Job Discussion Forums

[TG12345]

Hi everyone,

I am going to ask a really dumb and basic question, but if I could get some advice or help I would really appreciate it. How exactly do you go about applying for a job overseas?

For example, I have seen a job advertisement for a school in Guatemala (http://www.teachabroad.com/listingsp3.cfm/listing/35991 ). I would not be able to teach there in 2007/2008 because that is my last year of the Bachelor of Education program in University. I would definitely want to get a job in this school if I could and I am interested in it and schools like it because it is in one of the countries where I am interested in teaching and it reaches out to students from not only the 'higer level' of the economic ladder.

I cannot apply this year but if I could, how would I go about doing that? I see the school's contact info posted. What would I send? A resume? A cover letter stating why I think I am qualified for this position? Passport information? All of this, or something else?

I sent an email to a Christian (Quaker denomination) international school in Ramallah (http://www.teachabroad.com/listingsp3.cfm/listing/31801) a few months ago, and did not receive a response. Could someone please have a look at it, and tell me what I could have done better or how I could have written it better or what I should have sent instead? It is below the post.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Tomasz

Sent on March 6/07 from teachabroad.com

Greetings,

I am an Education student in my 4th year of University and I will be graduating in June 2008. I have several years of experience student teaching with students at all levels, and I have worked as a teaching assistant and volunteered in many schools. I do not yet have formal teaching experience, but I have a lot of experience working with children and youth in various settings. I have a lot of experience as well working with youth who are learning to speak English, and also youth with learning disabilities and behaviour issues. I will have my TESOL certification by August 2007.

I have looked at your website, and agree that it is crucial to work for social justice between Palestinians and Israelis. I am a Christian and I believe that working for social justice is very important and an essential component of our faith.

I am hoping to go to the Middle East to teach after I graduate, and have begun to teach myself Arabic. I realize that you are seeking teachers for the 2007-2008 school year, and unfortunately at that time I will still be in University.

If you are interested, I would be glad to send you my resume.

I hope we can keep in touch because I would be very interested in exploring teaching oppurtunities in Palestine.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Tomasz Glowacki
Canada
Winnipeg, Manitoba
My postal code
My phone number

[Jetgirly]

1. It's too early. If you want to work for these schools later, keep their contact info and get in touch with them closer to the time when you're actually available to work. I don't understand what you think will happen when you contact these schools so early. "Yes, we'll be happy to leave a position unfilled this year on the off chance you'll decide to come next year"?

2. Your cover letter has several (bordering on many) grammatical errors and needs a thorough proofread.

3. Your cover letter is disorganized and does absolutely nothing to sell you to the school. In terms of content, it's worse than the cover letters most of my eighth grade students were writing this year. You desperately need to visit Career Services at your university. Take advantage of their services while they're still free. Sending cover letters of this quality could actually harm your chances of getting a job (if schools keep applications on file).

When you are ready to actually apply for and accept a job, you should send your cover letter and resume in response to job ads. In many parts of the world (such as Europe and Australia) it is customary to include a photo with your resume. I do this by aligning my contact info on the left and putting one of my grad photos on the right (on the top of the first page).

[naturegirl321]

You need to have all the qualifications. They said

The position needs to be filled immediately.

Experienced English teacher is required to have a related Bachelor's degree and at least 2 years of teaching. Preference is given to native English speakers and those with international experience.

YOu can't go until next year, so you're disqualified.

YOu still don't have your degree

Do you have international experiences?

Also, don't think that you will get a response from everyone. Only if they're interested in hiring you. Be aware that they pay 1000 a month. They want a qualified teacher that can be there now.

[ls650]

A lot depends on which market you're applying to. Some Asian countries are desperate and will hire any warm body they can - but you'll need to have a completed degree to get past immigration.

Most Latin American schools prefer to hire someone face-to-face. Internet postings tend to be a bit unusual. The schools that do post often tend to be universities, so you need something to stand out from the crowd - say a lot of teaching experience or an MA.

[Gordon]

Relax! You have a year before you can teach. Who would interview you now? You might/will change your mind dozens of times in the meantime.

[ilaria]

[TG12345]

Hi naturegirl321, Jetgirly, Is650, Gordon and ilaria,

I would like to thank all of you for your replies and critiques and advice that you gave me. I appreciate all of it, and would like to ask some of you some follow-up questions.

Jetgirly, I appreciate your response and your critique of my cover letter even if it was a bit intense. Sometimes the truth hurts. I haven't written a cover letter for an international school before, so this one was my first one and was obviously a flop.
How could I have sold myself better to the school though? I have mentioned my student teaching, volunteering and TA experience with youth. What else should I have included? I understand from ilaria's post that the letter should have been differently organized, but in terms of my experience what else should I have included to portray myself better?
I am glad your grade 8s know how to write good cover letters and I hope to get the quality of mine to reach their level or go above . I will look for more advice at my university and maybe TESOL about how to write a good cover letter for an overseas position.

Naturegirl321, thank you again for your response and I replied to your email. I do not have any international teaching experience. I have spent 2 weeks in El Salvador through a church, helping a bit but mostly observing and spending time and learning from a group involved in prison ministry and violence prevention programs in jails and the barrios. I do have a lot of experience working with students who are learning English. I have worked as a teaching assistant in a summer school where there were many immigrant students taking EAL, and I am currently volunteering with EAL learners in an after-school program in a high school downtown. Would this be good experience in your opinion?

Is650, thank you for the feedback. However, if most Latin American schools prefer to hire face-to-face, how would it be possible to get a job from here? Is it necessary to fly to the country where you are applying? Is it not possible to send a resume or cover letter or have a phone interview? Do most foreign EAL teachers who work in Latin America actually need to fly there to find a job? I am asking because I don't know, I thought these things were arranged online or over the phone.

Thank you Gordon for your response as well. When would you say I should begin applying if I would want to begin working after June 2008? I am ready to start earlier than September if necessary. A poster told me that I should begin applying around now next year for that job. I value her advice and always look forward to hearing as many opinions as possible. What would your advice be about when I should begin applying?

Ilaria, thank you for your outline of how a cover letter should look like, I found your post very instructive and practically helpful.
For the third paragraph, my mention about social justice is because I have heard that the Quakers also place a high emphasis on this issue, and if you examine their school website their statement of purpose includes responsibility to society and equality. However, perhaps I should have used a different phrase like 'I believe that as teachers we should teach and encourage our students to be productive and responsible members of society who are active and involved in creating a positive change in the world around them'?
Also for my nationality, I was born in Poland but moved to this country when I was 5 years old and have Canadian citizenship. That should not disqualify me from being a 'native speaker', right?

Thanks to everyone again for your help and advice, and I look forward to hearing back from you. I will do my best to respond to posts and emails as soon as I can.

Take care.

Tomasz Glowacki

[ilaria]

[ls650]

In answer to your questions re: Latin America...
You will see the occasional job posted online, but in general, most schools will only hire someone face-to-face. Yes, this means most teachers actually travel to the area they're interested and start knocking on school doors with resume in hand.

[Glenski]

ilaria wrote:

[naturegirl321]

[Justin Trullinger]

Sorry to go on a slight tangent, but

[Gordon]

Place of birth, does not determine if a person is a native speaker or not. My boys were both born in Japan, yet they are/will be native English speakers.

To the OP, if you want to work somewhere in Sept. 2008, start applying around March or April at the earliest. You probably won't hear anything until May or June at the earliest.

[ilaria]

Justin wrote:

[Jetgirly]