I applied through a recruitment agency. It was the typical CV and cover letter at first which was sent to them and I was offered the 1st interview. For this I would do a Maths and English test, followed by a 1 hour interview.
1st interview: I had to travel to the London office I would be working in, if I was successful. First, I was asked to complete a Maths and English test (each 30 mins), which was in the same format as the Kumon worksheets that the students complete. They cover up to and including GCSE level questions.
The Maths test included quite a few fraction based questions (multiplying, dividing, subtracting, reducing and adding), generic addition, subtraction and division and then onto algebra. I was given a sample paper to practice in advance. If you can do this, you can pass the test. I did have to revise a bit though as it had been a long time since GCSE Maths and I had forgotten the methods.
The English test was basically reading comprehension. Read the passage and put the sentences below in order, rephrase this in indirect speech etc. If English is your first language, it is very straightforward. Again, if you can do the sample, you'll pass.
The interview was quite intense. Regional Manager and HR, 1 hour, non-stop questions. Initially it was more of a conversation, getting to know me. I have done many different types of jobs and they were keen to understand my 'direction' and reasoning behind my choices. Then for the last 30 mins it moved onto the typical interview questions.
They notified me within the hour that I had passed and was through to the next stage. The next stage was another interview, where I had to present a report on a Kumon centre visit including positive feedback and recommendations for improvement, as well as a 15 min powerpoint presentation.
They arranged for me to visit a centre near where I specified and I was there for about an hour (longer would have been better). The Instructor was very friendly and helpful. I spoke to students as I had to gather data on their ages, level of worksheet and study behaviours. This visit was arranged on the Tuesday and the interview was Friday.
2nd interview: I met with 2 completely different interviewers, one a Regional Manager and the other Head of Kumon UK. I handed them my report to look at and then I presented (15 mins is quite short). Afterwards they asked me questions about what I had observed, written in the report and mentioned in my presentation. They were quite fixated on my mentioning of the staff and student ratio, asking a few questions on it. I felt slightly uncomfortable when I was asked if I had any doubt about the Kumon method, and I answered honestly. I was told they were skeptical of people who 'just accepted information and didn't challenge it'. The interview just had an odd tone to it, and at times it seemed they were trying to 'trip me up', forcing me to say negative things about the job, that could be looked upon negatively rather than as realistic expectations. I felt I had to 'tread carefully'. They also repeated questions mentioned in the first interview.
In the end I wasn't successful, despite a general positive feeling in the interviews. They informed me on the Tuesday (interview was Friday). The feedback was that I wasn't enthusiastic enough and I didn't receive anything more constructive than that. I put it down to my 'fit' within the company.
