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Each year, thousands of people travel to a foreign country on their way to positions teaching English to the people of their host country. Often these teachers wonder how to serve the needs of the students in their classes, how to apply the ESL methods they have learned to the ESL/EFL environment they find, and how to earn the respect and thanks of the people they will teach.
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“You will probably teach some classes you didn't anticipate” |
Because the overseas recruiting season is compressed recruiters have very little time to learn about the candidates. Imagine, the overseas recruiters have a week or two to interview the whole pool of applicants! They have no time to explain the basics to you individually. They expect a certain level of preparedness. If you do not know what a CV is, what questions to ask, how to negotiate a contract or how to submit your paperwork — you can’t expect to have a meaningful conversation, or expect to win any job offers! What are my chances? We receive a lot of emails asking the same question: What are my chances? It's hard to provide with an estimate, based on an email (BA/MA, 5 years' experience, etc.) because all CVs are more or less the same, while recruitment is highly personal. Great qualifications do not guarantee a job. On the other hand, people with modest credentials are hired all the time. It's how you use your chances that determines your result. You have to stop guesstimating and start applying! Seriously, everyone has a chance if they begin to look. If you are not a teacher (no degree, no teaching credential) our progam will not help you. Schools hire teachers, not those who "want to be teachers". Bear in mind that the international schools have their specifics that dictate who gets hired and who goes home empty-handed. Oftentimes, it is not the best teachers who get selected but rather those who demonstrate the ability to fit in. For more specifics, please complete the Self Evaluation part of the Insider Secrets... this will allow you to estimate where your best bets are and what recruitment route you should take.
This is what our program is all about
— to reveal the inner mechanics of the market and prepare you for
the new overseas job.
How do I find these recruiters in the first place? We discuss several strategies that prove to be successful year after year. You will have more information than you need. The ideal situation is to order the program in advance so you have time to prepare. A lot of people wait until the very last moment and then realize that there is not enough time to implement the program. The two popular methods are: contact employers directly and respond to ads. If you look for work at an established international school you should never wait for a relevant ad to appear. Here's why.
Because these schools are all listed
in our Overseas Schools Directory (including names, email addresses,
phone numbers, curriculum info, special ed. programs, facilities,
enrollment, etc, etc.) and people apply directly. Many of these
schools do not post any job ads. Looking for these posts is a big
waste of time, because the schools receive a lot of direct
applications to choose from. We will show you how to use our
information to establish a relationship with the school.
Responding to job ads. Yes, we publish vacancies daily, some examples. We also maintain large amounts of archived vacancies, dating as far back as 2000. This is because old jobs postings can also be very effective for generating hot leads. This is particularly true for administrative jobs, librarians, school psychologists and other schools specialists but most of all, ESL jobs. Almost every European country has several thousand commercial ESL schools. They rely on advertising, both online and offline. The other employers are Christian schools, US military schools (US bases overseas), US government agencies (e.g. USIA), foreign government programs (JET-Japan); international organizations (such as United Nations, UNISEF, Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe) and many other private funds and programs. Read the Chapter KNOW THY EMPLOYER before you even begin your search. You need to know the market to determine your best options. What is the biggest mistake? Procrastination. A lot of people only dream about going overseas, never taking any action. Dreaming will not get you anywhere. Here's a good example. There is a small town in upstate New York that we visit every summer. Year after year we pass one house; there is this woman sitting on her porch, yawning. We have been around the world, with 2 dozen visas in our passports while she is still sitting there. We are all free to make our choices. You must start as soon as possible, even though you do not plan to go overseas immediately. Start with exploring the schools and their webpages. All reputable schools are listed. Not just names and addresses but comprehensive descriptions, curricular, country fact sheets, staff specialists, class sizes, enrollment, accreditation, etc. Why do I need these details? You should avoid the schools that are not accredited by independent international organizations, such as New England, Western and CIS. There are many schools that are run solely for profit, and they are "easier" as far as landing jobs is concerned. Also, cheaper, since they usually do not spend any cash on recruiting fairs for face to face interviews. As a result, you may encounter some unpleasant surprises.
For example:
What about the other resources, books, for example. Use them! Of course they are twice as expensive, contain less information and do not come with any of the extras we offer: free online resumes, daily vacancies, and direct support. They are for reading. Our program is a practical tool for LANDING jobs. Today, everything is online — if you know where to look. The problem is that finding reliable information has become difficult. For example, a well-known site dedicated to reviews of international schools, written by teachers. Alongside with the truthful reviews there is an appalling amount of pure fiction. The reviewers are anonymous, so they can publish any unsubstantiated claims, any gossip, — anything! And they do. The temptation is simply too hard to resist, when somebody's contract is not renewed. (While we also have the Warnings and Alerts section on the members' site, we only publish reports based on facts. E.g. specific details of contract violations. Opinions are not admitted.) Why your program is so different? Having taught overseas for many years, we distilled our experience and research into this resource. We believe that in the world of automation and mass marketing a personal approach will become more and more effective. So we read and answer every email - using the keyboard, not an auto responder. The webpages that we build for our customers (online resumes) are made by hand and so on. What kind of people order the program? We have an outstanding customer base. Teachers, students, ESL professionals, administrators, and just curious people. Because of the low price it is affordable to everybody. Where do people come from? Primarily USA, UK, Canada but also Australia, New Zealand as well as other countries, such as France, Holland, India, Thailand, Spain, Italy, Mexico, and many others.
It has been a great pleasure to run this site (we started it in 1996, with a single webpage and a guide on stapled paper). We are lucky we have these types of customers. Teachers, especially overseas teachers, know that the world is indeed small and those who have more friends -win.
Kind
regards,
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“The ideal situation is to order the
program in advance so you have time to prepare.” |
Teaching Jobs Overseas /
JOYJOBS.COM |
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