Tired of working at the office? Annoyed of the traffic you experience going to and from work? I guess most of us really experience such stuff, and we can't help but think of just getting a home-based job wherein we would be able to work at our own time without being asked by someone (you know... boss) to do this and that. Although not all home-based jobs make this happen, most of them will still give you the chance to work at your own pace, time, and will. For short, a work that has no pressure at all.

In some other cases though, we try to look for home-based jobs because most likely, they are the ones who give you the chance to work on a part-time basis, and this is actually the one that applies to me.

Today, I'm going to be sharing my experience about the whole application process I had when I applied as an online English tutor on Rarejob.

I've been working in an office setting for more than a year now and it's been a really good experience for me. Although I will be honest, the pay that I'm getting is really not enough for me. Ever since I started working, I also started living alone and paying bills is just one of the long list that causes me a headache. Plus the fact that I'm just a single woman who wants to enjoy being able to go out with friends and travel to anywhere, because of this, I thought of looking for an online job.

Online teaching is one of the few online jobs I've been wanting to have since long ago. Giving the fact that I graduated with an education course, I love teaching and I love Japan so much, I thought this job will really fit me the most. The only thing that stopped me from applying before was because I only qualify for a home-based job, they also have an office-based job but they require experience in teaching, which obviously, I don't have before. I don't want my first job to be set at home of course, and I guess most of us don't want that as well that's why I decided to not apply yet.

Getting another job is actually something that I've had in mind since long time ago, but yeah, it's just really in my mind and is something I did not really take seriously. Until one day, while I was busy browsing on my laptop, I thought of applying on Rarejob.

Please do take note that I don't remember the whole process completely anymore. I have been working on Rarejob on a part-time basis for 7 months now and I didn't really record or did an effort of remembering the whole process completely as I never thought of sharing my experience here, (until now. Hehe~). I will be providing a little FAQ below right after I share my experience.

I browsed onto their website and signed up for an account. It's very easy to sign up, they will only ask for a few details about you and you're done.

In my case, I tried the English assessment three times. The first try was a bit unfair because I was in the process of answering the test when my laptop suddenly lagged, I had to restart it because of that and when I went back to taking the test, I was marked that I already tried it once (ugh). The second one was because I ran out of time. The reading comprehension is a bit long by the way, and it took me some time to read it. On my third try, I passed all of the parts.

Once you pass the test, the next step will be the Demo Lesson. The Demo Lesson will be done online, through Skype video call. In here, you will receive an email congratulating you and all, in this email, they will also explain the Demo Lesson, they will be providing a link wherein you will choose a schedule on when you want the Demo Lesson to happen. In my case, I chose a Demo Lesson afternoon time in a weekday. I can still remember how stressed I was on that day as I attended the Demo Lesson late, I had to rush so much since I went out to go somewhere I don't remember anymore. It was a good thing that Rarejob's staff were kind enough and they gave me another chance to attend the Demo Lesson, they just moved my original plotted schedule for another 30 minutes, which gave me the chance to review and prepare for a bit.

Before the demo lesson started, a Test Call Administrator will call you and ask for a few information, to see if you have a good connection (if they could hear you clearly), they will also be checking the quality of your video so be sure to look professional and have a good background. Once you passed this step, the Test Call Administrator will then endorse you to the Evaluator. The Evaluator will be the one who will handle your demo lesson. You will be receiving a message from him/her about a scenario wherein you will act as the teacher and he/she will act as a student. Be sure to study it before they call you.

During the call, you will be asked a few questions about yourself first, it's like a mini interview and then the Evaluator will also explain how the demo lesson will flow. In my case, the Evaluator was a girl, when she was done explaining, we started the demo. Right after the first demo, they will be giving a feedback about your performance and will provide another scenario again. Be sure to take note of what they noticed in your performance and apply their suggestion or comment in the second scenario. Please also note that they will be the one providing the scenario which will be given by the time the demo lesson starts.

Having a background knowledge of teaching English online, the demo lesson went smoothly for me and I was able to pass it. It's only going to last you 30 minutes, which is quite fast for me, to be honest.

I received another email congratulating me for passing the demo lesson. This time, the email contains all the details about the process before I could start teaching. They also provided me a link to what they call, "New Tutor Onboarding Program". This NTOP really took me some time to finish as it contains a lot of stuff to read and tons of videos to watch. It's all about how one should properly conduct an online tutoring class which is really very helpful, and at the same time, tiring. 

When I was done with the NTOP (finally!!!), I started creating my profile on their website. Uploaded a photo, recorded and wrote an introduction, added a few details about myself (what I finished, job history, and such), and I'm all set!

I scheduled my Practice Lesson right after that (yeppp.. just when I thought I will start teaching already). The Practice Lesson is where a counselor will be assigned to you and give you tips and information on how to properly conduct a class. The Practice Lesson is very similar to the Demo Lesson, the only difference is, you will be using a Rarejob module this time and it will last for about an hour.

I remember using an article in my Practice Lesson with my counselor. I kind of failed during the first practice because I was not able to apply the right steps on how to conduct an article lesson (because I didn't pay attention to how to do it) but yeah, she told me about my lapses and we started it once again. I even thought I won't pass it, but yeah, I did.

When I passed the Practice Lesson, my counselor told me that I will be receiving an email explaining Rarejob's process of payment and for how much I will be paid. She also told me that I can start plotting lesson whenever I want.

I started plotting schedule and started having English lessons to Japanese students. I get random people from all ages which is honestly fun, I really missed teaching a lot and I'm still enjoying my part-time job so much.

And oh, by the way, I got a PHP500 incentive for having my first class at the time they provided me (yay!).

What I like about Rarejob? They have lots of incentives which is honestly very easy to achieve. That's why despite opening 4-6 classes six days a week, I still get good pay which is really helping me a lot as I get to save more money. I get a hundred classes or a little more every month ;) Another thing, working from home from a point of view of someone who wants to be at home most of the time is really lifeeee~ I even teach students in my pajamas :P The only complain I have about them is their Tutor Support team, they will really respond to you late and will sometimes even blame you for not doing this/that despite providing a proof that you did the right thing.

Will I recommend Rarejob? As a part-time and full-time job, yes. It's really a very good source of income, at least to me.

What is Rarejob?

Please take note that I am not in any way or form affiliated to Rarejob nor they are doing a sponsorship for this review. This one is solely based on my experience and they didn't ask me to do this.

xx