I started my career with Yipiyap - and I have no regrets.
Author: Eszter Vida
Eszter is a Yipiyap tutor in Cheshire, using her gap year to inspire young learners. Think you could be a future Yipiyap?
My journey so far with Yipiyap
If it had not been for a rare facetime call from a distant friend of mine, I may never have heard of Yipiyap. It felt like such a coincidence really; I was telling her about my plan to take a gap year and go back to my old high school to volunteer for their English department. But this would only be next to the additional commitment of working a full time job to save and prepare for the next few financially draining years as a broke student, thrown into the wilderness of adulthood amidst the bustling city that surrounds the University of Leeds. In the midst of this, my friend casually mentioned a company called Yipiyap and explained to me that I could be paid for my service in a school, while working alongside a huge team of tutors just like me. I scrambled for the website immediately; this was perfect. I won’t lie; a career in teaching has crossed my mind before I considered applying to Yipiyap, but I did not expect to be trusted to start this early. That day, I spoke with my college and applied by the end of the week, ensuring that my deferred entry to university was going to be productive.
Why did I choose a gap year?
Most people take a gap year out of a desire to take a break from the boredom of education and travel the world and rediscover themselves and find God or something. But for me, it was all to do with my awareness that I needed time to catch up with myself and focus on hobbies such as music and reading that I could not do before, swamped with towering piles of required reading, coursework and essays. The pandemic had me rethinking every steppingstone I take towards a “successful future”, which seemed like an unnecessary amount of a stress for a 17-year-old to put on themselves. It is. A break from all that worry is what my mental health needed after a year of uncertainty surrounding final grades, virtual open days and burning my eyes from the blue light of my computer screen 24/7.
What was the interview process like?
Following my application to Yipiyap, the interview process could not have gone better than it did. I have had interview experience from working previous jobs, but they were all retail part-time work where my “passion for the company” trickled down to wanting to earn money and go. With Yipiyap, it was completely different. It was a real relief to meet Adam, my interviewer, and talk informally about why I applied, my ambitions for the future and have a genuine conversation about the work I was going to be involving myself in. Just by seeing the dedication that Adam had and hearing his experience as a tutor who moved through the ranks at the company, I felt welcomed and was able to open up without feeling like I was being observed for a job opportunity. My second interview was with Abbie, for which I had to do some preparation on safeguarding and answering questions regarding situations that might play out at the job to test how I would initially respond to them. I felt slightly more nervous for this one as I wanted to say the right thing and please my future employers, but again, it was a lot more laidback, and I had a great conversation with Abbie about the specifics of working as a tutor.
After being successfully recruited, I had a few contracts to read through and sign, where important information such as how many days I was working was stated and I followed this up by completing a mandatory DBS check, which was much more straightforward than I anticipated. Around August time, my Regional Director, Jennifer, informed me about where my in-school placement would be so that I could sort out travel arrangements and find out what exam boards the English department followed, just to curate a reading list to better prepare myself on what books I would be teaching.
My induction training was online and at first, the thought of memorising so much information from an intricate list of videos felt daunting but I powered through and still today, I revisit the videos to maintain a good memory of it. I actually failed my first formal assessment and had to resit it all over again, which definitely knocked my confidence for a moment but with the reassurance of my RD, all of my questions were cleared in an instant and she helped me pass my resit. To top it all off, as soon as I met with my regional team in Altrincham, my perception of how this year of tutoring would go dramatically changed. Meeting all the other tutors in person helped me feel way more comfortable and we were all able to bond over how we are all about to experience the same thing, just with different personal stories from our designated schools.
My first day of tutoring:
On my first day, the bus journey felt longer than it actually was from all the nerves so I hunched over a book, calming myself for the big day ahead. Arriving on time, I sat waiting in the school reception area until my key contact Cecelia appeared around the doors with a welcoming smile and escorted me up through the maze of corridors and staircases, which there were a lot of since the English corridor just so happened to be right at the top! It felt like I was transported back in time by 3 years; the same heavy, wooden door frames with the same vibrant subject boards that had posters and achievements of pupils plastered with pride all over the interior. I casually thought to myself “I am going to get lost around here at some point”. We went to the staff room for a Monday morning briefing, in which Cecelia introduced me to a few staff members who I was likely to cross paths with, as well as the rest of the room when the meeting had ended.
I wasn’t expected to dive into hours of tuition as soon as I arrived so instead, I helped reorganise the English resources and bookcases for it to come back to life from its summer slumber. I did manage to meet one of the students I was subsequently going to tutor but our session was cancelled last minute, and I made my way through the labyrinth, retracing my steps back to the staircase. Not only that but my psychic prediction did turn out to be right and I ended up circling around one of the main corridors like a lost puppy until a member of staff came to my rescue and willingly guided me to somewhere more familiar.
During my breaks, I was lucky to not only have such a friendly English department to chat with, but also a group of teacher trainees huddled in one corner, to whom I introduced myself to instantly. I truly believe that this pushed me even further out of my shell, as connecting with others in a similar position is what made me feel less alone. Then out of nowhere, the clock struck 3pm and you could hear all of the classes being released to the sound of the final bell for the day. The first day was over. But there was nothing to be agonising over. In that moment, I realised that I could easily make myself feel at home with the staff and students, if I just held out during the first transitionary days.
Once I met my key contact, I immediately felt at ease. If it wasn’t for the pandemic, I would never have realised how important it was to keep in contact with my teachers or now, my colleagues. This has been one of the best methods of support that I have received: it keeps you connected rather than feeling like an outsider to the hectic school environment, observing in confusion as the everchanging progress and moods of students tint its brick walls. Equally, the reassurance from my regional director, Jennifer, was what gave me the ultimate confidence to be a bit braver. In an odd way, I still felt like I was in a team but just a more spread-out version of one where the physical distance can be abolished by a quick phone call or text.
And now? This is only the start.
I have really enjoyed my time as a Yipiyap so far. From the hands-on approach and the supportive networks of people to go to, I feel like I have properly settled in. Having this year of experience in a school reassures me of my work ethic and that it was not a mistake to take a gap year before university, when all my English knowledge would have dissolved by the time I do bounce back into formal education. If anything, this job feels like the start of a potential career in teaching and from each learning curve, I am starting to feel more confident in myself both as a student and a tutor, maybe even a prospective qualified teacher.