Job Discussion Forums

wendykohn · Joined: 13 Apr 2005 Posts: 3

What is the best time of year to find a teaching job in Mexico? In the US it's much easier to find a job teaching English in the summer because foreigners come here on their vacations to study. Do Mexicans study English during vacation, after school/work during the year, on weekends while they work during the week? I want to go to Oaxaca in the fall, but I'd go sooner if I thought it would give me a better chance of finding work.

Also, how far in advance should a person apply for work? A lot of schools say that they don't know if they need teachers until the last minute. Is April or May too early to apply for a fall position? Is February too early to apply for a summer position? Also, I'm applying from the US. Thanks for your suggestions!

MELEE · Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:00 pm Post subject:

Well,
I voted for summer, but I met find a job in the summer to start in the fall. Our positions start in September, but we start hiring for those positions in July. Our second semester starts in March and we hire to a lesser extent then too. People get sick or have family emergancies and have to leave at anytime so other positions pop up as well.

However, I single biggest hiring problem, is that once we have people hired, they back out and don't come, Twisted Evil

! So we have to find someone esle on very short notice. This has just happened, are interested in coming to Oaxaca tomorrow? Very Happy

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

What happens with the classes when teachers don't show up to start the job? (That's very naughty!) Do you all get extra classes to teach or how does that work?

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Dragonlady · Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:27 am Post subject:

deleted

out of date

MELEE · Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 3:07 pm Post subject:

Like LS, we cover classes among the rest of us. We have 15 English teachers so we disperse the classes that the teacher would have been assigned. Sometimes we disperse the students into other classes of that level making larger classes. When a replacement arrives, they get to take up the classes already in progress.

geaaronson · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 948 Location: Mexico City

I was warned the best time to get a teaching job in the Yucatan was in July and August for classes after Labor Day. Year round contracts are signed at this time, if you come after that you end up getting the leftover classes.
As my U.S. university runs its classes right through July I had only 2 weeks to move down to MX and get a contract. When the university offered me extra classes for the fall at a greatly increased salary, I took it, planning on coming down to MX right before Christmas and getting my foot in the door.
It was both a mistake and a boon. I ended up with a 6 week Christmas vacation before I taught my first student. I thought I had some definite classes lined up at two schools. At One, I even made an appointment, December 19th, to see the director. When I got there she pretended she did not know we had an appointment. The other school hired a teacher on the day I flew out of Atlanta for Mexico as a teacher had walked off the job and they needed someone pronto.
I am currently teaching at 4 different schools, and a fifth starting in 9 days. It was a valuable lesson. Get there in person in July and August, get a phone right away. Make it easy for them to contact you because they will call you and if you don�t respond in 2 hours they will offer the job to someone else. Dont� be afraid to bug them on a weekly basis. They expect it. Interview everywhere, have many copies of you resume, school diploma, transcripts, passport, FM3. Most larger prestigeous schools will not hire you if you dont have the FM3 in hand as they are the ones that get visited by immigration to see if all the teachers are legally able to work in MX.

geaaronson · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 948 Location: Mexico City

As for when to send your initial resume, it more than likely doesnt matter. They will not hire you from your resume. But by all means send it anyway and email them that you are coming and when you arrive, but no one is going to offer you a job over the net. That�s my experience, but I could be wrong.
The exception to that was a woman who took the CELTA ESL program at Playa de Carmen and was offered a job in Acapulco for January. She had five days to run across country, settle in and start teaching. She did not take the job.