Job Discussion Forums

[SamanthaLeigh]

Hello-

My manfriend and I are planning to move to South America this summer to teach. I finished my certification last winter and he's completing his currently. How should we go about applying for jobs? Should we send our resumes from the same address, or separate? Should we try to market ourselves as a couple? I've been told that having a built in support system is attractive to some companies because they feel people are more likely to finish their contracts. Also, I've been having a hard time finding job postings for anywhere in South America. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

[Guy Courchesne]

I think presenting yourself as a couple is a good route. It may cause some schools to turn you down but it will be attractive to other schools who see the stability you mention. Be prepared to work at separate schools though.

South America is not an easy place to land work via telephone or email. You can make contacts from abroad and set up meetings but it is more likely you won't be offered anything concrete until you are actually there. I know that makes planning difficult but teaching jobs are plentiful enough in the region that you probably won't be pounding the pavement long. It does depend on where though. Smaller towns or rural areas would be tougher than large cities and some countries are better than others, such as Chile, Peru, or Argentina.

Any chance you can round up some contacts through your manfriend and his course provider? Or through your own course provider from last winter? Might be worth seeing who they know in SA.

[Justin Trullinger]

I agree that marketing yourselves as a couple is a good idea- it does appeal to a lot of employers, sort of a "two for one."

Latin America is a good place, but a big place. Narrow it down to cities you want to work in (pick half a dozen, what the heck!), google the schools in them that hire foreigners, and start applying!

It's not hard, but give the last minute nature of the whole continent, you are less likely to find jobs posted, though some will be. But they're there, nonetheless.

By the way- nothing wrong with being in a couple. I am too! BUT know that a few schools (not many, not a majority, but a few) will refuse to hire couples. They say that it's more problematic, because if one is unhappy, both will leave. Ignore schools that say this- obviously, they figure that there's a 50% chance you won't be happy with their school, and you don't want to work there.

THat said- if you both wind up working in the same place, be sure to be professional, and keep any relationship dramas out of the workplace.

Best,
Justin

[Trebek]

My experience at the I.S.S. job fair was that couples are preferred if they have two positions that fit. My guess is that couples don't endure home sickness and culture shock as bad as singles, since they have their significant other to keep them occupied.

[Justin Trullinger]

Couples also save a school money on the housing budget in most cases. Two teachers in one apt = happy accountants.

Best,
Justin

[naturegirl321]

are you looking for an intl school job? Many require two years experience, but you might be able to find a job without two years.

For intl schools, look at www.ibo.org, www.tieonline.com, www.internationalschoolreview.com, and www.tes.co.uk

If you're looking for institute postisions in LA, then you'll have a bit of a more difficult time. They do advertise here on Dave's and TEFL.com, but many times you have to be in country before they'll even seriously consider you. Where do you want to go in Latin America? Its' a big place, if you narrow it down, we can help you more.

While peopel have talked about the positives of being a couple, there are also negatives. I won't reiterate the positive ones, since they've already been touched upon, so the negatives.

1. It's risky for the school. If one person doesn't like it, then both poeple will leave, leaving them two teachers short instead of one.

2. religion. Most of Latin America is Catholic. Living together, while done, don't get me wrong (many people have babies outside of marriage as well) can be frowned upon. From personal experience, i was forbidden to live with my HUSBAND, since we hadn't gotten married in the church

I think those are the two main negative ones that I can think of at the moment.

[Guy Courchesne]

[naturegirl321]

[Justin Trullinger]

It's always worth discussing your specifics with employers when you sign.

Was the "not living in sin" thing in your contract? If not, why didn't you tell them where to get off? If so, um, why did you sign?

Or, was this the sort of job that provided housing? If so, I guess they have some leverage...

That kind of thing does happen, especially with religious institutions, but is getting pretty rare these days. I lived together with my girlfriend for 6 years in Ecuador, with no problems. (Though we got the very occasional negative comment.) Only thing was, a lot of folks just assumed we were married, without ever asking. So when we actually got married, a fair number of folks were surprised by their invites.

Best,
Justin

[naturegirl321]