Happy Hallowe'en, Jobs

Hi all,

Happy All Hallow's Eve! For those who celebrate it, I hope you're going to have a great night, and that lot's of trick-or-treaters come to your door! It's my favorite time of the year, and I have my costume all picked out. I'll reveal it after tonight's party, as it's meant to be a surprise, so in case any of my guests are reading... I'll keep 'em wondering.

Found a stable job! I was originally working part-time in two positions. The former, an afternoon one-to-one tutoring position, was an excellent position, but unstable. Students didn't always show up, which meant I didn't get paid, and of course, it wasn't a lot of hours of work.

The latter, a morning job, is ESL Teaching, as in with a full class. It's definitely what I've trained and gotten my Certification for, and I'm quite happy with it. We just had our Hallowe'en party, and my students loved the Hanbok I wore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanbok. I was, of course, wearing a man's version.

On Friday, I got a call from another school, for whom I had interviewed about positions starting in Mid-November. They were in a bit of a panic because a teacher had had some family difficulties, and had to leave earlier than they'd thought. While that's not the way I'd want to have been offered a position, I'm pleased that they offered it to me. It's an afternoon position, from 1-5:30 PM, teaching Pre-CTP (College Training Program), which is designed to help students get into Canadian Universities if they're not Native English speakers. I'll also be teaching some grammar. I start on Monday, so, while I'm taking today to clean the house, and have the Hallowe'en party, I'll be working away at the lesson plan for Monday tomorrow, on Sunday! Busy weekend, eh?

Still, I'm looking forward to it, if a bit nervous. I like that I get to teach the same material in a rotating schedule (basically, finish Unit X and go back to the first one, Y, repeat). It might seem a bit boring, but then, it means I don't have to keep reinventing the wheel. I design my units the first time, and then tweak them as time goes on, fixing mistakes, adding in new elements, and keeping it timely and interesting.

If I choose to change class levels, then I start again lesson-prep-wise, but still, it's a good system. It's one that I wish we'd had in Korea. Our school tended to change the books constantly, and I found that teachers who had the same books, even if bored, knew how to teach those books well and to get the most out of them for the students.

Well, I'm about to head off for the party. In keeping with my last theme, I'll give you some tips/thoughts on job-hunting in the field. Next time, I think I'll talk about some of the best places to work abroad. My experience isn't as diverse as others, but I've kept my ears open, and if I can share some resources for those who want to do the same thing, I'm happy to do so.

Happy Hallowe'en/Samhain,

Chris

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Some further comments on getting a job in our field:


One thing I can comment on for sure when hunting for a job in ESL: Highlight a few key points on your resume. For example, I put my teaching experience on the front page, as well as my Certifications and Educational Experience. However, don't *just* say where you studied--demonstrate a few things that you did while studying. For example, for my MA, I have listed for some time the accomplishment I'm most proud of from my tenure at U Waterloo: my thesis. I designed, researched, and completed it in 9 months, which is far faster than most. Most interviewers don't have time to read through two pages to find the information you wrote for them. You have to make the first page highlight key items, because the person reading it is likely swamped, stressed out about finding a good candidate, fast, and no doubt has 25 more to read before he/she can go home for the day!

Make sure you emphasize what you've done while teaching, of course. Designed your own curriculum daily? That's a major skill! Designed a presentation and debate course? Again, a useful ability to present to an ESL college in Canada. Practiced Communicative Language method? Good! It ought to be right there with your qualifications and skills listed on the first page!

Most of this should, of course, be basic stuff to anybody on the job trail, but I'm guilty of forgetting it, and I'm lucky in that my partner is a professional career counsellor! She often keeps me from making too many mistakes.

During the interview, try to relax. Most people get hung up on the idea that you're there to be evaluated, that you need to be spectacular and amazing and on the ball and experienced and confident and calm and... stressed yet?

You're there to evaluate the *job,* too. I find that the jobs for which I've been hired were the ones where I went in, asked a lot of questions about the company, and about why the interviewer thinks they're the best. After all, if you're going to work for them, they'd better be a decent company, no? If I don't like the place, I thank the interviewer for their time, and politely decline later on. I don't like throwing away an offer, of course, but if the job didn't jive, I'm only going to hate it later on and be back out on the streets again hunting for work!

Furthermore, the jobs I got offers for all came out of interviews where the interviewer and I ended up chatting about our field, why we got into it, how we like to teach, etc. Your resume and cover letter are the first step--they establish your credentials. If you've been called in for an interview, they already know about those credentials. Sure, you should provide examples of your strengths, of what you do well, and so forth, but at the same time, the interviewer is trying to go past the facts and figures on your resume, and to get to know you.

Ask yourself this question: If you're going to hire somebody, who would you want to hire? Somebody who you like, and has the skills you want, or someone who is only there to go through the interview motions, despite their skills?

There's a lot of competition in the field. As long as you make a good personal connection with the other person you interview with, you should be fine. Teachers, the best ones, are often the most personable people in the world--after all, they really care about their students.

All the best, folks!

Chris