Here at SeekTeachers, we’ve noticed some major flaws our applicants make. Even worse, they often go for years unnoticed and lose so many opportunities that it drives them insane. Today we shed some light on some of these fatal mistakes and we show you just how you can avoid them in future.
First of all, let’s touch on that CV. You should have a plain white background, no fancy fonts, colours or sizes (think Arial, size 12 for titles and size 10 for regular text, in black). Please avoid using text boxes and tables as these very often do not translate properly between machines, so what might look like a perfect masterpiece to you will look distorted beyond belief to the person on the other end of the phone line. Finally, top it all off with a nice professional image of yourself, formally dressed on a plan background. And don’t forget to smile a little, because who doesn’t like a nice smile?
- CV – Plain White Background, Black Arial Font in Sizes 10 for text and 12 for titles
- No text boxes or tables
- Professional Image of yourself – Formally dressed, Plain background
Your CV needs to have stability on it, if you’re hopping between jobs faster than a politician making mistakes then you’re driving the same thought into a potential employer’s head that said politician will be driving into potential voters: “Can I trust this person?†Furthermore, your CV should be the latest version and include up-to-date contact details, qualifications and experience. Additionally, make sure to add any professional development courses you’ve been on and don’t forget your references from all of your previous employers, especially your last one. Teachers prepared to pay for attestation (mainly for the Middle East) are also preferred among our consultants.
- Not too much movement on your CV
- Latest version of CV – Up to date contact details, qualifications and experience
- List all professional development courses
- List all references from previous employers
- Be prepared to pay for attestation for the Middle East
Documents are another absolutely massive point that people miss out on, if you’re missing qualifications you claim to have, or a police check, which is a critical error to say the least, then you’re asking for trouble. A good candidate will have all qualifications at the ready and a recent police check (within the last six months). Attending regular professional development courses and getting new qualifications from those also helps to boost the power of your CV dramatically. Falsified documents are most definitely the biggest mistakes you can possibly make, in many countries, fake documents can land you in jail, do not do it, just don’t.
- Have all documents ready – Qualifications, Police Check (within the last 6 months)
- Attend regular professional development courses
- NO fake documents
Next, you’ve gotten your CV ready, but where do you want to go? Really think, where? A good candidate will already know where they want to go and will be ready to leave at a moment’s notice with full support from their family. If you drop out on a consultant last minute and let them down, there’s a good chance that they won’t want to work with you in future. So make sure you’re always 100% committed, especially when it comes around to signing the contract. But don’t go being pushy either, although it’s definitely good to let our consultants know you’re available to be placed (especially if you do it early), remember that our consultants aren’t just assigned to one person and that they often have a large pile of CVs to work through, so don’t expect results immediately and give them some time to work.
- Be committed to be working overseas
- Make sure your family is in agreement with you
- Be proactive with consultants, but not pushy
When should you contact clients? Answer: Never. If you’re contacting clients without your consultant’s express permission then expect a massive backlash. By contacting a school behind a consultant’s back you break trust between yourself and the consultant, between the school and the consultant and between yourself and the school. And all vice-versa too. Furthermore, this is against our Terms and Conditions, so don’t do it. Your consultant is your link to the client and will advise you to the best degree possible, have a little trust in them okay?
- NEVER contact clients
- Breaks trust between all parties
- Against the Terms and Conditions
SeekTeachers places qualified teachers all over the world and works with a wide array of international schools, to see all of our job listings, click here!