- BEST FOOT FORWARD. Create an interesting Cover Letter. You want whoever is reading it to get interested in you (professionally of course) and want to call you for an interview.
Talk about your professional
experiences, what you can contribute to the company, why you’re a great
candidate, and why they should hire you.
Make sure your Resume / CV is neat,
organized, and professional-looking. Highlight your experiences and strengths. Include
the more recent employment, training, or educational degree. It shouldn’t more
than 2 pages. You may also want a little bit of your personality to show.
Photos on the resume are optional.
- EXPERIENCE IT. While waiting for a chance abroad, gain as much experience as you can. Most employers abroad would prefer if the applicant has any international experience. So, if you can get that where you are, do so. Example, teach or tutor foreigners in your country. It would help as well if you have a teaching degree or have taken courses.
- ALLOW FATE TO HELP YOU. Know what you want to do and where you want to go but also be flexible.
For Example, You want to work and
live in Tokyo, Japan, but you get an offer from a school in Osaka. It’s not
your primary choice but, Osaka is also a beautiful place. Don’t be too stubborn
with your choices as long as it’s the kind of job you want to do. Sometimes,
what is given you works out better in the end. Also, you can always move to
Tokyo after your stint in Osaka.
Personal Experience: When it comes to accepting job offers, I trust my instincts and let fate aid me in my decision–making. If I find a job or location difficult to get into at the time, I leave it for the meantime and go with what is offered to me, given that I actually like the offer okay, then surprisingly, I end up having a great time.
After
Tokyo, I was offered a job in Kuala Lumpur and Bali. I was more interested in
the KL one due to the kind of job I’d be doing and the generous salary I’d be
getting. However, the timing didn’t work
out and the Bali job actually waited for my availability.
I wasn’t settling when I accepted the Bali job but it was
fate telling me that Bali could be a good opportunity.
True enough as 3 years later, I am having so much fun.
4. LEGALITIES. Make sure your
employer will be sponsoring you and providing you the necessary legal work visa or documents. Your employer should also shoulder your
visa expenses. Do not risk your professional teaching reputation doing
illegal work abroad.
5. BENEFITS. Your employer
should provide medical insurance and set up your accommodation, even just
temporarily for the first few months. If the latter is not possible, your
employer should at least provide you help in finding one.
6. SAFETY FIRST! Research and
learn about your employer/company and location you’d be moving to.
Read on about it and see what other people have to say. You want to have peace of mind at the end of a work day.
Read on about it and see what other people have to say. You want to have peace of mind at the end of a work day.
I was lucky enough to get my first break in Japan with a
highly reputable company. This is something all job seekers should look for.
There are so many bogus companies out there promising the highest salaries and best
work benefits only for you to find out it was all a lie and you’re living in a
box with debts left and right, doing work you didn't sign up for.
It's simply being smart to always learn about a certain company you
want to work for. Don’t be too trusting. Not all high-paying jobs mean well.
It’s all relative really. You get paid enormously but work 10-14 hour days 6
days a week, compared to one that allows you to save and enjoy life. Remember,
living abroad should also allow you to travel and experience the country you’re
in, not just your work and home.
7. LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT. It’s
imperative to like if not love the country you’ll be working in and the
job that you’ll be doing. There’s nothing worse than having to drag yourself to work everyday because you hate what you do or your boss or your
co-workers. On top of that, you dislike the place you’re in. It’s just not
worth it
8. ADVENTURE TIME. Noticing a pattern in my employment behavior, I seem to
accept jobs in less popular places, especially where I’m from. Most if not all
of my family and friends were surprised I decided to move to Japan, considering
I don’t know the language or it simply was an alien place to work. Then I moved
to Indonesia which isn't exactly lucrative for a teaching career. Well, I
happen to like adventure and off-beat places. I like the challenge of adapting
to the culture and learning a lot from my time there. Maybe you will too.
SOME HELP:
Since I do all the job hunting manually, I can’t really
recommend any specific agency or website that will guarantee you a job but, here are some that may help:
TOKYO, Japan
In Japan teaching jobs could either be as a Language
Instructor, ALT (teacher at public schools), JET Program Teacher, or as a
University Professor. You can find postings on these websites:
“Eikaiwa” (Language Centers) – I’d recommend these over
JET programs.
For
teaching at private international schools, postings are on the websites above
or you may search ‘International Schools Tokyo’ and they should come up. Apply
directly.
BALI, Indonesia
Job searching here is simply done online. Unlike Japan,
there is only one language center and a handful of international
schools. Needless to say, getting a job is difficult and community forums and
sites are no help in job finding. But, don’t give up, keep trying. Look at the
list of international schools and see what job openings are posted.
Goodluck!
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