Job Discussion Forums

[mrchloe]

Hello everyone,

I'm a professional journalist (currently in NYC) and I was laid off from IBM eight months ago. I have a degree in English, and roughly 20 years experience in the business world.... this however has not served me in finding a job in the USA.

I will be in Germany for the month of November specifically to hunt for a job working in the corporate environment teaching English. *That* is the plan anyway. I can not compete with the traditional teacher as I do not have a classroom background. What I can offer in the way of skills is --
editorial (writing, copywriting), speech writing, marketing proofing, web writing and business strategy.

As I am open to discovery, I would be interested in collaboration or contracting opportunities... I've read what people have posted here with regards to specifically teaching English, the payrate, the lack of hours, etc etc... this board has been a useful tool for my initial research.

If any of you have additional advice to give, I would be most appreciative.
I'll be in Hamburg (for sure) and may travel south as well... TBD.
Cheers,
Jeff

[longtimeteach]

Hamburg seems to have quite a few more language schools, per capita, than some of the other large German cities so I'd make the round of those, if you have the time. A good place to start is looking in the German yellow pages http://www.gelbeseiten.de for a list of schools for the cities or towns in which you're interested. Print it out and take it with you when you go.

I'm not sure how employable you'll be with no teaching background but you can always try. The language schools will probably offer you the best chance of being able to teach any English because even though you wrote that you'd like to teach in the corporate environment that usually requires some contacts. If you've got them, great. If not, your chances are very, very slim.

Even if you don't get a job though it's a wonderful country to visit. While you're here and since you're a professional journalist, try your hand at some travel writing. You might be able to sell some articles when you're back home. Best of luck!

[mrchloe]