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Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job: Questions to Ask Before You Sign a Contract
Updated 19 April 2009
This article has also been featured in the ELT Times.
Before accepting a teaching position, there are many things that you need to know. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, the more you know, the more informed your decision will be. Find out as much about the school as you can. There are many good schools out there, but there are also bad ones as well. Read Warning Signs of Bad Language Schools to learn how to tell if a school is good or bad. Good places to start are yahoo groups, ESL forums, such as ELT World and Dave's ESL Cafe and country specific forums.
Ask to be put in touch with current or past teachers. If a school refuses to put you in contact with their teachers, that’s not a good sign. Move on to the next school. You can find job search sites in the Job Sites article. Once you've secured an interview, read up on tips to wow your employer in The Interview and Demo Lesson.
Remember that money's not everything. If you manage your money with a budget and are able to supplement your teaching income, then you should do pretty well. Who you work with, potential for professional growth, pay rises and other benefits are also important. The majority of teachers would rather work in a great teaching environment with ok pay, then at a school with an ok environment and great pay. A bad environment can cause stress and burn out. There are two sections: questions you should ask the interview and questions you should ask current teachers.
After the interview, you'll have to decide if you want the job or not. Look at How to Accept/Reject a Job Offer to find out how to do this. You'll also find useful tips that will help you when you sign the contract.
Questions you should ask the interviewer
You probably don't need to ask all of the questions all at once. Most of the answers to the questions can be found in the job advert or the interviewer will tell you about the school. During the initial interview, just ask a few questions, and don't mention money or benefits. Later, once you're offered the job you'll find more info in the contract itself. Finally, if you still have questions, you should email them and ask the remaining questions.
Below you'll find basic stock questions that you should ask during the interview. You'll find more open ended questions that you should ask at the end of the interview (when the interviewer asks you if you have any questions) in the second section. These questions will show the interviewer that you've done research on their school and are interested in their position. Finally in section 3, you can find some questions to ask current and former teachers at the school. Always remember to ask for the emails of current or former teachers!
Section 1: Basic Stock Questions
School
● Who are the clients, students, who owns the school, manages it, runs it?
● Is there a particular methodology or pedagogical philosophy to be followed?
● How is management structured?
● Will you have to teach a summer or winter camp? Is it optional or mandatory? Is there extra pay for teaching camps?
● How long is the contract?
● Is there training? Is it paid?
● Are there free or discounts for language lessons for teachers?
Hours
● How many a week maximum?
● How many a day maximum?
● How many in a row without a break?
● Are extra hours/relief compulsory? If so how much notice is given?
● Morning or afternoon shift? Split shift? Weekend work?
● How many different classes and or levels day? Week?
● How long is each class?
● Are the hours guaranteed?
● Are there breaks?
● What about overtime?
● Is there sick leave? How much? Is there compensation if sick days aren’t used?
● Are there office hours or can you leave once a class finishes?
Students
● What’s the typical student like?
● How many per class?
● How expensive/cheap is the school for students?
● What sort of students are the client base?
● What is the school's discipline policy? Who enforces it? Can you have your own rewards and consequences for the students?
Duties
● Who makes the quizzes? How often are they?
● What other responsibilities are there? (meetings, advertising about the school)
Money
● How often is the pay?
● How is it decided? How will the salary differ with a certificate/degree and/or work experience?
● How much is the tax? Is it automatically taken out or do you have to file taxes?
● Is there a contract completion bonus?
● Are there bonuses? How often are they given? What are they based on? no sick days? student surveys or re-enrollment? hours? qualifications?
● Is there help with opening a bank account? What documents are needed?
● How much is needed to live?
● Is there reimbursement for flight? When is it given?
● Is accommodation provided? What's included? Is there helping find a flat?
● Are there raises? How are they given?
● Is there relocation allowance?
● Can you freely exchange money? If no, then what's the limit? And how do you exchange it?
● How are you paid? Cash, direct deposit?
Resources
● Are there books or are teachers expected to make their own material? What books are used? Do they come with the teacher's resource book, workbook, and CDs for listenings?
● Is there a syllabus to follow?
● Is there a library? Computers? Internet/email? Teachers' Room?
● Is there a Language lab? Video camera? CD player?
● Is there a mentor or buddy system for new teachers? weak students?
Miscellaneous
● Holidays – paid or unpaid? Can you take them when you want?
● Is there airport pickup?
● How many sick and personal days are given? Do you need to have a doctor's note to be excused?
● Is transport provided?
● What other facilities are provided? pool, library, gym, internet?
● What is done about organizing visas and who pays for the visa? How long does it take to get the visa? Is the school willing to get you a work visa or do they want you to work under the table? Will they help with visa extensions if necessary? Will you enter the country on a work visa?
● Is medical insurance private? Or local state system?
● Is the water and electricity in your housing reliable? Does it get turned off often? Are you given notice before it's turned off? How long it is usually off for?
● Is any medication that you need readily available? Do you need a prescription?
Section 2: Open Ended Thoughful Questions
Towards the end of the interview, the interviewer will probably ask you if you have any questions. You should always ask questions, just make sure that you don't ask about money or benefits. Now is not the time to ask these things, you can ask them later, after you are offered the job and sent the contract. Below are some ideal questions to ask at the end of an interview.
● What are the three best things about working at your school?
● What percentage of teacher re-sign a contract?
● What's a typical day like for a teacher at your school?
● How much freedom do teachers have over the syllabus, lessons, cirruculum, etc?
● What's the school's policy on discipline? Is it school wide or can teachers create their own for their classes?
● What does the school do to encourage feedback from teachers?
● What kind of internal / external training is provided?
● Go to their website and find specific things that you would like to ask questions about. Say something like "On your website, you said . . . ., I would like to know more about . . . " If they don't have a website, look over their advertisement again and see if you can ask any questions about it.
Section 3: Questions you should ask current teachers
Keep in mind that the school isn't going to put you in touch with unhappy teachers. The teachers that you talk to may also have ulterior motivates for saying good things about the school. Some schools go as far as to offer cash bonuses for teachers they recruit. Keeping that in mind, don't just ask the teachers about their experience at the school. Ask about the other teachers as well.
School
● How modern is the school?
● Is student limit maintained? (if they have a max of 25, do they add more?)
● What percentage of teachers complete their contract? re-sign? quit?
Hours
● Do you often have to work extra hours? (extra planning, meetings, English corners, subbing). Are you paid fairly for the overtime?
● Do you always work the minimum hours per week? (If you're paid by the hour, it's important that you do.)
Students
● Are students divided by level?
● How involved are the students' parents? Do they pressure you outside of class? Can they sit in on classes?
Duties
● Are duties fairly divided between foreign and local teachers?
● What's the hierarchy like? Can foreigners hold management, senior teacher, trainer positions?
● Do you have to work together in groups?
Money
● Can you teach private students? work at another school or institute?
● Do you always get paid in full and on time?
Miscellaneous
● Do you have to make up vacation days? (Ex, work on Saturday if Friday is a vacation.)
● Is there a no compete policy in the contract? Some schools won't let you teach at other schools or private students while your at their school. Others won't let you teach in the same city or X mile radius for X months.
● Can you socialise with students after class?
● Are you given the benefits you were promised when you were promised?
Next Step
If all goes well, you'll be offered the job and then will decide if you want to accept or not. You can find more info about accepting/rejecting a job and contracts in How to Accept/Reject a Job Offer.
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