Job Discussion Forums

Orpheus · Joined: 27 Oct 2008 Posts: 16 Location: Tempe, Arizona, USA

Okay, so I've been applying for pretty much every ESL Instructor position I can find in Arizona and I still haven't heard anything positive from any prospective employers (I've been trying since May). I think the problem is that I only have an MTESOL and a year of internship experience and the big colleges just cut a lot of instructors who, I'm sure, have way more experience and higher degrees than me.

So, now my solution is to try some private tutoring to make ends meet until I find a "real" job. Does anybody have any experience and/or suggestions for me? I'm thinking about just printing some flyers and business cards and posting an ad on craigslist. I know there's a market here for this, but I'm really not sure how to proceed. Any suggestions will be very appreciated.

hollysuel · Joined: 07 Oct 2007 Posts: 225 Location: Connecticut, USA

Do you have any friends who teach at a high school, college or university? I just recently returned to the USA and my sister teaches high school English at a local high school and has practically begged me to tutor some of their foreigners on the TOEFL, SAT, ACT, etc. I think it is easier if you know someone to recommend you and then if you are good--they will tell their friends, etc. Word of mouth is the best type of advertising in ESL in the USA and abroad...

anyway · Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 109

Follow the link in my profile to learn about online tutoring jobs with new ones added each week...

moonshine · Joined: 11 Jan 2008 Posts: 60

yeah, I've posted to a lot of sites as well - including online tutoring - donno what's up - is frustrating when the ads are there and only little nibbles -

anyway · Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 109

Tons and tons and tons of competition. Just imagine - the internet allows everyone and their dog to either teach, open up a school, or both. A lot of it boils down to timing. You've got to be one of the first apps in the inbox or else your chances decrease dramatically ...

I applied for an online job this past summer. They called me after a week for a brief interview which seemed to go well. It took them about 3-4 weeks to contact me again. To even send me an email. The lady said they were simply bogged down by the sheer number of apps. The kicker is they only advertised on ONE site which is not even close to being one of the biggies in my opinion.

I have a tutoring site myself (well, with my dog) and I can tell you that the number of people who are fishing for these jobs is un-be-liev-able. Most of the emails are of the variety which do not exactly recommend the applicant either if you know what I mean.

Truly amazing explosion in elearning over the last 5 years...