Teaching Couple

[skybluesky]

Hello all,

I posted over the summer and I really appreciated everyone's advice at the time. My partner and I (at that time) were thinking about heading to the Search Associates Fair in London, but ultimately we decided to not attend. I have not had the best of luck as far as getting responses from schools in WE though Search. I've had a few responses asking about my VISA status, and then my resume was then forwarded to the principal, but after that I haven't heard anything back. It'd say I've only applied to 10 or so schools this year, but I was wondering if there was a reason I am not getting many responses.

Unfortunately, I do not have IB experience but my wife does. I have bounced around quite a bit as an ESL teacher in South America and Spain, but then I went back to get my certification in California and ended up staying 3 years teaching third grade and one year teaching Middle School Spanish. I majored in Spanish, Minored in Linguistics and TESL. Could this be hurting my chances at getting a job at an IS? Last year I had offers from Turkey and Brazil (from TIE) but we decided to not accept them.

Ideally I'd like to find a school in Spain, but we would both be really happy to live in Portugal/France/Italy. I'm not sure if there would be a spot for both of us, but we could also consider moving if only one of us got a position. It is also important for us to find a school for our two year old son.

Through the forum I did learn that schools may be interested around May when schools are having difficulty finding teachers with working papers/EU Passports. I hope that is the case.

Our Profiles are:

Me: US Teaching Certification – Elementary/Middle K-8 Multiple Subject, Single Subject (Spanish), (IB Certificate: Language acquisition: Implementing the MYP curriculum)

US Citizenship, Work Permit to work in Spain

Wife: Spanish Teaching Certification (Spring 2017), School Psychologist/Learning Specialist

Her Experience (4 Yrs IB School in California, 4th Grade Teacher PYP (Spanish), and Learning Specialist

Last year a school ended up contacted her from from an Eastern European school in August that we decided it was too late in the hiring season to consider.

Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[PsyGuy]

1) 10 applications is nothing.
2) When an IS asks about your visa status it means they only hire those who already have a right to employment int he region. in the EU this means working papers for the specific country (a visa) or an EU passport.
3) Locations (Spain, Italy, France) are all very high desire regions, everyone who wants to work in the EU wants those locations.

Once the Spring recruiting EU cycle arrives assuming there is a need for your teaching area there will be a number of vacancies which you will be uniquely eligible for, though you may need to be comfortable with appointments at different ISs.

[skybluesky]

Thanks, hopefully something will open up in the spring. Since I haven't heard too much back via email, I've started to contact schools directly though the Search database. Is one method more successful than the other? I typically write a short message within the database. Is it common for teachers to include a cover letter when contacting a school in the Search database? Does everyone take the time to taylor each letter to each school?

[PsyGuy]

@skybluesky

Its preferred to apply directly to the IS following whatever instructions they provide. When you apply through SA what you are sending is that message along with a link to your profile. It tends to get very generic, and you have to log in to SA to access the candidate dossier. Sending everything to the recruiter/leadership directly gives them your materials, and you can send additional materials.

[skybluesky]

If a school doesn't specify that a cover letter is needed, would you recommend sending one anyway in the search database? Or does a short message with a brief intro work as far as communicating within Search?

[Thames Pirate]

Somewhere on here an admin (sid maybe?) gave a list of things he liked to see in a cover letter. It should be standard practice to write such a letter, but since it isn't, I would see if I could find that advice and follow it. Write a killer cover letter that is clearly personalised to the school in question. It takes more time, but it gets better results.

[skybluesky]

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[joe30]

Don't write a personalised cover letter. It takes way too long given the number of applications you'll likely be making.

Have a standard letter, change the school name, add in a couple of sentences relevant to that specific school. That'll be all you need.

[sid]

This one?
What do I really like? A well-written cover letter.
Specific to my school. Which doesn't mean you wrote a generic cover letter and then slipped the school name and country name into a few blank spots. Really specific to my school. I will love it if I can tell that you did your homework. You checked out our website thoroughly, know our mission statement, noticed that we're an EAL not an ESL school. You've possibly talked to some people who have worked here (feel free to name them). You know some relevant bits about the country and culture. And you show me all this not by quoting the mission statement (trust me, I already know it), but by crafting a letter which incorporates key words and concepts, and by stating clearly, pretty directly, how your personal ethos and experience match up with the school's ethos and direction.
You are direct about the position you would like. Don't stick so much to ethos that I have to check your CV to find out you're a math teacher. You don't tell me you want position x, y, z, p or q, because that just tells me you want a job above all costs. Too desperate, even though it might be true. Pick one or two positions and stick to them. If I like your letter, but for some reason you can't have the position you named, and your letter gave the impression that you might be flexible, I'll contact you and ask if you'd be willing to consider a different post.
If there's anything out of the ordinary, discuss it. You have a spouse who isn't a teacher? Explain. What will he/she be doing? What are your expectations? Most countries have some sort of limitations in terms of trailing spouses, so I need to know at the start if what your spouse is after will at all match up with my country's reality.
You're moving from admin to teaching? Explain. Otherwise I'll think you aren't really wanting to move, you're just applying for back-up teaching positions in case you can't get another admin post.
Your teaching credential is currently expired, which is clearly indicated on the ISS page? Explain that you're in the process of renewing, and when it will be current again.
You have a partner but you aren't married? Explain. We need to know the basic details so we can figure out the right way to approach it.
You get the idea. Don't leave me with a bunch of unanswered questions.

I would say that less than 1 of 25 cover letters really impresses me. Get yourself into that tiny group, and you have a huge advantage.

[Glerky]

So to summarize what sid just said.... he wants about a 10 page cover letter that gives a general look at your entire career, flexibility, life, relationship to the school, love life and personal friendships. Here is a shortened version for your perusal..

Dear Best School in the World,

I am awesome. I think that your school is also awesome and I would fit in to that awesomeness due to your core values, mission and vision. I can do everything since I have lived this amazing life. I have taught so much to so many. I know everyone and talk to them constantly about your school. I am in love and will be bringing that lover with me. We will love your school while loving each other. You're the best school in the world and I am the best teacher let's get together and make learning fun.
Best (teacher in the world) regards, Ed Ucate

[sid]

LOL!
My cover letters, and the ones I receive that meet this standard, come in around 1 side of 1 page.
The word "awesome" never appears.
Advice is free. Take it or not. Mocking seems uncalled for. Admin types have feelings too.

[Thames Pirate]

This really isn't hard. One short paragraph introduces teacher(s) and positions sought. One paragraph details teacher 1 skills and what they offer this school in terms of skill and fit. Explain what drew you to this school. The next paragraph is for the spouse,either doing the same or explaining what they will be doing. A short wrap up, and you're done. A good letter is confident but not pretentious. It is customized as to why you are a good fit. Recruiters want to know what you offer a school that other lit or primary teachers don't or why you would fit well with the school culture and team.

This is why cover letter and CV services are a waste of money. They won't get you the good jobs because they are, by necessity, generic impersonal, and full of fluff. It does take time to craft a good letter, and like any piece of writing, it requires research, artful word choice, and often time spent away from it and then another look. It's especially critical that you demonstrate good writing skills if you are applying for a language arts or English job.

Remember to read your CV and cover with your audience in mind. What does a recruiter want to see/know?

[joe30]

@sid

The problem is that writing an individual cover letter for each school is just completely unrealistic. A candidate might well be applying to 50+ jobs and writing out an individual letter for each one would just take too much time.

I'd say write out a generic letter, and for your dream schools add in a few lines in the body of the text which make it seem like a personalised email. Schools that are just so-so, that aren't your dream but you'd still work there should just get the standard letter with the name of the school changed.

[shadowjack]

If you are over a page in your cover letter, or two pages for your CV, it won't get looked at.

[sid]

It does take time, and it's realistic. In my last go round looking for a post, I applied to upwards of 40 posts. Maybe more. Each letter took me at least two hours of research and writing, and more for the posts i was really keen on. It's possible.
Everyone has priorities, individually aligned. You make things happen if you believe they are important.