Job Discussion Forums

[newdayrising]

Hey everyone. So I'm here in Medellin looking for a job. It's not like I've tried every institute yet but what I've found is that either they're fully employed at the moment, they don't want you without a work permit, or that they require an English profiency exam. The most promising institute told me they were happy with my CELTA and experience but I need to show them a score from the TOEFL or IELTS if we're really going to talk. Another teacher in Medellin warned me that institutes would ask for that. I'm just wondering, is this normative in Colombia? You'd think that being a native speaker and having a CELTA would preempt that. I really don't want to shell out $200 to prove I am proficient at English. But if I don't take one of the exams my job prospects seem pretty dim in Medellin. Any advice?

[JonnyBravo]

Unfortunately, I don't have very much positive advice abotu Medellin. I think it's a great place, but I also think it has the toughest market to crack. As far as requiring native speakers to prove their proficiency, I've never heard of that anywhere in Bogota.

[newdayrising]

Well I wouldn't call it hopeless, but it is tough. I'm surprised that it's like that because there are so many institutes here (at least compared to southern Peru/Bolivia where I came from). A lot of it seems to be luck in terms of showing up when they have vacancies...I guess like anywhere. But I've probably been to about 20 places and dropped my resume off at a dozen or so and nobody has called me back yet. I'm giving it until early next week before I move on from Medellin. Does that sound sensible or do you think I should be more patient?

Also I'm curious, why exactly do you say Medellin is the toughest market to crack?

[spanglish]

newdayrising - it sounds like you're not being agressive enough. Don't wait for them (institutes) to call you back - they may be too lazy or disorganized to do that. Perhaps try visiting a few of the schools again and/or calling.