’s break down the 4 steps of VIPKid’s interview process.
1. Online application
There’s not much to this one. Once you create your VIPKid account, fill out the online application form to start your journey to becoming an online English teacher. Once you submit your application, you’ll be able to complete your virtual interview!
2. Interview and demo lesson
VIPKid offers two options for the teacher interview and demo lesson. We encourage teachers to choose the method that works best for them.
- Recorded interview and demo: record a video with your answers to pre-written interview questions. Once you’ve completed the questions, record a 5 minute demo lesson. Submit your video, and our community team will review it!
- Teacher quiz and Smart Demo: only available on our VIPKid Teacher smartphone app. Complete a short quiz to show us what you already know about teaching English in the online classroom. Afterwards, you’ll complete a short 2 minute demo lesson.
We’ll talk more about this in the “dos and don’ts” section, but here’s a quick tip for your interview: make sure you have a (real, non-virtual) fun and colorful background! Not having a background is one of the most common reasons teachers don’t pass their initial interview, so be sure to have one! This should be your first step in preparing for your VIPKid interview.
Once you’ve completed your VIPKid interview and demo lesson, our team will decide whether or not to move forward to the mock class.
3. Mock class
If your demo lesson was a success, we’ll move on to the mock class. During this step, you’ll teach a real class with the aid of a current VIPKid teacher. Before you teach your mock class, you’ll receive lesson content for the level you’re about to teach.
The goal for this stage is to get you as prepared as possible to be in the classroom on your own with real students. If you don’t pass on the first try, don’t worry! You’ll be able to repeat the mock class until you pass. Practice makes perfect, after all! Once you pass your VIPKid mock class, we’ll send you your first contract.
4. Contract
Congratulations! It’s time to sign your first contract with VIPKid. You’ll need to submit a few extra documents and complete your teacher profile. Teacher contracts are 6 months in length, but there’s no minimum commitment for teaching hours with VIPKid. You’re free to teach as much or as little as you’d like!
Now that we’ve laid out what the VIPKid interview process looks like, let’s move on to some “dos and don’ts” for each step of your journey to becoming an online English teacher and preparing for your VIPKid interview.
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DO: Make sure you meet the VIPKid teacher requirements
Before you get too far in the application process, make sure that you meet VIPKid’s teacher requirements. We require all of our online English teachers to have:
- A bachelor’s degree
- Two years of experience working with kids (this could be as a classroom teacher, activities instructor, nanny, or anything else)
- Legal eligibility to work in the US or Canada (but you don’t need to live there currently!)
- A teaching license (don’t worry, you can get this through us later)
Do you meet these requirements? Great! Let’s keep going in the application process.
DON’T: Bring your resume or cover letter
No resume or cover letter is required for the VIPKid recruitment process. We’re more interested in seeing how you teach and interact with students first-hand. Of course, you will later be required to show evidence that you meet our teacher requirements. But we’ll get to that later.
DO: Choose the interview style that works best for you
As mentioned before, VIPKid offers two options for your initial interview and demo lesson. Feel like you need to practice how to present your best self? Choose the recorded interview and class demo. Or, if you like to keep things short and to the point, download our VIPKid Teacher smartphone app and complete the teacher quiz and Smart Demo.
DON’T: Come to your demo lesson unprepared
Don’t worry, we won’t ask you to wing it or scour the internet for clues on how to teach with VIPKid. Before your demo lesson, you’ll have access to teacher materials as well as some sample lesson content you’ll be using. Spend some time reviewing this material before your scheduled interview and demo lesson, and you’ll be a step ahead!
DO: Test your technical equipment beforehand
You don’t want to jump into your interview only to realize that your microphone doesn’t work properly, or that your teacher station doesn’t get good enough WiFi reception to allow the lesson to run smoothly. Take a few minutes before your interview and demo lesson to make sure all of your equipment is working properly to avoid technical difficulties during your VIPKid interview.
Since VIPKid is an online-only platform, we have some technical requirements that all teachers must meet. Click here to learn more about VIPKid’s technical requirements.
DON’T: Cut your demo lesson short
Your short demo lesson is meant to emulate a real VIPKid lesson as closely as possible. And just like in a real lesson, you can’t cut it short just because you’re through the material! Time yourself practicing the lesson beforehand, and speak slowly and clearly to make sure students can understand you.
If you still find yourself finishing your VIPKid lessons early, go back and review some of the lesson materials you covered with your student or play a classroom game. But always complete your lessons at the scheduled time!
DO: Have a fun, colorful background
It’s hard to make a fun and personable impression on your students through a computer. But one way to do it: use a colorful background! It doesn’t need to be on the level of a TV studio, but having a colorful background with a name sign, fun pictures, and some classroom props will make your lessons feel more inviting before you even start teaching!
DON’T: Use a virtual background
Since VIPKid’s lessons take place on our own proprietary platform, there is no option for virtual backgrounds. But don’t worry! VIPKid offers lots of printables for teachers to fill up their classroom backgrounds.
Here are a couple to get you started:
Colored Pencils Name Sign Download
DO: Use props you already have around the house
Your home is probably full of teacher props, you just don’t know it yet! That shower curtain in your bathroom would make a great backdrop for your classroom. And any stickers, pictures, or toys make perfect props for lessons and reward systems for students! Use your imagination, and be enthusiastic when using these props with your students. If you get excited about them, they will too!
DON’T: Feel like you need to spend money
VIPKid is one of the best ways to make money from home, and one of the best part time jobs. And like any job, it’s not necessary to spend money to be successful. Use props you have around the house, and feel free to print out pictures for anything you don’t physically have. There’s no need to go out and spend money to create your virtual classroom, just be creative!
DO: Be active
As an online English teacher, it’s important to be active to keep your students engaged. Using total physical response (TPR) is a great way to get students moving, but it’s also a valuable teaching method to help them remember vocabulary and key teaching ideas.
Beyond just being active, it’s important to model what you want your students to do in your classroom. Smile and speak slowly, and demonstrate clearly when you’re introducing new material in your online classroom.
DON’T: Be afraid to correct students’ mistakes
One thing that new teachers often struggle with the most is correcting student mistakes. It’s easy to feel like you’re being too hard on a student or correcting them too often, but remember that’s why they’re in your class. Make sure they use correct grammar and full sentences, and correct them gently and positively when they don’t. On the flip side, give out classroom rewards often when students accomplish a task or make a marked improvement.
DO: Use the mock class as a learning experience
Your mock class is designed to be as close to the real classroom as possible. Nobody is a perfect teacher on day one, so use this time as a learning experience to be a better English teacher when it comes time for the real thing!
DON’T: Be discouraged after the mock class
The goal of your mock class is simple: to prepare you as much as possible for the real VIPKid classroom setting. You can reteach your mock class until you pass and move on to signing your contract. If you don’t pass, don’t be discouraged! There’s always another chance.
DO: Submit all of the required documents for a contract
Once it’s time to sign your contract, you’ll need to submit a few documents to verify your profile. Have these on hand to make the process quicker and start teaching faster! All new VIPKid teachers need to submit:
- Verification of your bachelor’s degree
- Proof of eligibility to work in the US or Canada
- A teaching license (if you don’t have one, you can complete VIPKid’s Online TEFL program)
- Three photos, plus a greeting video so students can see their future teacher!
DON’T: Forget to keep an eye out for incentives to learn more
Teacher pay with VIPKid is equivalent to $14-22 per hour. But with our incentives program, you can earn more! From referral bonuses to teaching more classes, there are lots of opportunities to earn more as a VIPKid teacher.
You can learn more about VIPKid’s teacher pay here.
DO: Set a payment schedule that works for you
When you start teaching English with VIPKid, you have multiple different options for setting up a payment schedule. You can set your VIPKid payment schedule as:
- Bi-weekly: this is the default VIPKid payment method, and the one most teachers prefer. You’ll receive your VIPKid payments every two weeks.
- Weekly: if you prefer to receive your payments more often, you can choose to set up weekly payments.
- Monthly: teachers who prefer to receive their VIPKid payments in larger amounts can schedule their payments to be sent once per month.
Choose a payment schedule that works for you! Flexibility is one of the best parts about teaching English online.
DON’T: Be nervous!
Once you’ve signed your VIPKid contract, you’re ready to start teaching English online! Teaching with VIPKid isn’t just one of the best ways to make extra money online, it’s also a gateway to a growing English teaching community. You’re starting down a new path, but you’re not doing it alone! Don’t be afraid to reach out to other VIPKid teachers if you have any questions. Our community is what sets VIPKid apart!
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Do you still have questions about how to prepare for your VIPKid interview or other questions about the recruitment process? Reach out to our support team and we’ll get back to you!
