Job Discussion Forums

[MamaOaxaca]

Attention job seekers. In this day and age of electronic communication, please take a minute to read over your cover letter and personalize it for the job for which you are applying.

Do you know what happens when someone is sifting through applications for a job in Mexico and the first line of your cover letter reads, "I'm very eager and excited by the prospect of returning to Asia."

I like to always acknowledge the reciept of every application, but in these cases, I'm not inspired to. I just hit delete!

[movinaround]

[Justin Trullinger]

Hey there!

I was just writing to see if you guys hire any Enlgihs teachers- cause I was thinking about spending some time down there, probably 3 to 6 months, and was hoping I could do some teaching.

Cheers.

Person X


I really recieved this. Don't know what the resume said; never read it.

Best,
Justin

[dmb]

[Justin Trullinger]

I don't remember how he actually spelled it- but I remember that "English" was miss-spelled...

Makes you wonder if he could teach proofreading...


Best,
Justin

[basiltherat]

i concur with the op. i've just been sifting through 23 application and covering letters i've received over the last 6 weeks. i'd say 4 or 5 would be classified as professionally written. that's terrible.

perhaps this is the kind of thing students should be taught in high schools, perhaps in their final year there, so when they do eventually leave, people like ourselves, who are in a position of recruitment, won't have to tolerate such sloppy covering letters.

A couple of weeks back i helped our daughter with a covering letter for her first job application post-uni. Ok, it took a little time and thought but after we agreed that it was appropriate and contained all the necessary info, we sent it off. within days she had a reply asking her to prepare for a phone interview. a little thought, planning, time and patience is all that's required. i'm a believer that it was that covering letter that got her the interview.
basil

[Justin Trullinger]

It kind of makes sorting easier, though. Because at the end of the day, if you can't be bothered to write me a professional looking letter, I'm inclined to think that this may not be the limits of your sloppiness. And into the bin you go.

My pet peeves in covering letters:

Not knowing who you're writing to. (If you refer to the organisation you're writing to, do so accurately. Not all places who hire teachers are schools. And those of us in non-profits aren't fond of being called "companies" and "businesses")

Bad spelling. (Pretty obvious, in my opinion. Also punctuation and grammar.)

Excessively casual style. (When you get here, we may become friends. But first, it's a job!)

Expressly not taking teaching seriously. (This is a BIG one, in my opinion. One guy told me that though he had no training, he was "sure he would be a great teacher." I don't know what made him so sure, but I'm sure not going to gamble on it.)

Demands innapropriate to the market. (Do research, and find out what you can reasonably expect. I had an email from a woman who needed guaranteed hours, paid housing, paid flight, visa expenses, and a relocation allowance. Me too! But in Ecuador, these things aren't available. )

Adversarial style in correspondence. (This usually comes up a little later in the process- but really ticks me off. "How can I be sure your school is legitimate?" one candidate asked me. "What are my options if you don't meet the promised conditions?" was another. Just doesn't make me feel like you'd be any fun to work with. If you're concerned about being ripped off, worried about the process of moving to a third world country, and you may have heard some nasty stories, we can talk about this. But not if you start out assuming that I'm the bad guy.)

Misquoting me. (Again, this comes up later in the process. But nothing kills the process like "you said that I could expect to earn $XXX" where XXX equals a number that I've never heard of. Or if I give a range, in Ecuador perhaps $500 to $800 a month, teachers who later refer only to the $800. Makes me think they aren't paying attention.)

Overall, if you want to get a professional job, you need to present yourself as a professional. There are backpacker jobs, there are rip offs out there. But if you want a good job, it starts by seeming like you'd do a good job.

Best,
Justin

[ls650]

[Justin Trullinger]

[Jizzo T. Clown]

I have a question. I've heard people don't like to receive a letter containing "To whom it may concern:" and I've also heard that this is the preferred opener when you don't know the name of the party you're contacting (as opposed to simply "Hello,").

In the States, it's perfectly acceptable. Not so sure about internationally, though it seems perfectly ok to me...but then, I'm not a recruiter!

What's the best way to begin a letter?

[Justin Trullinger]

"To whom it may concern" doesn't bother me- I see it sometimes.

"Dear Sir or Madam," seems a bit formal, but I don't really care.

"Hi there" wouldn't bother if the rest of the letter is okay, but usually procedes a letter that lacks a certain sense of the professional.

"Dear __(Name of institution)___" is also fine with me.

"Dear Director of English" (or DOS, or whatever) works.

Simply "Dear School" isn't too bad, though it sort of implies you don't know who you're writing to.

Most people who have researched our school know my name, so "Dear Justin" or " Dear Mr Trullinger" are perfect as well.

I'm sure there's some etiquette expert out there who can answer better. Frankly, I wouldn't mind "Hey Bozo!" as long as the rest of the letter was professional. But they so rarely are...

best,
Justin

[MamaOaxaca]

What is it about email that makes people think they should use a very informal style? A business letter is a business letter, email is just another way to send it. I don't mind to whom it may concern, but usually my name is in the job ad. One recent applicant addressed me as Doctora Ferrin. Which was definately erroring on right side of things!
I also get a lot of people who assume I'm Mexican, okay, my name is slightly ambiguous and so I can see how they make that mistake, but you know what assume makes.

I also hate the "your country" this seems to be a way to avoid the mistake in my op. Instead of saying, }"I've always wanted to visit Turkey". (which is a big mistake, I hire people to work in MEXICO!!) they say, "I've always wanted to visit your country." Not only is this extremely generic, it's also makes me wonder about their interest in Mexico, which is not my country.

[spiral78]

This relates quite a bit to another current thread about teaching without a degree. The OP wrote the below:


I been told that most of the teaching jobs now require you to have a 4-years degree. I only have a 2 years University Diploma, can you guys give me some options?? beside spending another 2years getting that degree.

I've been slammed on the thread for suggesting that the OP, who hasn't got a 4-year degree, could probably compete on the job market in Central/Eastern European countries, which don't legally require a four-year degree for language teachers. However, since most candidates in the same market WILL have a degree, my feeling is that 'sloppy' English would be a big disadvantage.

Honestly, I don't think we are slamming people who make typos - it's sloppy grammatical patterns and inappropriate register that indicates a candidate who either simply doesn't have the language skills or the iniative/professionalism to even compete for decent entry-level positions.

[movinaround]

[dmb]

I once had a cover letter that started with "I am a god-fearing American woman....... so I need a guarantee that I won't work Sundays." I couldn't guarantee this and replied with the usual sorry we aren't looking for anyone at the moment email. I then had 3 months of hate mail calling me a satanist.

Justin, I have also had the 'do you have electricity? ' EMAIL.

no, I shovel coal into the back of my computer