Job Discussion Forums

[Vairocana]

I know how to put on a professional face: well planned resume, business suit, clean shined black shoes, politically correct speech, gender-neutral word usage, and a friendly smile.

Again, If they are that easily disturb by a different perspective than what they are used to, then its their lost. They lose out on not just a teacher of English language but a rare opportunity to engage in a mutually beneficial cultural exchange. And not simply because I'm an American; because I'm bringing a unique set of experiences with me.

Again, I believe there will be plenty of employers who realize what I have to offer will be of great value. If you don't agree that's fine, your entitled to your opinion as I am mine.

[phantombedwetter]

Hi to both of you,
Spiral, I totally agree with everything you've said with special reference to the 'patronising' bit.
V, you would be advised to listen to people who have been doing the job for many years. I think it would be a good idea to do a little research into your potential students as much of the, although admirable, work you have done may not be directly relevant to young working Poles and teenagers from secure backgrounds.
I speak as a teacher and employer.
If you want you can send me your CV and I'll advise you.

[dynow]

altough there are many good points being made here, intelligent conversation, helpful and good advice.......this is ESL in Poland, folks. you're not interviewing next week for a Director of Engineering position for a major corporation.

eventually, this person will find a job in Wroclaw, get some experience, move around like the rest of us, make decent money, yada yada yada, i tak dalej.

she's obviously atleast reasonably educated, motivated, has teaching experience.....i came to Poland, native speaker, a half a$$ed one week TESOL certificate, without even a millisecond of actual classroom teaching experience and I landed a job in a week. and no, it wasn't in September/October. i get paid well, i like my job, and the rest is history.

Vairocana, judging by your posts.....you'll be just fine. enjoy Wroclaw.

[Vairocana]

Thanks for the support dynow,

But I'm actually 100% male. But I see what happened, in my last post I interchanged "business dress" as opposed to using "business suit".
Anyway, the correction been made. But getting back to the topic, I'm a bit amazed, by some of these posters replies.
Yes they are different because they're Polish children, teenagers, and adults. But last time I checked they are also belonged in the genus/species known as Homo sapiens. I'm not dismissing the Polish culture in any way, in fact their unique history only makes them even more interesting.

[Tumteetum]

[Vairocana]

[moonsongs2007]

Hi vairocana, Wroclaw is a good choice and you should have no trouble finding enough work here.

As dynow says, this is ESL Poland, there aren't too many native speakers, and chances are you'll be complaining in a few months about having too many hours work each week rather than not enough.This is the experience of my friends in Krakow where there's a lot more expats!

I'm personally a bit lazier here in Wroclaw, preferring a less busy schedule and more free time to focus on other projects (read: reading books and listening to music at the moment - and learning Polish) and giving each lesson the amount of preparation time it deserves (but not CELTA-esque amounts of time!).

If you have a few connections it shouldn't be too difficult to pick up private lessons, with many students being at advanced or proficiency level wanting conversational classes, I find.

In-company teaching seems to be very "in vogue" at the moment, with higher hourly rates to be gleaned from business English lessons than from general English lessons at a school. There is also the potential advantage of having smaller class sizes (1 to 5 students). You just have to be prepared to often get up at 6am, effectively obliterating the night before.

Hope it goes well for you and take care.

[dynow]

well said, moonsongs.

i prefer a less than crazy schedule myself. i could earn more money, but i'm fine as is. also, I, like you, am studying Polish, and whenever I have any spare time at night, even breaks during the day, I study, and this eats up much of my free time (and energy) every week.

i would recommend privates. you don't have to kill yourself with them, but 1 or 2 a week, pays for your food and nights out. it's great to only pull money from your bank account to pay for overhead.

and as you said, businesses are dying for native speakers. even more so, single businessmen/business women are looking for 1:1 private lessons.....they're just harder to find. it's disappointing when you have a professional coming to your school for 1:1's, must follow the school's program, is paying a ton of money for the lessons, and you could charge the person 30-40% less for even better lessons, catered to their needs. the problem is you're not going to find these people by putting up flyers or placing ads on the internet, but if you get these jobs, they're the best paying and most user-friendly because they are usually already proficient speakers and are much more reliable. parents with young kids tend to cancel lessons.

[Vairocana]

Thanks again moonsongs & dynow,

Yes Wroclaw is definitely sounding better and better. The 6 am thing is no problem I'm a early riser, especially when it's worth my time. My current work involves teaching young students, and trust me, I have no further inclination towards dealing with kids! I would prefer working only with adults.

As it stands the game plan is: I'll spend the first three months working exclusively for a language school. After that initial period, I should have plenty of opportunities to obtain business persons as private students.

[maniak]

I saw most of your questions have already been answered, but I'll chime in since I've been living in Wroclaw in Poland for quite some time now.

[Vairocana]

Hi maniak,

I really appreciate that info. Now just got to get that 45 residency restriction straighten out, once I'm in Wroclaw, then I'm good to go.

[Johnny_C_NYC]

[Tumteetum]

Foreign food in Wroclaw - there's a decent foreign food shop at Magnolia Park - which is at Niedzwiedzia tram/bus stop, 10 mins from Centrum. There are also a couple of other shops (appear to be Italian and/or Greek but I havent been in as I'm only really after the kimchi, curry sauces and pappadums).

For gyms you could try Mosir - they have about 10 or so around the city, cheaper, as far as I know, than the gyms in the shopping arcades (but probably not as nice scenery )