Whales English Interview Questions
& Process

So after they see that you meet the basic requirements, you get some time to get ready for the interview. You also need to send them a photo of yourself. Before the interview, they'll send you stuff to help you get ready for the classroom demo you have to do. They also offer a video call where you can get tips on how to prepare. They want you to be super positive and energetic, use props like puppets and have a colorful, educational background. You need to practice teaching your lesson on camera quickly, like timing yourself talking about what's on screen before moving on. Even though you'll use Zoom for the interview, it's not what you'll use for the job. So practice using Zoom's tools, like talking to the camera and marking things on the screen at the same time. For instance, you'll need to use the drawing tools to circle or underline words. The interview starts with quick questions about working with kids, then the classroom demo. They'll tell you right after if you passed or failed. If they think you could do well with some improvement, they might invite you for a second interview. They're pretty fair about this because they know the online demo is tough, it's not like teaching in person.

I applied on their site, and they got back to me very quickly (within 2 days) asking me to send them my resume and a recent photo. They then turned me down. The funny thing is, my resume had the same content that I submitted on their website's application. I think what happened was: once they saw my photo (that my ethnicity is not white), they decided not to hire me. The reason they gave was "it's competitive", which would be an ok reason if it were true; but I have full-time teaching experience at a school, a Master's in Education, and previous TEFL and work history...so I'm not really buying their excuse. If you're not white, save your time and don't apply with Whales English.

I applied online through the website, submitting my resume, proof of degree, and TEFL/TESOL certificate. Within 24 hours, they set up an interview for a 'Mock Class' and gave me many times to choose from. The interview was on Zoom, and I didn't think it flowed well when I tried to add my own slides for the lesson. It was a standard 30-minute Q&A, followed by a 10-minute mock class with an adult pretending to be a kid, which I thought was dumb and didn't really show my expertise. I found out if I got the job within hours.

The interview was a 30-minute Zoom call that included a 10-minute demo lesson. They gave me the slides for the demo lesson ahead of time so I could practice. The interviewer was really nice and gave me good feedback. They said I could re-do the demo class if I made minor mistakes the first time.