Job Discussion Forums

[Justin Trullinger]

This morning, I received, yet again, a pile of emails expressing interest in teaching English. The standard letter runs a little like this:


Dear Sir/Madam/School/Justin/whoever,

I am interested in teaching English. I am a native speaker with _____________ (Insert random, unrelated BA here.) I have _________ (3 Months, 6 Months, or 1 year) experience teaching in ____________. (Insert country, almost exclusively in SE Asia.)

Please let me know if you have any openings.

Sincerely,
A teacher.



Sometimes, they're even more to the point. I got one this morning that said:

Dear School,
I am interested in teaching in Ecuador. Please let me know if you have any openings.

John Doe

Occasionally, these letters come accompanied by a CV. More often, not.


So my question is, why the heck should I even consider these people? What in heaven's name makes them thing that a letter, offering NO REASON why anyone would want you as a teacher, will get their foot in the door?

But, as a polite, practical person, I send them all my form letter and application form. And some of them go on to apply. And what weirds me out is, some of them really ARE the people I'm looking for. Some of them have qualifications and experience they didn't think to mention in the beginning. Some of them have experience in other fields that might have a lot of transferrable skills. Some of them have non teaching experience abroad that makes my head spin. But few of them seem to think of mentioning any of this.

So, some pointers to those of you who may be applying for jobs in the near future. These are things I'd like to see in a letter of application, or in a resume/CV. (And always include one, Okay?) If any others think what I'm suggesting isn't what other directors are looking for, let us know. Or chime in with the many things I'm sure to forget...


1) Who are you, anyway? Be brief, but some idea of any of the following would make you a little more human to me:
a) have you been teaching long? Where?to whom? do you like it?
b) If you haven't been teaching, what have you been doing?
c) In either case, why do you teach? Or want to?

2) Why are you writing to ME? Specifically? I know this is hard, and that a lot of us do mass mailings. But a little research would really help your chances. In other words, what do you know about the organisation you're writing to that makes you want to work for them? A brief web search on every school you write to, followed by some explanation of why you think you'd like to work there. It makes you look a lot more serious.

3) About qualifications and training:
a) Mention everything ya got! Any teaching qualification is better than none, and if I see none mentioned, I assume ya got nothing!
b) Be specific about training you have. Not "a TEFL certificate." Which one? Issued when, where, and by whom?
c) Don't lie. I don't always check. But sometimes I do.
d) DO mention unrelated qualifications. They may tell me more than you realize about your character, personality, and general level of education.
e) DON'T go on and on about qualifications you don't have. Don't explain why you don't need them. That's for me to decide, and in any case, can make you sound pretty arrogant. Maybe a (brief) explanation about why you happen not to have something fairly standard (BA, some kind of cert) could be in order, but DON'T dwell on this. One guy spent a long time explaining how sorry he was that he hadn't yet completed his MA. Well, me either, but so what?

4) About experience:
a) Mention ALL EFL experience you have.
b) Mention non-EFL teaching experience.
c) Mention language experiences, even if they are not teaching.
d) Mention experience living abroad.
e) Mention unrelated work experience if you want, but tell me what you learned from it that is relevant to teaching!
f) Do not use the word "real." As in I was a "real" teacher is a US high school for 16 years, or before I decided to turn to teaching I had 18 years "real world" work experience in advertising. For fairly obvious reasons, this is a turn off to those of us who consider our EFL jobs to be "real." I'm not disposed to hire you to do a job you feel is somehow "unreal." It doesn't sound like you'll take it seriously.

5) Ask some questions. "I want a teaching position" is a lame starting place. What kind of position do you want? What would make you want to work for me? What do you need to know? Because otherwise, it sounds like you'll take anything. Just want a job, not to fussed about it...Not an image of somebody I want to hire. I picture a beach bum, holding a sign that says "Will teach English for food and beer money." This isn't a power position.


So, I'm looking forward to hearing what you all think of all this, and thanks for letting me vent.

Justin

[guangho]

Well,. FWIW here is my latest all purpose cover letter. Names have been changed to protect the corrupt, the incompetent, the impotent and the criminally insane. If anyone (troll alert) wants to see the real stuff, let me know. My thing is, with decent-paying TEFL jobs being scarce, I have to reach out to everyone- lawyers, pols, teachers, whatever. It lacks focus methinks:

Dear Mr. Trullinger:

Although my resume is geared towards education (I have only recently returned from China, where I earned my CELTA certification), I would like to introduce other pertinent aspects of my history and abilities to you.

Prior to moving to South Korea and China, I taught civil and criminal law, as well as the New York rules of Evidence at the No Standards Except Financial Community College, which is a part of the City University of New York. This was a temporary non-tenured position which I was qualified for on the basis of my extensive legal field work.
I am certified as a paralegal through the City University of New York and have worked in several large international firms, usually on a freelance basis. Some of these firms included Offices Damned Near Everywhere ( http://www.everywhere.com) and Me Wantee. ( http://www.mewantee.com). I also worked, prior to 9/11, with the World Trade Center based firm of Greed Is Good ( http://www.greed.com). At these firms I was often responsible for conducting legal research, cite checking, composing correspondance, reviewing depositions and discovery materials, as well as reviewing and filing legal documents with different courts. I also worked for several government officials, again on a free-lance basis, assisting with their campaigns, helping with constituent concerns, researching issues for them and helping to run individual campaigns or comittees. These officials included Assemblyman Greedy McFee ( http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/house/greedy.htm ), Tennessee Assembly Bigwig Guns'n'Ammo ( http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/house/guns.htm ), and, after graduating from the University of Memphis and moving to New York, New York Assemblyman Not Yet Indicted ( http://www.notyetindicted.com ) and City Councilwoman Can't Find Work So I'm Running for Office ( http://www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/member_details). I worked on all aspects of these campaigns as well as Dollar Bill 2000, including fundraising. I also have strong communication skills, fitting my background as an educator.

With regards to my education, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1999 at the University of Memphis (http://www.memphis.edu ) in International Relations and later completed a Paralegal Studies program at Brooklyn College, part of the umbrella system of the City University of New York ( http://www.cuny.edu) where I would later be teaching. I also earned a CELTA certification from Oxford at their Beijing branch.

Currently, I am not only teaching but doing considerable technical writing and editing work as well. My client list is confidential, but work samples are available if you would like to see them. Due to my vast experience in the law and the communication skills I possess, I believe I would be a valuable addition to your team. Please note that I look for, above all else, honesty and integrity in an business relationship. I am looking for a permanent, full-time position and can relocate and start immediately. You can reach me at 1-800-BIG-MONEY

I have attached a sample of my writing-unedited- which I produced for the Seoul Board of Education with the intent of exposing English-fluent Korean students to international events and locations. While not a finished or polished document, it does show proof of writing/communications ability. I have spent seven years as a freelance writer, working for such clients as Woori Bank of Seoul and Vault.com. In all these positions, meeting deadlines was essential.

I hope to qualify for and prove my abilities to your organization

Sincerely
Guangho

[Mchristophermsw]

Guangho,
Exellent post.

Justin

Refreshing Post!

As far as the short letters of inquery, they do appear mass produced and cookie cut. And most likely are not by people who are serious about building a career.

On the other hand, they may be just fishing or using the shot gun approach to see who bites or what they hit and then go into more detial with thier knowledge skill and experience. But first appearences can be very important most of the time.

In defense of someone who may not want to write a small novel as a cover letter. The rule of thumb should be one page long, sincinc and straight to the point.

There are enough resume/cover letter books, cds, etc out there not to know how to put together a good cover letter. I actually just updated my library and picked a very good one with the latest information on electronic cv's and cl's.

Also, I agree alittle background work is not unreasonable. That information can be collected in two ways ( if you do not know someone in the organization)

1) Website information.
2) Research collected by the way of an Informational interview.

Also, a strong letter of recomendation is always helpful that is written by someone with credibility.

Lastly, finding the a good fit at times is like rolling the dice.
Having some room for giving someone the benifit of the doubt, or seeing what they bring to the table in the next stage of the application interview process is also important.

Some people know how to do the letters, know what to say--simply talk the talk and then end up being some of the worst employees hired, while others may not have the interview process down ( And yes, they do need to learn it ) but if given a chance can be mentored into one the best teachers at your school. ( just food for thought).

Looking forward to seeing what others have to say and....
Happy New Year to Justin and guangho and everyone else on the forum!

[Justin Trullinger]

Dear Guangho,
Thank you for your interest in our organisation, and for your refreshingly honest cover letter. If you are indeed interested in teaching in Ecuador, please fill out the attached application form as fully and completely as you can, and return it to me at your earliest convenience.

Best regards,
Justin Trullinger
Director of English
ROFLMAO

[guangho]

Just so there is no confusion, that IS my actual cover letter, save for some opportune name changes.

[Gregor]

I'm going to jump in here with Mr. Trullinger, as an employer - a good letter, with what Justin says, yes, but I would add that it should be concise. I'm not going to read a rolling treaties on the entire history of some guy-I-don't-know's employment history and philosophy of life.

I would say (and Justin may very well not agree with me) that I like to see some research, but I'm not asking for much, and I want to see some reason that I should answer the letter (though I of course do the same as Justin - it's only professional to at least acknowledge receipt of a letter). The cover letter should be polite, give some bare-bones information, and shouldn't be longer than about half a page. Longer than that is wasting my time. I'll get more details from the CV, or when I ask. Just give me enough information to know what to ask.

Also, I agree, include anything that makes you an interesting person (in the letter or the CV). When I got to the point that I was able to cut a lot of the padding off my teaching CV (because I'd finally gained enough experience to do so), I was going to cut my musical experience and education. My girlfriend at the time advised that I not do that - "It makes you more interesting," she said.
And she was right. I got the very next job I applied for, over about 200 other applicants (because everyone wants to work in Oaxaca), and it turned out to be because I was a jazz drummer, and another teacher at that school really needed a jazz drummer for his after hours gig.
You just never know.

[panamabob]

I could certainly be guilty of that Justin...forgive me!

I'm hoping to get back to teaching in Ecuador within the next year or two and I may be guilty of this.

I never knew how much to send so I always started briefly and sent a CV attached.

Thanks for the eye-opener,

Robert

[Justin Trullinger]

I guess I should clarify a bit. I agree with Gregor that a cover letter should be concise. (Or at least, it should be nowhere near as rambling as, for example, my initial post on this thread. )

I was responding to the frustration of receiving far to many "no info" covering letters, often with no CV attached. Much of what I mentioned in my first post would actually go better in a CV than a cover letter. I just wanted to emphasize that, one way or another, as a potential employer, I need some information. The days where a native speaker looking for work is enough are gone. (At least here, they are!)

Happy New Year Everybody,
Justin

[erinyes]

OH MY GOD! If someone did that to me I would probably get back to them by saying "Who are you anyway"

I have applied for hundreds of jobs in my time, I am picky and reject many once I find out the real ins and outs that they don�t clearly state in the job ads. Anyway � I have never sent off so little info.

I do send short emails but my attachments are good.

I usually say "Hi I am very interested in the positions you are offering please see the attached document for everything you need to know about me."

Then in the one attachment is EVERYTHING anyone has ever asked for including: basic information �at-a-glace� style, brief overview in letter format, complete resume, photo, certificates, PP with some of the important info blacked out and references etc.

They never have to ask me for another thing before accepting or rejecting my application. I really saves with email. The job hunt is tiresome enough without back and forth emails about what you have and have not sent a potential employer.

[Stephen Jones]

Every employer has a different set of expectations. And every candidate has his own style.

But I agree with Justin that a brief "I am interested in a job with you" mail, gets you to the bottom of the pile, or even straight into the rejected folder.

Send a CV. The rule of one page long is dead and gone, but try and keep it to two or three (and whatever you do don't reduce the font size to get it down to one).

You must put on contact details, including age and family circumstances.

You must put your degrees and EFL and teaching certs. Remember to give ful details and year and place.

You must give all teaching and other relevant experience (translating for example) in reverse chronological order with starting and finishing dates in months and years. If there's a gap explain it.

Don't put in irrelevant details. It tells me notning about you that your daugher was voted best student in her Primary School class (though the fact that you were headmaster may show a healthy respect for nepotism), I don't wish to know of all the IRA bombings that you correctly predicted but did nothing about, and a course in body piercing is not going to get you an extra increment in a job in Saudi Arabia (where incidentally you cannot bring either your boyfriend or your 78 year old mother with you on our visa).

And get somebody to proof-read your resume. If you send a cover letter and resume full of spelling and punctuation mistakes you are going to go bottom of the pile. You're applying for a job as an English teacher, and may indeed be asked to give classes on how to write resumes and reports. If you can't be bothered, or don't know how, to ensure your own resume is free of errors you're not going to be hired.

And if you are Indian or Pakistani, burn the books you bought telling you how to write job application letters - both the archaic ones that advise you to address your letters to "Magnificent Sirs and Formidable Madams" , where you tell them "that I have come to know through internet that a postion is lying vacant in your office under your kind permission" and the new internet savvy buzz word ones that allow you to write a whole page that says nothing (the latter are five years out of date in the West).

It is up to you whether you include your photos, passport number, degrees and testimonials in the original email. I would tend to say, keep them ready to send off if the employer replies. I would be against putting them all into one document with the CV though. Let the CV stand out clearly on its own.

[Guy Courchesne]

[Justin Trullinger]

Lot's of places that EFL teachers want to go have interminably slow internet access. If you send me a full size photo, our office server may choke on it and crash. If I even ever see your letter after that, I'll remember.


Justin

[naturegirl321]

I sent a brief cover letter with cv. No references, no certificates or degrees, just a photo. Then if they are interested, I will send the scanned stuff. But honestly, I don't want all my info floating round in cyberspace.

[guangho]

I take a different track- I always send out a cover letter, resume, and sample lesson plan at least (when applying for teaching positions.) That way they can see someone who is gung ho about getting work. Now, for Korean Unis, I send the whole package- diplomas, certs, pictures, movie showing how kimchi prevents SARS, etc. but that is what most ask for. For Justin (hypothetically I would stick with the letter, resume and lesson plan.

[erracht]

The letters of application I've handled have all been e-mailed to me and they tend to be concise. That is all right in my opinion. The letter is an introduction, not an interview. I don't need to know every little detail of the person's career from it and at any rate, it should not just re-hash the information that is given in the resume.

That being said, I think that the letter serves a purpose, to introduce the potential teacher. To that end, I would recommend the following:

-tell me who you are and give your basic credentials

-if you have relevant experience, tell it to me briefly. If the experience
has led to any successes, state these concisely too.

-not essential information, but where you are from and what your general
plans (timewise and otherwise) for staying in the country are.

-show me in your spelling and grammar that you are competent to teach
English.

-show that you are a basically polite person by properly greeting and
taking leave at the begining and end.

-including a resume listing all relevant credentials should be done
wherever possible.

-including any information that could be particularly relevant to an
employer for the country you are in might give you an edge (for
example, if a teacher has obtained a trade license, it facilitates things
greatly for Czech schools they want to work for).

A letter might be brief, and I tend to find the resume more important. The idea is to get a basic preliminary idea of the teacher's profile.

I think that Stephen gave some of the best advice. People may apply in different ways and that can be tolerated. There are some extremes however which I think could be discouraged. Someone's application would have to be pretty bad (poor language, a clear display of not caring or irresponsibility) for me not to consider it at all. The worst example of a letter I remember came from someone in Haiti (who thus might not have been at all knowledgeable about how to do these things) who just sent off a short note, perhaps not even signed asking like "I can teach French. Do you still need a teacher?" I showed this to my colleague who told me to ask her for more information, a CV. I did so and the person provided no other information other than maybe her name and origin. In fact, she even asked whether we could pay her trip to Prague. I simply replied to her that we could not do so and that was the end of that.