Job Discussion Forums

natsume · Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Posts: 409 Location: Chongqing, China

I have a question for Justin and spiral and anybody else here who hires/has hired for positions that require (just) an acceptable certificate (not an MA). I fully understand your arguments in favor of the name brands, by the way, they make perfect sense to me.

I probably won't be using my own cert. to get another job, as I will most likely be going straight to graduate school after my current job is up. That said, if you saw a TESOL certificate from the University of California Berkeley Extension, how would it fare in your first glance at your hypothetical stack of 25 CVs? It is surely not a "no name" certificate?

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 12:35 am Post subject:

Hi there,

In this case, it would do as well as any other CV. I happen to be somewhat familiar with the UC Berkeley program, so no further investigation needed.

In a slightly more hypothetical case, if you had a cert from some other US university, I'd look into it. Not all are created equal, of course, but any university program is going to have information about credit hours and content easily available online. A university qualification, whether or not I've heard of it, is clearly in a different category than all the nonsense online TEFL quals out there.

I've looked at a lot of teacher training programs over the years, and unsurprisingly those offered through accredited universities and colleges are generally excellent. Many of them are much more in depth, and longer, than the 1 month intensive format of the various certs we usually discuss here.

I didn't have a lot of time to look these things up, mind, when I was hiring. But in 5 years, amongst 5 to 15 apps a week, more when advertising, I probably received less than a dozen applications with college issued certs total. And colleges are reasonably easy to find online.

Best,
Justin

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I agree. A reputable, recognised institution of higher learning is likely to have a decent program, and I'd be likely to consider the CV.

However, I'm also aware that some of the dodgier courses rent rooms at universities - so I'd probably want to look at the wording on that cert a bit carefully.

This could be a note for a CV or cover letter: some distinction between a course administered/certificate issued by ABC Uni, or a course 'sponsored' by it....

You and others in this situation might want to be sure it's really clear for the possible employer.