First, an applicant must complete a "Smart Demo Lesson" screening, where you tape yourself delivering a short lesson. Then when VIPKid reports results, they state your specific hourly wage. After that, the applicant prepares for and must pass a "Mock Class" with a VIPKid mentor. At the end of this screening, the mentor asks a few questions regarding my interest, education, and experience. (In VIPKid seminars, mentors said most candidates pass the "Smart Demo Lesson," and I understood it was just a matter of preparedness to be hired by VIPKid. To prepare for the "Mock Class," I attended VIPKid seminars about format and expectations. Mentors leading these seminars said that candidates usually teach the "Mock Class" screening multiple times before passing.) I incurred expenses and spent a lot of time on this process and am an experienced teacher. Also note that VIPKid online instructors are independent contractors, not employees.

Anyone applying for this company should be aware off the bat that the application process is absurdly time consuming. After spending HOURS completing: a demo video, 7 teaching preparations followed by a quiz, and 2 mock lessons (an hour each, plus a couple hours preparing--by the way you'll need to make your own props for this part…) I was informed my second Mock Class was unsuccessful and they "will not be continuing with your application." While I admit that my second class was not performed to the best of my ability, it is immensely frustrating to have hours of preparation essentially negated over a few minor points (this is also despite the fact that I received nearly twice as much positive feedback). My failure can be best be summarized as: "VIPKID has a specific curriculum in place, which must be followed." So if you are unable to complete all 25 slides in 25 minutes (god forbid a teacher demonstrate some patience) and do not "strictly follow the lesson objectives and sometimes failed to meet slide objectives" (despite directions that are vague at best) there is no chance for redemption. I am overwhelmingly disappointed with this entire experience, especially after reading through many positive reviews. Considering how aggressively VIPKID recruits, and how quickly they expect you to progress through this material (by the way this entire process occurred over the course of a week) it would seem appropriate for them to demonstrate some flexibility and at least offer a way to make up for one performance that was not up to par. I emailed the support in regards to appealing the decision, however as of this posting I have not heard back. It seems like VIPKID has been a positive experience for many others, and supposedly teaching the lessons to actual students is generally rewarding (btw these mock lessons are taught to 20/30 year-olds pretending to be 5/12 year-old Chinese kids, including a fake accent and everything). However, beware that you may end up making a large investment and receive no payoff. There are several other similar that offer competitive pay with a more streamlined application process that might be worth looking into instead.