Job Discussion Forums

[eurobound]

I'll be in Krakow for a five day vacation in May that I booked ages ago before I decided to go to Europe this autumn and teach.

Now just wondering if it would be worth my while dropping my CV in at a few language schools while I'm there? Or is it far too early and will they just forget about me when hiring time comes?

I'm a bit clueless as to how things are done in Europe at the moment, so sorry if it's a dumb question.

Thanks a lot.

[simon_porter00]

There's never any harm in doing so. I know Bell in Krakow hires teachers around this time - or at least it did years ago when I was there.

Check out www.teachingenglishinpoland.com for more general advice about job hunting in Poland.

[the_otter]

I've seen adverts from a few Polish schools for 2011/12 on TEFL.com, so there are schools looking already.

[simon_porter00]

Just had a look at the tefl website and saw 4 jobs. 2 are from a well known school who, apparently, whilst offering good teacher development pay peanuts.
One from a school who seem to have screwed a poster on this board in the last week or two and one from a school in Warsaw that I have no idea about.

All information above can be found with the search function and a little aptitude.

The best way to find a good school is to ask teachers who already work in the area (the absolute best advice in my opinion), see if the school looks respectable and get a general feel for the school while you're there - does it look organised? Do people look at if they know what they're doing? Are the happy to talk to you? etc etc

Having reread the questions above I realise it probably rules out 98% of the schools in Poland but you get the general idea.

[eurobound]

Thanks a lot to both of you. I saw that post this week from a disgruntled teacher who'd been apparently burnt with regards a job offer from Poland that was taken away at the last moment. A friend also told me to beware of schools that were hiring this early. I'm new to it all really (just a year in Asia) and have heard so many horror stories already looking on sites like this that it's difficult to know exactly the best way to go about things. But thanks again, I'll look into it.

[the_otter]

[eurobound]

Thanks, good luck to you too. I was investigating Turkey as well but does indeed seem like a bit of a mine-field. I too would prefer not to relocate somewhere without a job in hand, but yeah it's a risk to just fly off somewhere without seeing the school and meeting people first. Having said that, like you that's probably what I'll have to end up doing. I'm also considering Portugal at the moment and may just take the same approach there as Poland; i.e. get a dirt cheap flight, hostel it for a week, check out a few schools.

If you're interested in Turkey there's two summer schools advertising on TEFL.com at the moment. I'm considering applying to help me with start-up costs somewhere like Poland after the summer, but my research Turkey-wise is non-existent so I'm not sure yet.

[spiral78]

On the issue of lining up a job in advance - do keep in mind that (unlike in Asia) this isn't really commonly done in the Euro region. Good employers usually want to see you standing in front of them, CV in hand, looking professional and reliable, before they'll give you a real second thought.

There are some very shady employers who advertise for teachers from abroad - some percentage of them are employers the teachers already in the region won't work for - usually with good reason.

I'm not saying that every Polish employer advertising from abroad is dodgy, but do be sure to vet any such advance offer VERY carefully! People have ended up in backwater villages, living in a room in the house of their employers, being paid in potatoes if at all..........

[eurobound]

Thanks for the advice, spiral78. I guess if you get a job on-line, you have to be prepared for your first year to be somewhat...interesting? Wherever I end up in Europe, I'm hoping to stay for a good few years. So I can deal (hopefully) with a bit of a slog the first year while looking for a better place. Obviously if I ended up with one of your examples then I'd be looking for an 'out' a lot sooner than a year after starting. Hopefully I can make it to Europe and start looking immediately after the summer, as I've heard it's best this way...just depends on finances really. Thanks again.

[the_otter]