Online Teaching: I Aced the Interview (kind of) but Failed the Surprise Demo

I started applying last January and started working last February 15. I would have started sooner (the whole process took less than a week for me to get accepted, but I kept on delaying my starting date because I was scared beyond belief. They even sent me an e-mail stating that If I don't want to start sooner, then let them know coz they will let me go. haha! For reals! So, nag start na talaga ako. Bahala na! But then, when I got started, I realized it wasn't too bad and I kept on wondering why was I scared in the first place. Getting started, they said, is the hardest part and it's true!)



Interview Process:

I submitted my application online and I got a call few hours after. Of course I was nervous, but I think I did well with the interview. Modesty aside, I can speak English quiet well. Maybe because of my five years stay in the US. I do have a slight American accent (as what the interviewer said. lol. blushing!) but when you let me speak tagalog... man, I suck at it! Really! My tagalog is super bad and you can really tell that I am bisaya when I speak Tagalog. Like really!


Questions:

- Self introduction
- Hobbies
- Why do you want to teach online?
- Teaching experiences?
- Degree you took up in college
- Any kids?
- Do you have quiet space to conduct your classes if ever you'll get accepted?
- Why would we hire you?
- Are you familiar with Skype?
- Are you willing to undergo training?
- Are you pregnant or planning to get pregnant soon?
- Moving soon? 
- Plans on going abroad?




The whole phone interview took about 15 minutes then they scheduled me for a Skype interview. I had Skype interview the day after.

During Skype Interview:

- Make sure you are in a quiet place. Dapat walang tao na nag pa-pass by sa likuran mo.
- They'll ask the same question in the interview
- They'll ask if the current place you are having your interview is the place you will conduct your classes.


The Skype interview took less than 5 minutes then they scheduled me for training.


Training:

- They sent me a pdf that contains information about the company, salary and all that. It also contains the training material.
- They sent me the training material few days before the actual training and I had a lot of time to study the material. I did just that but I focused on the company information, salary and stuff and I didn't focus on the training part. IT WAS A BAD MISTAKE.
- Note to self: Review the Training module because they might ask you for a surprise demo.
-  Surprised demo: I sucked at it! Man, I couldn't even tell you how embarrassed I was! Grabeh, nag stutter talaga ako and all. Basta, I SUCKED AT IT! Luckily, it didn't affect the application process.

• They scheduled me for an initial demo. The "student" was a staff of the company.
• After, they scheduled me for a final demo with an actual Japanese student.

Okay, will explain more about the initial demo as well as the final demo in my next post.

Bye for now! 

Online Teaching: Pros and Cons

PROS:

• You can earn Php 350  in about  3.5 hours of teaching online (  about 7 students)

The minimum wage here in Cebu is Php 350 per day ( correct me if I am wrong) and currently, the rate that the company pays per student is Php 55  per 25 minutes ( it'll increase in 4 months and there are also incentives when I reach 80 students and 100 students per month).

• You can choose your hours

The busiest time and busiest days would have to be evenings and weekends. 

• Working at home? BIG ADVANTAGE!

I have been juggling construction, teaching online and a lot of other things in between, plus I CAN SPEND TIME WITH STARK AND PEPPER! Sweeeeeet! :)

CONS:

• Getting use to teaching online is kind of jarring. You have to know how to multitask. You need to be familiar with Skype, Dropbox, Excel, typing the correction while talking with the student, typing the correction and explaining to the student why you need to correct them at the same time, etc.. BUT you will get used to it, swear!

• You have to make and post Lesson Memo after each student and if sunod sunod ang students mo, matatambakan ka ng Lesson Memo. You need to know how to manage your time.

• Lozenges should be one of your friends when you want to teach online full time. Grabeh, ma papaos ka talaga. I once held  18 classes in a day and my voice wanted to give up. Buti meron akong PEI PA KOA! hahaha! Not joking though.

I'd post more about my online teaching experience when I can if you guys are interested. It's Monday and it's my day off. I need to go to the wet market to replenish my supply. I had a total of 25 students over the weekend. It's more than my quota and I am happy about it.


'Til next time!

It's Been a Month: Teaching Online, etc..

MARCH 15, 2016


Wow! I couldn't believe that it has been a month since I started teaching online. Time flies so fast when you're busy and when you're enjoying it at the same time!


Here are a glimpse of my online teaching experience ( so far):

• The first day was kind of crazy! I was nervous as hell. Note to self: don't start online teaching when there is a construction going on coz nakakasira ng concentration! Promise! 
• I taught five classes on my first day. Not bad for a newbie!
• My first student became my regular student! Beginner's luck, they said!
• In a month of teaching, I experienced:

1.  No internet connection for a week. No classes held for a week and panira kasi I was under 2- week evaluation pa naman at that time!
2. My laptop got broken and was fixed twice! Buti it was under warranty pa. First, the power button wasn't working so Dell came over to fix it. Second, the mother board went kapoot... so yah, you know how that goes!

• Two-week evaluation wrapped up: They praised my voice coz buo daw and I can get the student's attention and my teaching style was praised too because I was able to not only correct student's grammar and intonation, I was also able to give praises to the students. CHOS! ( yes, may Skype recorder. They, meaning admin or whoever, can listen to your classes coz you need to submit the recorded file after the lesson.)However, they said that I need to get my internet connection straighten up. I told them that PLDT already fixed and rewired it, so everything is a-okay as of the mo.
•  For a week of teaching, I earned Php 800! Oh, may pang bayad na ako sa MCWD! haha!
• I've gotten a lot of good reviews from my students and one bad review, and why does one bad review hurts? Natatabunan ang mga good reviews because of that one bad review. That's how that goes, right? In my defense, I was new and I wasn't familiar with the book we were studying. The bad review wasn't posted by the admins in my page.
• I only got few students in my first two weeks of teaching ( about two students a day more or less) and I think that was a good thing coz one, I was a newbie and I was still trying to familiarize with rules and such, teaching styles and all.
• Now, I'm teaching between 5 to 10 classes everyday, except  Monday and Wednesday ( my days off.) I once thought 18 classes in a day!  Paos mode, promise! Now, I can manage my time better and I'm good at cancelling my hours na.
• My quota, except off days, is 5 classes per day. Nowadays, I have been teaching more than 5 classes. 

So far I am enjoying this experience and I am planning to stick to this kind of work until my feelings changes... I don't know! We will see.

Townhouse Living: A Problem You May Encounter

Life has  been so busy lately. I started working online, plus I'm managing the house construction.

Okay, I promised I'll post about what kind of online work I do, but since I didn't have the chance yet, I'll just give you a hint.


Here it is:

 Skype+ Sensei


I know you guys already got it! :)


Back to the topic...
Please watch the video, but excuse and ignore the bisaya dialect.


Note: I decided to take this video as a form of evidence. I took a total of 5 videos.

Okay, after watching the video above, you would know that my room got flooded with rainwater. I didn't have this kind of problem until my next door neighbor started renovating her house.


What I did:


1. I assess the situation. 

I inspected my wall and my ceiling and there were no hint of water whatsoever. I realized it was coming from my next door neighbor's floor. Again, I didn't have problem with it not until she started doing something with her house.


2. I knocked on the neighbor's door.

I was so nervous because this neighbor has some kind of a reputation in the subdivision (Hint: BAD) She had shouting match with the other neighbor few months back over trash. She was also the same neighbor who parks in front of my property ( yep, the same neighbor I mentioned in one of my posts, that "neighbor who complains about everything pero hindi naman pala nag babayad ng Homeowner's Association Fee!")

Well fortunately, I didn't get to see her because she was still sleeping according to her helper. It was around 7:00 AM on a Saturday.


3. I went to see the Homeowner's Association Officer who is in-charge with this kind of situation

The officer came over and access the situation. She too said that the water was coming from my neighbor's side. She advised me to take videos, and so I did.


4. The officer called the neighbor telling her about the situation

5. Confrontation part


Of course, she insisted that it wasn't her fault. I told her that I didn't have problems with water going in before, not until she did some renovating. She still insisted that it wasn't her fault. Nakakaloka talaga! I told her to go up and take a look at my room, but she won't! It took me a few tries to convinced her to go up and freakin' see my room. She agreed and when she saw my room, she really can't deny the fact that the water is coming from her side. She also saw how pristine my wall and my ceiling looked.

6. The Compromise

She told me that she will go ahead and put roof within a month, that I should be patient. I told her that I am being patient, that I was doing this so she will know the current situation. After she left, I made a video log about the result of our talk, that she promised she will put roof in her property within a month.
Ayon, na sira yong cabinet ko because of the water, pero it can be fix naman. I didn't insist nalang to ask for it to be repaired because I think it is unintentional. I am happy that she knew and that she said she will take an action within a month. For the mean time, I put tons of rugs and blankets on the floor and I'm crossing my fingers that it won't rain.