Job Discussion Forums

memphis · Joined: 16 Jul 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Seattle, WA USA

Hello friends,

I'm planning to move to Colombia this fall to be a teacher, and I want to do whatever I can to improve my odds of getting a job. As I have both a TESL certificate and a recent engineering undergraduate degree, I'm thinking of applying in my cover letter for both English and math teaching jobs. However, I don't want to seem unprofessional or presumptuous. Would it be advantageous or destructive to apply for both positions at once in the same letter? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

tomstone · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 293

I am a math, music, and English teacher. I put all of my experience on my resume and it has never hurt me in China; don't know if that helps you.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Do your qualifications meet the requirements for both jobs? If so, apply away. They wouldn't make the grade here in Japan. You'd have to have a teaching license and experience back home first (and even then, you could only apply to international schools to teach math).

dog@kew · Joined: 10 Jan 2010 Posts: 13

I'd assume most engineers would be able to handle high-school math; but I'm not competent in either, so take that with a grain of salt.

memphis · Joined: 16 Jul 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Seattle, WA USA

Thanks for your replies. Actually, it seems that most jobs (all in private schools) want certification and two years of experience. "If time allows", they will interview less qualified candidates. At one school I applied only for an English teaching job and was rejected for an interview due to my lack of certification (TESL doesn't count) or degree in my indicated area of instruction (English). The only reason I thought I'd start applying for math jobs was my engineering background. English is more my area of interest. I'm going to go ahead and apply for both jobs and boast of my "versatile" background. Thanks again!

spanglish · Joined: 21 May 2009 Posts: 742 Location: working on that

I don't think that would be viewed as unprofessional in Colombia. Of course, if you're teaching math, apart from the truly bilingual schools, it would be most helpful if you spoke Spanish.

With contacts, you might find some university opportunities. Some classes are run in English. Check out poorbuthappy.