Job Discussion Forums

[taramaria]

Hi all,

How much does it alter your chances of finding a teaching job if you arrive in Spain at the beginning of September or at the beginning of October?... Or is it much of a muchness?
I've heard that most schools recruit in August or September and if I can find a job from here (South Africa) during that time and then leave here to start immediately, that will be great. I know the chances are not good though and in all likelihood, I'm going to have to travel to Spain and job hunt while there.
So I return to my original question... If I need to land in Spain and begin The Job Hunt, does a September or October arrival make very much difference?

Thanks so much for your help!

[lennon146]

You could do, but any self-respecting language school would have its teachers for the year lined up before September and October. There are plenty of schools advertising on the Internet already for teachers for the 2009-10 academic year. You may be in South Africa but they'd probably interview you by phone or Skype.

[taramaria]

Thanks! That was my thought. I've a list of schools in Spain so I'll methodically work my way through that, sending CVs and all the rest. Most schools I've chatted to haven't been keen on the telephonic / Skype interview idea... They'd like to meet in person etc. But I think the hiring season is starting now really and continues 'til around August (?) so I'm hoping to have a bit more luck in the months to come.

[SirKirby]

[spiral78]

Ok, I'll chime with my single-note song before the OP goes to the considerable expense of coming over for a job search:

taramaria: you say you're in South Africa - are you a citizen of South Africa? Do you have another citizenship (UK for preference)?

If you do, fantastic - if not, you may want to do a bit of research on the EU hiring laws of Spain before you commit resources to a job search there.

Non-EU citizens have very few legal options for getting work permits in Spain to teach English. Teaching illegally is an option some people feel is feasible, but risks exist, and you should be aware of the reality before making decisions to travel.

[taramaria]

That makes sense, thank you.
SirKirby, you sound like you're pretty clued up and as you're in Barca, I'd appreciate some advice please?...
I've recently been in touch with a TEFL school in Madrid who you do your TEFL through and then they assist you with job placement. It seems like a great way to go about starting to teach in Spain. According to them, a school will often hire a teacher without a work permit after completing the course and "try them out" for a few months before committing to sponsor a work permit. They say chances of a school offering to sponsor a work permit without having "tried the teacher out" for a few months is highly unlikely. Any comments on this?...
I totally understand the need to be in Spain to go for interviews etc but I was really hoping someone would agree to sponsor a permit before I actually start teaching. I'm also nervous to trust everything these TEFL schools say because they obviously want you to do the course with them.

Overall, the work permit is a concern for me. It seems a lot of the advice I'm getting is to come and work on a tourist visa but that's obviously not my first choice. I'm really not sure whether to trust the advice or not?... What do you think?...

[taramaria]

Spiral, sorry I didn't see your reply until I'd posted mine. If it wasn't obvious from my reply... Nope, no other citizenship to speak of. So I will be coming to search for a job and hope for a work permit. The work permit is my biggest worry but I keep getting advice to work illegally and no, that's not something I want to do. There's always the possibility of a studnet visa though?... That is a legal loophole right?...

[spiral78]

Yes, there's a current thread here about that. I'll check which one and bump it up for you.

The problem with working illegally is not that you're so likely to get caught and deported (unless you get unlucky and have an accident or incident requiring police involvement, or lose your passport or something).

The problem is flying into or out of any Schengen zone country. The passport control guys can and sometimes do check how long you've been in the zone. If they notice that you've overstayed, there is a big red stamp that bans you from the entire zone for up to ten years.

Just in case you're not aware, non-EU citizens get 90 days on a tourist visa in the Schengen zone, and then have to STAY OUT FOR 90. That eliminates the border run option that worked well in the past. Google Schengen zone for the list of countries included.

The 'trying the teacher out for a few months' I'm really afraid is a total ploy. The thing is that you only get 90 days inside the Schengen zone. Figure your course is one month, you have only 60 days for someone to file paperwork for you. If you got some school to give you a contract and get the paperwork started, you could breathe easier as the police would be likely to be lenient if the process is underway and you happened to get caught somewhere.

Outside of the student visa and possibly working holiday visas (I think Canadians sometimes get these, depending on age and stuff, but I don't know about South Africans) it is unfortunately HIGHLY UNLIKELY that any school will sponsor a non-EU newbie level teacher. The bad news is that there are lots and lots of UK teachers who want to go to places like Spain.

May I suggest that you might consider European countries where you have a better chance of finding legal work? That would include most of the 'new' EU member countries like the Czech Rep, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, etc. The paperwork is a hassle for these countries, too, but it's far more likely that you'll get a legal job with permits than it is in Spain or other Western European countries.

[spiral78]

It's the thread titled 'student visa and jobs'

[jonniboy]

Since the title of the thread is "It's all about timing" I'm forced to point out the elephant in the room: Spanish unemployment is the highest in the EU at 17.5% and tipped to hit 21% before the end of the year. Given that Spanish adults weren't exactly falling over themselves to learn back in 2004-5 when I was last there and the jobless rate was falling, it's unlikely that they'll be lining up now to sign themselves or little Paco up especially with unemployment or the threat of it hanging over the family budget.

They say a picture says a thousand words so have a look here and think very carefully:

http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/quickview.do?SERIES_KEY=132.STS.M.ES.S.UNEH.RTT000.4.000

As ever I'll bow to the superior knowledge of SirKirby, Moore or any other Spanish based poster since they're on the ground and I'm not but I would hazard a guess that Autumn 2009 will not be the best time for a newbie to try and break into the Spanish market.

[Glenlivet]

[mozzar]

I'm teaching in Madrid at the moment and there is work. However, I'm guessing the companies signed their contracts with language schools last September, so when it comes to signing new contracts this September, companies may not be looking to give their staff as many English lessons as possible.

[spiral78]

I've just been told that LANGUAGES are ranked somewhere around 72nd. in terms of importance for international companies in the 2009/2010 year.

Yikes.

Our university Language Centre is rebranding in response. Something like

'Language and International Communication Skills Centre'

actually fits better what we do - and sounds a bit trendier in today's market.

But still might not save us from budget cuts