Search found 18 matches

by Malarazz
Mon Dec 02, 2019 5:59 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How to apply to International Schools without experience?
Replies: 6
Views: 8387

Re: How to apply to International Schools without experience

By the way, what part of this cold emailing experience am I generally required to produce references? Before or after the Skype interview?

I ask because my ESL job, even though it is at a great school, didn't ask for my references. So I haven't asked anyone to *be* my reference yet, even though I have 3-4 in mind. Trying to avoid asked them, unless an IS is serious about potentially hiring me. I hate bothering people lol.
by Malarazz
Sun Dec 01, 2019 11:21 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How to apply to International Schools without experience?
Replies: 6
Views: 8387

How to apply to International Schools without experience?

I have a nice part-time job teaching English, so I'm not in a hurry to enter the IT world. But I wanna see what's out there just in case there is a decent IS (idk what this means, upper tier 3/lower tier 2 I guess?) that wants to hire a teacher with no experience. As far as I've researched in this forum, this is getting to be the end of the recruitment period, so if any decent IS struck out during the regular recruitment period, they might loosen their standards and give me a chance, who knows.

I'm an American citizen credentialed to teach Math, Econ (double-majored in them in college), and Business through the state of MA. I'm also CELTA-credentialed and have like 2 years of experience tutoring Math in college (which probably doesn't count for much). My references are probably average or even subpar though, not sure.

Anywho, since I don't have any experience, I can't really use SA or ISS (yes, I know I could apply as an intern, but I'm not sure that's a better idea than being a full-fledged teacher at a worse school). So my question is, how exactly do I apply to International Schools? Go on the ISR website, "list of schools reviewed on ISR", google the school to find their contact information, and then just cold email them? Hope whoever reads my email forwards it to an HR person or hiring manager? And what should the email consist of? A brief description of why I'm sending it, with my resume and cover letter as attachments? Or the cover letter in the body of the email, with only the resume as an attachment?

My top priorities are Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia. But I'd be open to working on any decent IS virtually anywhere in Asia or Latin America.

Thanks!
by Malarazz
Mon Oct 21, 2019 10:05 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How to tell what's a real IS and how to apply
Replies: 8
Views: 11414

Re: How to tell what's a real IS and how to apply

Thanks for the tips everyone.

I avoided the three schools Heliotrope mentioned because I have to assume there's not a snowball's chance in hell they would ever hire someone with no experience.

Instead I emailed the other three Manila schools listed on ISR, as well as two schools from the wikipedia list not listed on ISR, asking to visit the campus and saying that I would like my name to be considered if a relevant vacancy opens up.

@sid, makes sense, but to me the definition of "international school" is simple. It's a school where in the future my experience will be considered real international school experience by the recruiters of the top tier schools such as the ones Heliotrope mentioned. I assume every school listed on ISR fits this definition. But I have no idea how I would even find out if the schools listed on wikipedia but not listed on ISR fit this definition.

@Heliotrope yeah, I'm weird like that. Though I would also like to work in Cebu or Davao just as much. It's just that I didn't think to do this when I was in those places. Probably wouldn't have had the chance to do it in Cebu anyway, too busy with the CELTA.
by Malarazz
Mon Oct 21, 2019 11:17 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How to tell what's a real IS and how to apply
Replies: 8
Views: 11414

How to tell what's a real IS and how to apply

Hey, I'm a 28yo Math (and Econ/Business) teacher with a US passport (does this matter?) credentialed through the state of MA but with no real experience and medium references. To be honest, I'm not 100% set on the IT career path right now. So much so that I just completed the CELTA, and was about to look for work in language schools in Vietnam. And keep the option open to pivot into IT in the near future.

That said, I'm in the Philippines right now, and I kinda like it here. So I figured it might be a good idea to throw my name out there and see if I get a bite. If not, no harm no foul. But if I do, something good might come out of it. In other words, I feel like it might be a good idea to apply to International Schools in metro Manila that I have a realistic chance of being hired at. It might even be a good idea to try to set up a meet with a few of those schools to express interest.

To that end, how do I know what's an international school vs an "international" school? And can I tell which schools are prestigious, so that they would never hire a teacher with no experience like me, vs a mid/low tier school that could realistically agree to hire a Math teacher with no experience in November?

Also, for the applying part, how exactly do I do that, for schools that I won't visit? Do I look for their website and try to apply on there, or what? As far as I've seen, someone like me with no experience can't use ISS or Search.

I found this list in wikipedia, and there are a surprisingly number of schools, but again, I have no idea how to tell one from the other: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_i ... tro_Manila
by Malarazz
Thu Aug 22, 2019 2:58 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Getting a real job at a real school without experience
Replies: 90
Views: 81201

Re: Getting a real job at a real school without experience

Thanks for that. I mailed in my diplomas to get them apostilled for a random country, and mailed my background check as well to the US State Dept. I got another dumb question though. You should start charging by the hour, would make a killing LOL.

I just called the MA licensing department like you suggested above, the lady actually spoke with her manager because she wasn't sure, but the manager confirmed they do NOT notarize teaching certifications at all. She said that they do have the official stamp of the MA DoE I guess, but is that good enough in place of a notarization? Can I mail the license straight to the MA SoS for an apostille? Or do I have to mail it to an MA notary first, wait to receive it back in the mail, and *then* send it to the MA SoS? Or maybe I can go in-person to an LA notary and have him do it?

Also, she said the price is $25 *per copy*, which is frankly absurd. Do you think one apostilled copy is good enough, if I don't know in what country I'll end up teaching? Maybe one apostilled copy and another notarized non-apostilled copy, in case I end up in a non-Hague country such as China or Vietnam, that I can then use to get authenticated.
by Malarazz
Tue Aug 13, 2019 2:51 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Getting a real job at a real school without experience
Replies: 90
Views: 81201

Re: Getting a real job at a real school without experience

Hey there, been a while.

So I'm finally getting around to certifying my documents. I have the 5 notarized copies of each diploma, and the FBI background check. Should be getting the MA MTEL results back on Friday.

I called the Iowa Secretary of State office about apostilling/authenticating my diplomas, and to my surprise the lady said you *need* to have the name of the country you're going to. You can't just do a general apostille/authentication like I was hoping for.

https://sos.iowa. gov/business/pdf/APCERT.pdf

What do you think I should do while I'm still in the US? Getting a few copies for countries that I *might* end up working in, like China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines? Or just skip the apostille process for now, take my 5 notarized copies abroad with me (I'm leaving for Asia around Sept 10 regardless), and then have the apostille done internationally after I get a job offer and know which country I'll be working for?

I haven't called the US Dept of State Office of Authentications yet about apostilling the FBI background check, but I'm assuming I would run into the same problem.
by Malarazz
Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:14 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Getting a real job at a real school without experience
Replies: 90
Views: 81201

Re: Getting a real job at a real school without experience

Okay, you convinced me, I'll call my Uni tomorrow. Thanks again!

What about ISs? Does Econ fall under the Business license umbrella for them? What would they think when they see that extra Business credential? I'm not sure about the History/SS MTELs, but at least the Business test is like 15% Econ questions.

End of September is pretty awkward. I'm gonna be in Asia by then. But it's fine, I'm sure I can just send it off to the MA SoS and have my mom send it to me after I leave. The extra US SoS apostille is just a bonus, right, not really necessary? If I just get a math+econ apostille from MA and a math+econ non-apostille authentication (in case I want to go to China or some other non-apostille country), that should be enough, right?
by Malarazz
Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:05 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Getting a real job at a real school without experience
Replies: 90
Views: 81201

Re: Getting a real job at a real school without experience

Really, why do you advise the Iowa route? The Louisiana notary> IA/LA secretary seems easier to me. But if there's another benefit of the Iowa route that I'm not thinking of, please let me know. That being said, I tried to go to Chase today and they said they don't offer free notary services in Louisiana, so you might be right, it might be prohibitively expensive to notarize so many copies down here. I'll have to look into that next week.

The problem is that I'm a Math+Econ double major, and when I graduated I opted for the "double degree" option as opposed to the "single degree double major" option. This was never a big deal up until now.

I'm thinking I use Math as the main one, apostille one copy and authenticate (for China or other non-apostille countries) another copy, and then notarize 3 extra copies or so. Then for my Econ degree, I either do nothing, or just notarize a couple copies but don't apostille any.

By the way, I'm gonna have a Math+Business (they don't an Econ MTEL) double credential from MA also - assuming I pass both tests. Do you know how that works, do I get a single card listing both subjects, or two cards, one for each (i.e. double the apostille fees)?

Also while I'm at it, I saw on the website my score report date is supposed to be Aug 16. Given that, any clue approximately when I can expect to have the MA credential in hand, apostilled, and ready to fly with me to Asia?
by Malarazz
Fri Jul 12, 2019 1:16 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Getting a real job at a real school without experience
Replies: 90
Views: 81201

Re: Getting a real job at a real school without experience

Thank you so much! This comment was insanely helpful. I'll get started on all that.

God, such an annoying process. Which is made worse by the fact that I don't know where exactly I'll end up.
by Malarazz
Fri Jul 12, 2019 1:41 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Years lived overseas in a non-teaching capacity - SA
Replies: 11
Views: 13094

Re: Years lived overseas in a non-teaching capacity - SA

Sooo which of these are marketable and I should incorporate on resume/interview, and which are pointless and recruiters don't care about?

* Grew up in Brazil until age 14, and later went back and lived and worked there for another 2 years (though I'm a Brazilian American dual Citizen, so maybe that makes this less cool).
* Studied 6 weeks abroad in London and later a semester in Australia
* Traveled to 18 countries
* Can speak 2 languages fluently and a 3rd "advanced" (maybe)
by Malarazz
Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:53 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Getting a real job at a real school without experience
Replies: 90
Views: 81201

Re: Getting a real job at a real school without experience

Sorry for the late reply everyone. I got busy with traveling and moving abroad and all, you know how it goes. Plus I didn't wanna get in the way of your lively discussion haha.

Anyway, I have two more questions that aren't super relevant to the OP, but kinda relevant. Plus they don't seem interesting enough to warrant their own threads, so I'll just post them here.

A) are MA provisional licenses stigmatized by hiring managers? Do recruiters actively favor someone with a "real," say, D.C. license? Or it doesn't really matter, they only care that you check the credential box.

B) While I'm still living in the US, should I get my bachelor's degree notarized just in case I get hired by a Chinese school? Or should I wait until after I get hired, because there's a chance I might not need it, even though that risks having to do it from abroad? I live in Louisiana but my University is in Iowa, I'm not sure if that creates a huge hassle or not. Either way, should I notarize my soon-to-come MA licenses as well? I'm not even sure if I need a notarization or an Apostille. To be honest, maybe this question did deserve its own thread, it's all so complicated.
by Malarazz
Wed Jul 10, 2019 12:02 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Can we make a tier list for countries based on difficulty?
Replies: 8
Views: 11164

Re: Can we make a tier list for countries based on difficult

Sorry I didn't realize we had done this before. Any idea how I could search for or find that thread? I have no clue how to use the search function correctly in this forum.

So Malaysia is the hardest of the 4 to get hired at, Philippines is kinda hard, Jakarta is kinda easy, and Vietnam is the easiest but only because the ISs suck. That correct? And then China is even easier still, specially since it's a massive country. Where would DR and Colombia land in that scale, when compared to Asian countries?
by Malarazz
Wed Jul 10, 2019 3:34 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Can we make a tier list for countries based on difficulty?
Replies: 8
Views: 11164

Can we make a tier list for countries based on difficulty?

I mean a tier list for Asian and Latin American countries based on how easy or how difficult it is to land a job there.

For example, Venezuela ought to be the easiest due to the political crisis, so maybe let's call it tier 4. I'm not sure which is the hardest but I'm guessing Mexico, so let's call it tier 1. I'm assuming China and Sri Lanka (based on someone else's comment in another thread) are easy too, so let's call those tier 3 or even tier 4.

I'm specially interested in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines (do they even have international schools there?).

Of course, I know there are more important factors, such as the specific city you're applying for and specially which specific school you're applying for. But really I'm just curious.

If people like the idea of this post, feel free to discuss European (tier 0 lol), African, and Middle Eastern countries in this thread. But I personally am only interested in those two continents for the time being.
by Malarazz
Mon May 20, 2019 5:50 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Getting a real job at a real school without experience
Replies: 90
Views: 81201

Re: Getting a real job at a real school without experience

Again, thanks everyone for your comments.

@Thames Pirate wrote:
> If you are also certified in econ, that's a huge plus.

Wait, is it really? So if I get a double credential in MA in Math and Econ, that would be a lot more helpful than a single credential in Math? I've never considered that, but I'm sure it can't be that hard to add a second subject on the credential. And if you're right that it's a huge plus, then it should definitely be worthwhile to try doing that, whatever the extra work may be.

@sid wrote:
> If you’re willing to go somewhere risky that still has real schools, look for countries that have recently lost stability.
> Sri Lanka and Burkina Faso come to mind at the moment.

Interesting suggestions, I'll keep that in mind, specially Sri Lanka. I'm sure it would be safer than Venezuela.

@shadowjack wrote:
> Get the certification. Teach two years of Math in the States. Then go overseas.

Unfortunately, that is not an option. For one, there are the logistical problems like PsyGuy talked about. But also, I really do not want to live in the US any longer than the 2-3 months it will take to get credentialed. To the point that if my only option to become an IT was to do the 2 years domestic, I would just forget about it and do TEFL instead, and go live in Asia or Latin America. That being said, based on my research, everyone talks about how IT is a much better career, and it honestly sounds more fun too (besides the longer work hours). So I'd rather give it a fair go and hopefully I'll be able to find a job somewhere that is an acceptable substitute for those 2 years domestic. And if for some crazy reason I can't find one, I'll get a CELTA and do TEFL for the foreseeable future and maybe in 8 to 10 years I'll decide I've had enough and come back to the US and finally do those 2 years domestic. But definitely not now.

@PsyGuy wrote:
> Its reasonable that one of the upper tier or mid tier ISs either the BS or AS could be interested, since your
> background and credential, even with a lack of experience would be maths.

Oh man, sorry but all these acronyms are throwing me for a loop. I understand ISs means International Schools, but when you say "either the BS or AS could be interested", what does that mean? What is the SCD program, from a google search it appears to be the UK equivalent of a PhD? And I understand LW refers to me, but I'm just curious what it stands for?

@Psyguy wrote:
> China is probably the best candidate. Its huge, has a lot of demand, choice of three capital cities plus numerous
> secondary cities, many ISs alongside ESs. It takes a long time to get a visa, relative to other regions. You go to one
> of the many job boards (such as Daves ESL cafe), you get a job, you get a visa. You fly over there, get an apartment,
> start putting together secondary side hustles, some private students, meanwhile you keep your eyes and ears open
> for a local maths vacancy, you meet for an interview, they typically hire on the spot.

I'm starting to like that plan. Move to China right around November after I get my MA credential(s) and teach English. Be on the lookout for IT positions from December up until April or whenever it is that recruiting tends to end. Maybe I'll get very lucky like Thames Pirate's friend and get a job at a tier 2 school in Malaysia at that point. Otherwise, I'll hope find a job at a worse school and/or worse location. Either way, I'll tell my english school "sorry guys, gotta run, peace out~" 4 months into the contract and start acquiring IT experience.
by Malarazz
Tue May 14, 2019 8:53 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Getting a real job at a real school without experience
Replies: 90
Views: 81201

Re: Getting a real job at a real school without experience

Great answers. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

@FV2020 wrote:
> You could also consider schools in Venezuela. Obviously there is a very difficult situation there now, and it is a
> huge risk to go there, but that means it is difficult for them to fill vacancies, especially for schools that are 3rd tier.

Venezuela is an interesting option. Honestly, I wouldn't mind petty crime (like robbery) and the poor infrastructure. I would only be really concerned with kidnapping, specially since I've read it's rampant over there and I would stick out like a sore thumb as a white blond guy who only speaks intermediate Spanish. Still, it's worth a thought, specially if I could be fast-tracked into a 2nd or 3rd tier school, or an IB school, because like you said, they may be having trouble hiring teachers due to the current situation. That raises a question though, would international schools prefer to hire an American teacher with no experience licensed in the US as opposed to a local teacher with many years of experience who speaks English fluently? Why is that?

@FV2020 wrote:
> Since pay is less of a concern you could also try to sign up with Search as an intern.

How does that work? What are the differences between being hired at an international school as an intern as opposed to being hired at a worse/lower-tier school as a real teacher? Which experience would look better on the resume two years from now?

@PsyGuy wrote:
> Generally ESs just have a business license (if that) and dont pursue or have accreditation, but there are ISs that wouldnt
> count that do, though those are less common. Curriculum is surprising a vague term in IE. It can really mean anything,
> and while something like IB is practically a guarantee that youre at a real IS, in terms of US and UK NCs, anyone can say
> they teach those, even if all it means is they hired some US or UK ITS and they teach content. Its less common when you
> ahve some kind of SLL program

What are ESs? What's an SLL program?

@Psyguy wrote:
> You should ABSOLUTELY have a backup plan. Mainly your backup plan will be your best option at actually getting into an
> IS. Youre a more logistically stronger candidate as an LH than an OSH, and the ESOL gets you in country and then youll
> have access to local vacancies that just arent advertised on the circuit.

I'm assuming LH means local hire and OSH means overseas hire? So are you saying that if I live, for example, 1 year in China as an ESOL, that would open up better IT-math opportunities than if I simply searched for those opportunities online? It's an interesting idea. To that point, I'm assuming I also count as a local hire in Brazil, as @FV2020 suggested, even if I won't be living in Brazil at the time that I search for jobs? I'm an American and Brazilian dual citizen.

@Psyguy wrote:
> Early Recruiting starts around October/November, but youre not going to really be a participant except at the third tier
> ISs who prey on ITs who dont know any better. You arent going to really see much action on your resume until the Spring
> hiring stage in the recruiting cycle which starts around April.

Aren't those dodgy third tier ISs that no one else wants what I'm shooting for though? Because like you said, everyone else is flocking to the better third/second tier ISs, so those schools would rather hire someone who has real experience and not me.

@Psyguy wrote:
> and if you cant then try to do the ET option, aiming for a city with a large IE presence, that with your MA credential and
> background you can keep your senses open to a local IE opportunity. You can do that and still recruit in the 2019 cycle.

Yeah, I think you're right, that sounds like the best plan. How would I go about figuring out which cities have a large IE presence?

Again, thanks everyone for your suggestions.