Applying for a first job after your CELTA course

How do I get my first job after CELTA?

The most obvious place to start is to look at job advertisements. Jobs in English language schools are usually advertised on websites like www.tefl.com and www.eslcafe.com. You'll see many jobs there, offered in lots of different countries and online. It can sometimes be bewildering, but if you use a little common sense and read the ads carefully, you'll begin to get a feel for which jobs are good and which aren't.

There are scare stories out there about recruitment scams and these aren't as common as they were, but never send money to a prospective employer. If they're asking you for a visa fee or an accommodation downpayment before you start a job, then it's probably not for real. If you do have doubts about a company, then google them. Read reviews, if there are any. There are country-specific boards on reddit.com where you can ask about potential employers (though reddit posters can be overly negative at times, so take their advice with a pinch of salt!) Usually, if the prospective employer is a school, they'll be quite easy to research online and find out information about. If the employer is a recruitment agency, it's sometimes harder to find out information about them, and so it can be worthwhile trying to find out the names of some schools they work with, or even asking if you can speak to a teacher they've hired in the past.

Why do all the ads say experience required?

Many ads for teaching jobs state that experience is required, but in my 22-year experience of teaching English, employers won't necessarily mean this. Otherwise, it would be impossible to find work! If it's a management role, or a very highly paid job requiring very precise skills or knowledge, then experience probably is required, but if it's a job teaching general English, then you should apply anyway. My first job was advertised as only being open to people with three years' experience and I still got hired!

What if there aren't ads for jobs in the city or country I'm interested in?

You shouldn't restrict yourself to ads. If you have your heart set on teaching in Barcelona or Jeddah or Hanoi, then google "English language schools in Barcelona" or in whatever city you're interested in. Start contacting schools directly. You should address any emails to the 'academic manager' or 'director of studies'.

You can find lists of language schools online, often through the quality assurance agencies that inspect schools. For example, you'll find a list of all accredited language schools in the UK on the website of English UK, the main accrediting body - https://www.englishuk.com/member-directory. You'll find a similar list for Ireland here - https://acels.ie/recognisedproviders. The website eslbase.com has a search function where you can find lists of language schools per country.

What should I say in my CV?

A CV for an English teaching job should emphasise the things an academic manager at a language school will need to know. They'll want to know if you have a CELTA, and what your other qualifications are. They'll want to know what your level of English is. And they'll want to know what passports you hold so they can tell whether you can legally work for the school. So you can put a header paragraph on your CV, stating "C2-level CELTA qualified English teacher, with an EU passport" or "CELTA-qualified native English speaker with a British passport" and if this is near the top of your CV, it will summarise what the manager needs to know before they look into the details of your previous qualifications and experience. In general, it can be a good idea to look up expectations for CVs in that particular country, because in some countries, they will expect a photo and others won't, etc.

How long will it take to find a job?

This will vary a lot depending on the time of year. It's a lot easier to get a teaching job at a language school in the UK in the lead-up to the busy summer season and it's much easier to find a job in Eastern Europe in the lead-up to September when the academic year begins. It's also a lot quicker to find work if you're open to working in many different countries or cities. Some people find work during their CELTA courses and we've had graduates start teaching the Monday after their course. Others take longer. While you're waiting, you could consider registering with a tutoring site like preply.com, so you can earn a bit of money and build up some teaching experience while you wait to find that dream job!

Learn more about CELTA

About the author:

Dr Connor O'Donoghue hails from Ireland and he started teaching English as a foreign language in Poland in 2003 and he became a CELTA trainer in 2008. He has taught and trained in Ireland, the UK, France, Italy, Slovenia, Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. Connor also holds a Masters and a PhD in Education from Trinity College in Dublin. He has previously managed large teacher training centres in Vietnam and in London before founding DC Teacher Training.