I’ve got an interview for a tour leader position in China, and I’m currently psyching myself up. I’m very confident the job will be perfect for me but of course I need to convince my interviewers of this!
Has anyone worked as a tour leader/guide? Any good stories? Anyone been on a tour when an “incident” happened? How was it dealt with? I know that there will be a hypothetical situation I have to deal with, so any ideas (so I can plan responses) would be great.
Any helpful interview tips would be appreciated as well.
Well, I haven’t, but one of my Chinese professors was and I’ve been on some tours, so maybe I can offer a little advice.
My professor is from China, and he got a job giving tours to English-speaking travellers. He had a double major (I believe) - Chinese and English, but he had never really had interaction with a native English speaker before. The people on the tour couldn’t hardly understand him, and he could barely understand them! His English has improved considerably, incidentally. Moral of the story? If you’re going to be guiding in a foreign language, you might want to practice with a native speaker (that is, if you aren’t one!).
Several years ago, I took a guided tour in France. One of the guides was awesome- she knew exactly what she wanted to get across and kept a bag full of books with her just in case she needed to look something up. The other guide was just okay… She quite frequently paused and backtracked, and every other word was “umm.” It kind of felt like she was wasting our time at some points. Moral of this story? Practice your spiel several times before going in front of your group, and try to avoid filler words (like umm).
Good luck! I always thought being a tour guide would be a lot of fun. And you’ll be in China! I’m so jealous! Zai jian!
most companie
will screen how well you speak chinese and if you’ve been to china.
main thing about being a guide is very long hours. you have to ge up early and get all the stragglers together. you have to make sure everyone is sorted out before you can go to bed.
emergencies range from hosptitalization to needing to return right now when in the middle of nowhere to dealing with a pissed off pimp that’s been stiffed on the service fee.
tour people also want to know what’s going on so smooth patter on china history, language, culture, sites, etc are real good.
keeping the tour group out of clutches of the normal scams is not appreciated but very necessary.
happy trails
Thanks guys. 
I’ve been to China and I have a major in Chinese, so that’s got to be an advantage. They do know that though, it was on the application.
I’ll be leading English speakers, so communication with them is no problem. I love researching too, so I will have no problem filling my head with Chinese trivia.
I guess I just have to not blow the interview, fingers crossed.
Zaijian!
Welcome to the club.
When I applied for my first travel gig (Linblad Travels), they really only focused on language skills (expect some of the interview to switch to Mandarin) and travel experience in China. They really want people that will be tour guides and not looking for a free trip to China. Emphasize that while you love travelling in China, you understand this is WORK. You’ve been to the places on most tours and while happy to go back, you’ll wait for your own vacation time to get “off the beaten track”.
Highlight you really like Chinese history and culture, and enjoy being an ambassador. Helping to introduce people to China is a lot of fun and rewarding. Helping in this small way for international relations and global understanding is important to you. This is the kinda stuff they probably want to hear. How think you lay it on is up to you.
Also point out you think you understand the realities of tour guiding. Eg, it can be thankless being up first getting the herd organized and on the bus, and being the last one to bed because you’re getting things going in the background.
I didn’t get the job as I had only been in Taiwan (this was 1984), so I went to China and wrote a guide book to the southwest. Then I had tons of offers I did adventure guides for a while but never the full time in country herd the gringo’s around China tours.
Jia You
Ah, xiexie. There’s a lot of stuff in your post that fits me to a T (I have a major in international relations too), but I wouldn’t have thought to mention it. Really helpful. I appreciate it.
Well, fingers are crossed now. There are a few more days til the interview but I won’t have computer access until the night before. But if you have tips (or more tips) feel free to post.
let us know how the interview goes and if you get the job. we could cross paths in China (this week I’ve been in Guangzhou and Beijing but thankfully back home in Shanghai)
Certainly I will. Interview is tomorrow, fingers crossed!
Well, I didn’t get the job. Such is life. I’m only 21 and I think that was a little young for them. They said they “really liked my personality”, but I need a bit more experience, and to apply again after I’ve gained said experience.
Thanks for all your help guys.
That’s too bad. I would say follow up and thank them for the interview. Also, depending on how it went, I would ask if you could check back in a few months. If it’s a reasonable sized tour company, then they will need people all the time. Show your mature, professional persistence and touch bases every few months until they hire you.
