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During the interview process, no one asked Stacey for any of her accreditations. Instead she was asked for passport pictures.
“To them, an English person is white,” so “being white,” in many of the smaller schools in Asia, is the best prerequisite, she added.
Stacey also nailed down employment through logging on to the Internet.
Dave’s ESL Cafe put her in touch with the principal of the school in Mudanjiang, China, who hired her after approving her pictures and engaging in one short telephone conversation on a cell phone with a poor connection.
Kristiena, 24, University Graduate from Canada
After her older brother returned from Japan where he taught English for years and was eventually promoted to the principal of a school, she decided that she would also head to Japan to teach and pay off her student loans.
As she was a recent university graduate and therefore had the prerequisite degree, she did not even investigate any additional courses like the one Stacey took. When she arrived in Japan, she was glad that she didn’t as her degree served as more than enough certification for both the school jobs she maintained and the private tutoring jobs.
Kristiena did some initial job hunting on the Internet before she left, but ultimately decided to do the bulk of her job hunting in person, once she arrived.
She discovered, like Stacey, that they were interested in her once they saw and spoke to her. In addition, almost all of the schools required she take their version of an English teacher’s course prior to starting work at their school.
Very few of the schools she applied at had any interest in her resume. This is not to say, of course, that you can get a teaching job overseas if you are completely devoid of all suggested certification; only that it is wise to start researching and job hunting before spending unnecessary money on courses that might go unnoticed.
Kristiena's boyfriend, Michel, for example, who accompanied her without the full completion of his undergraduate degree, had no trouble securing a job without extra certification, but he later had to work around more restrictive visa regulations.
In Asia, you can teach for an unlimited number of years if you hold a university degree. However, without a degree, your teaching time must be limited to one inclusive year.
Tracey, 23, University Student With Canadian and Irish Citizenship
After a one year internship, Tracey decided to take the summer off to go to Ireland to visit some friends and family.
“I thought that it would be fun and adventurous. I was sick of the day to day work that I was doing and I felt like I needed some fun in my life.”
“It’s always been something that I wanted to do and because I had family over there, I already felt comfortable in the country and had people to fall back on, should something have gone wrong. I love to meet people and go out and dance and have fun, so I thought a summer in Ireland would do the trick!" she added.
Tracey also used the Internet as a tool to indicate the job market. She logged on to Galway and Dublin’s local newspaper websites to search for jobs in hotels or restaurants.
She noticed there were only a few job postings in these areas and became a little nervous that the job market in Ireland that summer might be a little oversaturated. Holding an Irish passport and knowing she had relatives she could stay with if she did not find a job, Tracey got on the plane anyway.
When she arrived in Galway, she realized that she was correct and most of the summer positions in hospitality had been filled. Had she been willing to work anywhere in Ireland, she might have had more choice, but with a willingness to work only in limited areas, she realized she should have started researching much earlier to secure employment.
She did luck out, however, when she managed to catch the Human Resources personnel at a local hotel at the right moment. Tracey credits her letters of reference which she brought with her from Canada as her saving grace which landed her the job.
“She asked about my previous experiences working with the public and why I would be good for the job. I then showed her a couple letter of references as it would be difficult for them to call my references in Canada," she told me.
By doing this, she not only provided her future employer with glowing reports about her workmanship, but also demonstrated her organization and professionalism. She suggests this tip to anyone who plans to attempt to secure any job overseas, especially in the summer or times of job saturation.
Mariela, 23, from Spain
Mariela decided to work abroad to improve her language skills. "Here, in Spain, the English language is very important for every job but I wasn't very happy about my level,” she said.
“I have been studying English for a long time—about 10 years, but I wasn’t prepared enough. I think we have a very bad way to study English, in school. [The teachers] just teach grammar and theory, never speaking, and the pronunciation is hard for us, it's so different!” she said.
So, Mariela decided to take matters into her own hands and do something about her English speaking skills. She hoped a job in the United Kingdom would be the solution
Mariela went about things in a slightly different manner, however. Already feeling the burden of a language barrier, she decided a mediator would be helpful in her application process, so she contacted a job agency.
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These agencies are very helpful if you’re trying to secure a job in a country where a foreing language is spoken. They will put you in touch with employers who are willing to hire individuals who are not native speakers. Mariela simply presented the agency with her resume and a list of requirements—a live-in position in an English-speaking country.
Once she had completed a set of mandatory examinations outlining her skills, the results were sent to an agency in London.
“About one week later, they gave me my ‘destination’,” she said.
“If I agreed, I was leaving Spain a week later, If I didn't agree I would have to wait an indefinite time. So, I said yes to my first destination."
"It was my first trip out of Spain, so I chose an agency that looked for an hotel, accommodation, plane tickets, a map—all these kinds of things. If you don’t feel well and you don’t like the place where you work, you can ask for another [job], and they do it for you,” she added.
Laurel, 23, University Graduate from Canada
Laurel wanted to work in England and she also used an agency, but not because of the language barrier. She didn’t want to work at the typical hospitality jobs that most travelers secure in the UK. She wanted to develop a career and found it very difficult to break into the job market there without any contacts.
She found a recruitment agency in London to be the best solution.
"After many hours of searching online, I came to the conclusion that it would just be easier to gain employment while there. I joined a few recruitment agencies, went for a few interviews and presto the job was mine, in my particular field,” she said.
Laurel now works as a travel agent.
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