There are several different ways to begin searching for international jobs, but before that most important is to make your C.V. up to date and relevant. In most cases, you will need a full Teaching Certification, relevant to the school you apply to. As the schools are international, they usually require a teaching certification of the curriculum you will teach. For example, an American/British teaching certification obtained outside of the US/UK should be fine, however, a certification from your home country, if it is not a ‘western’ pedagogical course, may not. If you do not have such a qualification or are unqualified, it will likely be more difficult to find a job. My advice would be to contact a teaching recruitment agency, some of which are listed below.
CV
This is what the British name a resume. Mine always starts with a short profile paragraph, outlining the key aspects of my CV which match what the recruiter is looking for, for example, experience within Early Years, years abroad, qualifying years in the UK…
Also the format is clear, without great detail and also referees. I state that the employer can contact me for these, to make more space for information. I include any voluntary work and also extra curricular groups I may be part of within school or outside.
Make it two pages maximum – all with relevant up to date info, leave off jobs from 10 years+ ago and stick with qualifications post GCSE.
My CV is prepped, what next?
As I began as an A.L.T. (Assistant Language Teacher), I applied directly for this role through the host company, Interac. Other programmes in Japan include JET teachers. These programmes require a degree only, no teaching credential. Other countries which have these programmes include Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan. This was an excellent first step in teaching. We were given a one week training programme directly on arrival and then we were in the thick of it! I felt this programme gave me valuable experience of teaching following the standard format of introduction, main teaching and plenaries.
I’m qualified, how do I find International teacher jobs?
There are a few different ways:
Internet search: sites such as the guardian education and tes.com are excellent first ports of call. The jobs here can be searched within country, key stage and type of school. Applying through this medium allows you to know exactly what you are applying for, usually directly to the school. If you apply this way, you will usually need to create a cover letter, which should detail your educational philosophy (and why you have this) and details which expressly relate to the criteria required for the job.
Recruitment companies: These may be fee-based or not. For example, an agency that you do not pay for as a teacher, such as Teacher Horizons, can be described as an agency that is free for teachers and provides personal support throughout the recruiting process to search for roles for you. Other agencies include TeachAnywhere (also linked to UK schools) and a small, personalised company, INTA Education. They may be more limited in scope than the big, paid players such as ISS and Search Associates. To join these agencies you will pay a joining fee. These agencies will provide you with a database of jobs which often have the level of detail you wouldn’t get from applying directly to a school, such as salary expectations. They also have job fairs, which you can attend and visit different school recruiters or even summoned to interviews whilst at these fairs.
Approaching schools directly: If you are sure of the country you want to work, look directly at the schools. You may see a school that matches your ethos (hooray!) there is nothing against you directly contacting the HR department. When I did this I had some excellent candid replies from several Heads, which actually interested me in the schools even more. You may even wish to visit the school, meet the staff and decide for yourself if it is a place you could work in.
Facebook: Do not underestimate social media! At times excellent jobs are posted on job boards, but also, if you join an international teaching board, you can ask here if anyone knows of a job available in their school. This is an excellent method as then you could PM further questions to that individual, receiving inside knowledge.
Facebook Teaching jobs pages:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/internationalteachingjobs
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1508906736080209
International Teachers:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/173547143380174
More specific, Teachers on the Move with Children:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/850209755377245
More general, about living abroad (this is an excellent site for advice)
New to International Teaching with Jess Gosling 