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SuperNewbie jobhunting in Brisbane, Oz. Please advise!

 
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migeulito



Joined: 15 Jun 2006
Posts: 8
Location: Floating across Oceania

PostPosted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 2:38 am    Post subject: SuperNewbie jobhunting in Brisbane, Oz. Please advise! Reply with quote

Hello all,
Forgive me if this topic came up some time ago (if it has, lemme know Wink ), but I haven't found it in the five most recent pages of the forum, so here goes...

I have a BA in Spanish (hnrs) from a US university, a fresh Pass B CELTA from Aspect, Christchurch and limited experience volunteering in ESL classrooms (50 hours total).

I get the impression that newbies would do best going to Korea or SE Asia to begin building experience, but I would like to start in Brisbane, Australia.

Arrow Do I have a hope of finding a school that will hire me? Would I be wasting my time in Brisbane? Should I swallow my aversion to big cities and head down to Sydney? Is it true that September is the best time to find work?

While specific answers to these questions will be very helpful, I would also appreciate any insight into gaining teaching experience in general. Arrow Is there simply a period of initiation where the newbie slogs it out in the less popular(desirabe) schools? Not just in Oz, but in general.

I'm OK playing 'poor teacher' for a while if it means greater professional development, as I see that having more benefit in the long term.

Arrow Oh, before I forget, should I have my original degree with me to present to DOSs during/after interviews, or should a copy suffice?

Whatever thoughts you have on the subject will be most appreciated, so thanks very much in advance.

FYI I'm 24 and a US/NZ dual citizen.
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lozwich



Joined: 25 May 2003
Posts: 1536

PostPosted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 4:50 pm    Post subject: Re: SuperNewbie jobhunting in Brisbane, Oz. Please advise! Reply with quote

Hiya Miguelito,

I got your PM, but I thought it would be better to reply here for those lurkers out there who might be in a similar situation! Wink

July is actually a really good time to go to Brisbane. Lots of Asian students are on summer holidays and come to Brisvegas for a few months immersion. You can get a wide variety of jobs at that time, from short two week contracts to longer gigs. However, you will be highly unlikely at any time to get a permanent job, most TEFL in Brisbane is on a casual basis.

I have always used Seek for my online job search, but another poster here often says that CareerOne is also useful. Why not try both, and see what you can get? Don't be afraid to apply for a short term job, because often these are seen as being a trial period for longer term work. Also, take a look on TEFL.com, a well-known school in Brisbane is advertising now.

Take your originals, or maybe certified copies. I've always used the originals in interviews, but post certified copies if required.

A note on your newbieness... Take a look at the NEAS website to check that this is still the case, but accredited schools are supposed to hire a certain percentage of teachers with a particular level of experience (sorry, can't remember the exact numbers just now), but there is the loophole that they can hire about 20% inexperienced teachers, and often do so in times of high demand. I would take any material that shows how many hours teaching experience you have (letters from employers etc) to help you with your job hunt.

Good luck!
Lozwich.
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migeulito



Joined: 15 Jun 2006
Posts: 8
Location: Floating across Oceania

PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 1:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Muchas gracias Lozwich!

I have visited careerone and found a healthy selection of jobs for the coming months. A good sign!

I really should have mentioned that I would not be available for work until late August. Apologies! I have read that September is still a good time to find work in Australia, do you believe that's true?

I appreciate the consolation about the type of work I can expect to get. On the up side, this way I can tell if the school is a place that I would want to work in for a longer period of time...

Yes, NEAS still has that exception. Hopefully this isn't copyrighted!

From their website, http://www.neasaustralia.com/fst.html;

"Note 5

Colleges may employ teaching staff who have a recognised degree or diploma and an appropriate TESOL qualification, but who do not have either a recognised teaching qualification or 800 hours classroom teaching experience, as long as there is written evidence that the individual teacher has demonstrated outstanding competence in TESOL.

Such evidence may include:
� a higher than pass grade in their TESOL qualification;
� documents furnished by previous employers;
� references from TESOL course directors

This evidence must be retained by the College and made available to NEAS representatives when requested.

At no time may a college have more than 20% of its teaching staff employed under the provisions described in Note 5."

So I guess I'll just have to hope that I don't push the school over the 20% limit, or the school doesn't pay too close attention! Wink

Your advice is greatly appreciated!
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lozwich



Joined: 25 May 2003
Posts: 1536

PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

migeulito wrote:
I really should have mentioned that I would not be available for work until late August. Apologies! I have read that September is still a good time to find work in Australia, do you believe that's true?


Sorry, can't help you on that one. I don't have any experience of working in September in Australia, although when I was leaving at that time after my little working holiday a couple of years ago there was still plenty of work around.

migeulito wrote:
Your advice is greatly appreciated!


No worries! Wink
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SheZook



Joined: 31 Jan 2006
Posts: 187

PostPosted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:25 am    Post subject: Re: SuperNewbie jobhunting in Brisbane, Oz. Please advise! Reply with quote

migeulito wrote:
Do I have a hope of finding a school that will hire me? Would I be wasting my time in Brisbane? Should I swallow my aversion to big cities and head down to Sydney?


Just for the record, Brisbane is the 3rd largest city in Australia - and would be considered a "big city" to any Australian who does not live in Sydney or Melbourne. So if you are deadset on working in Brisbane then you are going to have to "swallow your aversion".
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