Application Review Process
The entire application process is designed to help Connexpedition staff understand the value that you can bring to our program. Your application forms will be reviewed by the same team supervisors you will be working with during the trainings and the service trip abroad. These staff members also attend the interview sessions to meet you in person and see if you’d be a good fit on one of our service teams. Imagine the team supervisors as coaches selecting their all-star basketball team. What do you bring to the court?
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What makes a strong candidate?
We are looking for mature and personable individuals who display a passion for service, interest in intercultural learning, and desire for personal growth and leadership development. In addition to positive character traits, we are also looking for unique tangible experiences, attitudes, and specific skills that make you a stronger candidate. Reflect on these ten statements before applying. If any of these statements do not apply to you, you may not be the best fit for our program.
You can communicate proficiently in Mandarin Chinese.
You believe that there is always room for growth and you show a history of seeking new challenging opportunities to improve your skills and gain new experiences.
You may not necessarily enjoy being placed out of your comfort zone, but you adapt and learn quickly to make the best out of the situation.
You are not easily frustrated and are patient when helping or teaching others.
You are proactive, you do not waste time, and you do not wait for instructions before doing what is right.
At school, you consistently complete all of your assigned work on time and to the best of your ability.
You have experience teaching or taking care of younger children and can confidently lead a group of twenty, fifty, or even one-hundred students in games and activities.
You believe that intercultural experiences are important in forming who you are and you are excited about the service locations you are applying to.
There is a hobby, sport, club, or another activity that you are super passionate about and it may even define a large part of who you are as an individual.
You have failed while holding a key position in a team, but did not let the failure stop you from reaching success.
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Your application and interview
So you think you have what it takes, but how do you convey your strengths in your application? You have two opportunities to show us who you are: your responses in your application package and the group interview.
Your application forms are the first impression we receive from you. Respond to the prompts clearly and carefully. Don’t ramble and waste space. Get to the point while telling us who you are and why we should accept you.
The interview is a chance for us to meet you in person, see who you are, and observe how you interact with others. There will be time during the group interview for you to briefly introduce yourself and show us how much Mandarin you know, and we also have a group activity that highlights how you act in a team environment.
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Scoring and decision-making
We know that judgments of character are very subjective. Our application process is like every other application in the world - it is not a 100% perfect method of judging someone’s future potential.
We employ a scoring process based on a rubric for each applicant. Each staff member present at the interview assigns number values to different categories, adding up to an overall score. These categories are derived from the desired skills and character traits mentioned above.
While this process might seem intimidating, having multiple interviewers evaluating your performance may be advantageous. Recall the basketball team metaphor used at the beginning of this page: Each team supervisor is building their “dream team” of volunteers. You just need at least one of them to see the potential value you could bring to their team.
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A Caveat
Not all accepted applicants will make it to the end of training. We intentionally accept more applicants than we need (just like colleges and universities), because not all applicants will accept the position and some participants may drop out in the middle of training due to conflicts and other commitments. We are constantly evaluating each and every volunteer to ensure our teams are ready to serve as soon as we touch down in Taiwan.