 How
do I Market Myself for a Thailand ESL EFL Job?
How can I make myself attractive to a
potential ESL EFL employer in Thailand?
Two things are
important. One, make them want to hire you. Make
yourself an attractive candidate in every way. And two,
let them know you don't have the problems the last
person they fired had!
Attractive Candidate
Literally and
figuratively. Make sure your photo on your resume is
professionally done and that you are dressed
professionally.
Men should be in
a dress shirt and tie - women - uh, I don't know what
you call it - but dress professionally, okay? Smile in
your picture. Avoid facial hair.
If you have
tattoos, a pierced anything, a Mohawk hair style - or
anything that makes you look less professional - hide it
as best you can. You are, after all, looking for a job
in a market that is much more conservative than your
own. Reveal your true self later - not during the job
hunt! Prepare yourself in the same way you would for
any job in your home country that you really want.
Yeah!
Yes, you will
see many Thais with tattoos - but you won't see TEACHERs
with them. If you wish to compete with day
laborers and street sweepers - then ahead - show off
those piercings!
More
Attractive
Highlight your
TEFL training - it should be the FIRST thing on your
resume. Indicate any teaching/training experience you
may have had (TEFL or not, paid and/or volunteer),
multi-cultural knowledge, travel experience,
multi-lingual skills (if you have them) - and anything
else that makes you appear ready, skilled, and
professional.
Your travel and
knowledge/experience with other cultures and countries
will reassure potential employers that you won't freak
out and run away after only a week or two on the job (it
happens more often than you would believe).
Special
Skills
Be sure to
highlight your special skills and abilities, and
anything you might have identified in your recruiters or
potential employers webpage when you reviewed it.
Particularly older and more experienced job ESL EFL job
seekers should read
Your Special Skills over at
TEFL
Daddy.
Eliminate the Negative
Write
specifically that you are reliable, can hold down a job
for long periods (if you can and have), highlight family
responsibilities - note if you are married, add anything
that stresses dependability. Thailand has had its fill
of backpacker types passing through for short periods of
time looking for a job. The more reputable
employers will almost always be looking for one-year
contracts.
Review potential
contracts and stress your positive side of any issues
related in it. For example, the webmaster once had a
contract that literally said, If the teacher gets
drunk and breaks the furniture in the classroom, he must
pay for the damages. What experiences that school
must have had in the past!
That was her
very first contract. Expectations of employers are
often reflected in contracts they will show you. Read
the contract carefully and try to counter any of the
negative issues.
FUNNY, you only
hear on the Internet about the BAD and terrible
EMPLOYERS - rarely anything about the troublesome
employees . . . Remember the Internet
often/usually/almost always presents only one side of
the story. And every advernturer-traveler-backpacker
type wants to say what an exciting adventure they had -
no one wants to say, "Everything just went GREAT!"
|
"Twenty
years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things that you didn't do than by the
ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the
trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover." -- Mark Twain |
|
Raise your hand if you'd like to spend your "working"
time in a Luxury Resort . . . 
