Job Discussion Forums

[dynow]

Hello all,

So I am planning on sending out my first batch of cover letters this week and wanted to know how many schools actually request reference letters. I'm a bit concerned about this because as far as reference letters from previous employers, i.e., people that can vouge I am a quality employee, I really don't have too many options. When I left college, I had a manual labor job with a tree service and haven't spoken to my boss with that company in 2 years. During college I was a bartender, and both bars I worked for.....are out of business. My current job of 2 1/2 years now....well.....they don't know I'm leaving yet, so there's no asking them!

My only options are to have maybe a couple letters written by a few friends I have that know me well. Otherwise, I'm kinda out of ideas.

Anyway, I was hoping most schools would just hire based on the cover letter/resume and the interview. Before I start sending out cover letters, I want to ask whether or not I should expect schools to request reference letters?

Thanks for the help!

[Lavaboy]

Um, write them yourself if a school asks for them. This is Poland--no one will be calling America or wherever you hail from to check these.... But, frankly, unless you want to work in some undesirable city in the Polish hinterlands, sending out a 'batch' of resumes is a waste of time. Gotta hit the pavement, my friend.

[redsoxfan]

No one's going to call your references. So don't put down "Johnny's Stump Removal" on your CV. In fact, just say "References available upon request."

I'm not sure I've ever had an interview in which the director had actually read my CV beforehand. I've been asked, "So did you go to university?" and "How long have you been in Poland?" I mean, wouldn't you read someone's CV before interviewing them?!

[dynow]

So when you got your first jobs out in Poland, did you have to at some point submit reference letters?

Should I expect a school to request them?

I didn't expect them to actually start calling America to check up on me, but if I can expect schools to ask for them, I should probably have them ready to go beforehand to stay prompt.

I could write up some reference letters using my friends I guess, but I'm going to be honest, it won't be from anywhere I have worked before. When I was a bartender, I trained many young people to work behind a bar and included my bartending days in my resume because quite honestly, I don't have too much to brag about, I was behind a bar for 3 years while in college, and before that, a deli clerk for 6. I guess I could try pestering an old professor or two from college for a reference letter, but I haven't spoken to those people in 4 years, and of course I can't get anything out of my current job because I'm still working there. So what can I do? Make up jobs that I had?

Also, "hitting the pavement" is something I cannot do, I will be in the states working at my current job till mid-January. I wanted to try and see if I could land something sooner to try and avoid going out there without anything lined up (maybe I'm dreaming, but I'll give it a shot, it's been done before). I actually have a friend of mine who is flying to Poland today to visit her family for Christmas and New Year's, so she was going to personally hand out a bunch of my CV's to schools in Wroclaw. By the way, any good schools you can recommend in Wroclaw that I should maybe send her to?

[Grrrmachine]

I got my first job after another teacher left unexpectedly two weeks into a term. I was never asked for references and the DOS barely glimpsed at my CV because she was so pleased to get a replacement.
Once I'd got a years' worth of experience, my next employers never asked for references. If you're a native speaker, you'll only need to flash your credentials when haggling pay conditions; if you're working for a big company, there's not much haggling to be done, so don't worry too much about it.

You're entering an industry of language expertise (joke joke) - get off on the right foot by writing your application in such a way that your skills shine through, with or without references

[Jetset]

Dont worry they wont be checking any references or academic credentials!

I was hired via a brief email conversation.

you might want to 'enhance' your CV a little:

manual labor job with trees = 10 years Esl experience running your own school

bartender for 2 years = PHD in Linguistics.

you get the idea

[Alex Shulgin]

In more than a decade teaching nobody has ever taken my up on the part of my CV which says "References available on request".

Instead of worrying about reference letters make sure that your CV is as good as it can be while still being true. For example, with the bar job put "trained new staff" as one of the job duties.

[svenhassel]

Also the fact that you've worked for long periods for the same companies will go in your favour.

Sit down and think about the positive aspects of these jobs and how you could possibly "transfer the skills" for example working in a bar must have given you great "people" skills, etc

I agree your refrences are unlikely to be checked, usually Dos' are happy to see a well written reference letter, checking up on it is both expensive and time consuming.

What a decent school is interested in is the fact that you're a native speaker with an agreeable a personality and a genuine teaching certificate.

Good Luck,

Swanny