VIPKid – My Experience with the hiring process

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About a year ago, I scoured the internet to find a side hustle that would work for me. Baby girl  was due in August, and childcare expenses are NO JOKE. In my intense research, I came across a lot of articles and suggestions, but one that kept popping up was VIPKids.

“Work from home and make $22 an hour!”

“All you need is a bachelor’s degree!”

“Follow your passion!”

“BLAH BLAH BLAH!”

Honestly, at first it seemed kind of scammy – so for a while I bypassed it. I read more articles. I cried with my husband about how we’d never be able to afford child care. I signed up to teach summer school and host extra summer camps. I cried some more when there wasn’t enough enrollment so my summer work was cancelled. I meditated. I prayed. I read some more, and I kept coming across VIPKids – so I thought … ‘What the hell?” and started to do some research. 

VIPKid is a company who connects elementary aged students in China to teachers in America/Canada to learn English. 

I checked into the legitimacy of the company – it checked out.

I searched on YouTube, and found a million accounts, stories, tips, how tos, demos to really learn about and witness the process – I watched and learned. 

I talked to my husband. I talked to my parents. And then, as I was watching yet another youtube video I thought, you know what? YOLO. And I logged onto the website to apply.

The first step of the process is the pre-screening application – name, education (you need at least a bachelor’s degree to apply), and when all that has checked out, you are taken to a page where you sign up to do a demo lesson.

There are three ways to teach your demo lesson. You can:

1. Scan a QR code and teach a slide
2. Record yourself teaching and send it in for submission and review 
3. Schedule a live demo/interview, which is the option I went with. 

The demo lesson materials are all on the website, and there are practice rooms available to use to simulate what the lesson will be like. I went through the demo lesson in the practice room a few times to rehearse.

The next thing I did was to tackle my ‘classroom.’ I have a pinboard of so many ideas for a classroom set up, but I wanted to do something on the cheap for the interview because I didn’t know if I’d be hired. I used a free package from Teachers Pay Teachers, printed off the images I wanted, and then laminated them using my laminator (this one from 3M and it’s GOLDEN). I also grabbed some free alphabet cards on TpT, to just show I could diversify the resources I used. 

After a few days of mulling about on the internet – reading blogs, watching YouTube on the subject, attending the Preparation Webinar, I finally felt like I was ready to schedule my demo lesson. There are plenty of times to choose from – it’s seriously every half hour of every day. I used the intermittent days in between to practice, practice, practice. 

I know it may seem silly to spend so much time reading and practicing, but I really enjoy walking into a situation fully prepared and knowing that I’ve done the best that I possibly can. Plus, I’ve got Baby Girl and her child care to pay for now, so failure is just not an option.

I ‘showed up’ to the interview 30 minutes early to make sure my computer worked, and to troubleshoot any issues. 

Here’s a list of what I used for the interview itself:

1. Regular old iPhone headphones. VIPkids, recommends the headsets, but I was not prepared to drop $20 extra dollars on something if I wasn’t going to get hired. 
2. A plain old whiteboard with a regular dry erase marker – my husband had this in our storage locker.
3. This ESL Pack from Teachers Pay Teachers
4. These flash cards here – I printed off the “Mm” for the lesson.

Ways to be successful for your VIPKid Interview:

1. Check out my Pinboard for VIPKid – I’ve gathered a bunch of helpful links and ideas for various blogs and ideas on the subject!
2. Watch Demo Lessons on YouTube – I typed “VIPKID DEMO LESSON” into YouTube and found a lot of helpful video.
3. Set up your ‘classroom’ – I invested a total of ZERO dollars into this part of the interview, by using materials that I had in my craft dresser and downloading and printing off several FREE Resources from Teachers Pay Teachers.  
4. PRACTICE – for the love of God, please do not go into your interview cold. There when you log onto the website, there are practice classrooms available to you so you can simulate what your interview and teaching experience will be like. Use the resources available to you and PREPARE!
5. Use TPR, Speak Slowly and SMILE – A video for that is here.

Needless to say, I got the job. As far as breaking down the financials are concerned, I get paid a base rate of $8 per class. There is an incentive bonus of an extra $1 per class if you show up on time. Psssssht – no brainer – so now we are at $9 a class. On top of this, if you hit the 45 class per month mark, there is also an additional incentive of $1 per class. I have always made this goal while working with VIPKid. So while my contract says $8 a class, it’s actually $10 for a 25 minute class, so its $20 an hour. Not too shabby for sitting at home in sweatpants, to make some extra money to pay for child care.

Lastly, the shameless plug for my referral link is here, if you are interested in applying and you use my code, I can help you through the process and give you all my stuff so you will be at your best.

I’d say if this is something you’re interested in, go for it. I tell my husband all the time, I wish I had found this sooner. 

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