Some quick fire questions. Advice please.

[OrangeSoda]

Thanks to everyone who has been replying to my posts and in general to other people. Every post I read I learn something new! and this is after hours and hours of research over the past few weeks!


1. What is the most important thing that recruiter will look for? Is it the information on their form and the experience first then then maybe CV/photo then cover letter?

2. My CV is well set out, but it does contain a lot of information. I am not sure which way it would be favourable, either having an easy to read CV with basic information or a CV with detailed information [which I have used to get my current job].

3. If an unmarried couple - both applying for a position within the school: is it better to leave it out of the cover letter that you are applying with your partner, or to mention that you are and you will be married soon? [which is what I have done]

4. If I am British but I have an Indian name which may look hard to pronounce, would this put some of the schools off? I know this is silly but someone has mentioned this to me.


Next week for me is going to be about ringing some agencies such as teachaway/teachanywhere etc. and signing up to Search and TIE after some recommendations.


I think whatever I may create a massive FAQ - Teaching abroad at some point in the near future with the most commonly asked questions and answers from great posters. As of yet, I am still on the hunt and still learning so that can wait!

[PsyGuy]

1) The two most important (and id argue the only important factors) a recruiter cares about is primarily what you have taught and secondary what you can teach.

They look at experience first, what are you specifically teaching now. If im looking for someone to teach DIP physics having a candidate whos teaching that right now specifically is very valuable to me. having taught 12 grade physics isnt the same or a science teacher thats doing chemistry now and physics a couple years ago, even less so. The further you get from the actual vacancy i need to fill the less desirable you become.

After experience your degree and then certifications are what get looked at. A math candidate with an actual degree/major in math is much more comforting to me assuring me of your ability to know the content. I really then just need to determine your teaching ability and your "fit".

Fit is the last factor, and the reason why recruiters go to fairs, to determine who will your going to fit in their school culture and the regional environment.

2) Your resume should ahve all the details it needs to to adequately and accurately represent your skills, and experience. It should also highlight the key most recent nd important factors, with diminishing focus as you go back in time. If you graduated 20 years ago, no one cares if you were on the honor roll. Likewise your recent experiences should focus on the marketable. We all know that if you taught HS history that you actually prepared lessons, marked papers and exams and "taught classes". You want to high light (using a larger font, bold, underline, etc) where you were, when, and what your job title was

2012 2013 - Counselor - Los Angeles, CA.
* 6-12 grade counselor for Acme High School. Provided mental health guidance addressing the needs of potato bug relationships with other adolescent developing potato bugs.

You generally want one bullet point/accomplishment for each year of experience. When i have a candidate with half a dozen bullet point for their student teaching I know they are either inflated or trivial.

3) Your marital status belongs in the first line of your cover letter. In some countries (mainly EU) you do not want that in your resume.

4) Yes it could put some schools off, as they may not consider you a native english speaker/westerner. There is little you can do about it though, other then changing your name or taking your wifes name when your married (which is still changing your name).

I would stay away from teachaway/teachanywhere they mainly work with bottom tier school and municipal school in bottom tier locations/regions. They really are designed for recent or new graduates looking for intern type jobs. If thats the way you want to go your better off at that point just finding a bilingual/ELL school, as you will have more options.

[OrangeSoda]

Excellent, thanks PsyGuy. And for the heads up on teachaway/teachanywhere. Although one of my colleagues has got an interview through one of them for a job in Abu Dhabi.

5. What about email addresses? I use my a hotmail address with my full name as contact details but I have applied through my official school email as well just to see if it would change anything!


I've always wanted to say 'pretty fly for a Psy Guy...' for no apparent reason and now you're probably thinking 'no wonder he can't get an interview...'

[shadowjack]

For recruiting I created a new email account using my name and initials. I don't use it for anything but recruiting and contacting schools (OK, now I use it only for the school which hired me!)

ie if my name was Patty Cake, my email would be pcake@<insert provider here>

[OrangeSoda]

[quote="shadowjack"]For recruiting I created a new email account using my name and initials. I don't use it for anything but recruiting and contacting schools (OK, now I use it only for the school which hired me!)

ie if my name was Patty Cake, my email would be pcake@<insert provider here>[/quote]

Hi shadowjack,

I have a professional account which used for applying for jobs and also any other professional reasons. It is e.g. 'Patty_Cake@hotmail.co.uk' what I was thinking is if hotmail is okay to use?

[sid]

I'd skip hotmail or yahoo and go for gmail. The first two sometimes have issues in different countries and can be shunted to junk mail or not delivered.

As a recruiter, I don't really have a priority list of what's most important. I'm looking at the whole package. What can you teach, what's your experience, what's your credentials, what do your referees say (both in letters and when I call them), what schools have you been in, how long did you stay, what's your family situation, how reflective are you about your practice and what does your reflection tell me about your suitability for our school, etc, etc. Any piece of that can be a bonus or a hindrance.

[shadowjack]

I echo Sid on gmail. That's the one I use, although my main account for personal use is with another provider (17 years ago, gmail didn't exist!)

[PsyGuy]

@OrangeSoda

Its fine to use a public email service like hotmail, or yahoo, or gmail, as long as the name is professional and preferably some model of your name. I too use gmail, they have a great dedicated app as well. Sometimes mail will get sent to spam/junk mail, but it can happen with gmail as well. I would use hotmail because you can open documents in MS "live" apps such as word or excel (admittedly you can do this with goggle docs as well on gmail) but i can attach files from my drop box using hotmail as well, which I cant do with gmail.

[OrangeSoda]

Hi again people,

Just want to say thanks for all the assistance over the past few weeks in this and other threads, keep up the good work!

Also that myself and my partner won't be pursuing the dream this year, there's just too much going on and we have spent a lot of time with applications to get nothing back and we can't keep investing that time unfortunately.

However, we feel next year we will be more prepared and will also invest time into the fairs etc. I think we also need a bit of experience with the CV and cover letters to make things stand out in terms of what schools want in the ME. With barely having 2 years experience it will be take a lot to even be considered so I will still keep up with this forum and prepare for next year!

[shadowjack]

Keep us posted, Orangesoda, and don't give up!