Job Discussion Forums

[dan m.]

Is it hard to get a job at a school in November because the semester starts earlier in the fall? Is it hard to get a job at a school in the first place? If not in a school where would be the most common type of employer?

I'm taking a certification in October, am I gonna miss the boat on jobs or can you get there anytime?

Any feedback would be great, thanks.

- Dan

[CharlesTESOL]

If it is a major city like Madrid or Barcelona you should still be able to get work, especially if you have someone to help you -- e.g., a staff person at the school where you will be taking your course who knows the local market well or even a friend who is already teaching in the area and has contacts in the English teaching community. In a smaller place, it could be more challenging. Again, having on-the-ground help of some sort can make a difference.
Good luck,

[victor moss]

I did my certificate in Oct/Nov, first of all our class was packed, the school I went with had a maximum of 24 students and we were 24 in the class! So on the first day of the course I was thinking maybe I should have joined the Sept or the Nov ones, mainly beacuse I was kinda anxious about my job prospects. Well, I did the course, went to a lot of interviews and was working days after the course. I later found out that the Sept and Nov courses were also sold out. But the nice part is because we were put in contact with lots and lots of schools, work wasn�t hard to find even if we finished outside of the popular hiring seasons (Sept-Oct), Jan-Mar) . I�ve seen it mentioned a lot where you will most likely find work anytime, and that would be Madrid and BCN. Madrid is the capital city and it�s a given that most international companies needing ther people to be taught English are based in Madrid.

Of course some of the job interviews didn�t turn out well for reasons like : too much travel, too little pay, etc. But what�s important is that you get those job interviews. And unfortunately Madrid isn�t a town where you just send your resume or maybe even cold call language schools. It is always an edge to be referred by a TEFL school that they use when they need to hire teachers.

An advice given to me when I was looking was this: ask the school what kind of job search help they give. All schools say they have a job help program, some even guarantee jobs but your best bet is to speak to graduates of the schools you are looking into. Ask if the school gives references, ask for names.

Be prepared to travel, if you�re lucky your teaching jobs will be in the Metro/Bus Zone A, but don�t worry most of us have gone to some boonie or another. It�s not perfect, but it sure is fun.

[Spainish]

You'll be fine in October, and frankly throughout most of the year if you apply yourself well enough. The only time it's truely hard to find classes through an academy is during the summer.

I'd have to agree with Victor regarding class locations. Don't expect to be in the center all the time. It's really the luck of the draw (and sometimes the Academy you are working for) but you will most likely end up out in the boonies now and again. If you are lucky the academy will pay you extra depending on the amount of time it takes to get out there. I worked for one that even paid for your monthly metro pass upgrade if it was outside of zone "A".

Spainish