How To Stand Out From The Crowd As A TEFL Teacher

Are you planning to adopt a career as a TEFL teacher or to improve your professional reputation by TEFL in Spain? Then this bucket list is equally helpful to achieve your goals. It all starts with the branding of your name as an English teacher which can be done through social media, blogging, podcasts and business cards to present yourself as the well-known industry voice for TEFL abroad. While the defining factor is the way you craft your CV as a TEFL professional and this article will tell the easiest ways to get things done. 

Becoming a TEFL teacher and teaching English in Spain can be fun and challenging at the same time. It’s a unique profession as a university graduate can be transformed into a TEFL teacher in a little more than a month through a TEFL certificate and can actually start teaching TEFL course in Spain or anywhere abroad. But the likelihood of getting a job in this field depends on your strategies to effectively market yourself. You may be passionate to become an English teacher but the increased competition in the job market demands effective personal marketing in order to connect with the right employers. Here are some actionable tips which can prove very useful to build a professional reputation in this highly competitive industry.

Social Media Marketing

 Social media marketing can be used to market anything including one’s professional services. Almost people from all age groups spend most of their times on it. But our main focus here is the educators i.e. the schools looking for TEFL teachers internationally. Even all of them have their Instagram and Facebook business pages so why not a teacher has one? The greatest advantage is that you can market your name as a brand with a very little cost (i.e. via sponsored posts). But you need to be very specific about the audience segment you are trying to reach. Only then you would be able to get noticed by the right people. 

Apart from these platforms, Twitter and LinkedIn can also be used and the chances to meet the potential clients are even higher here. But it is always recommended to have separate personal and professional accounts so that your business may not get mixed with pleasure. Moreover, the use of a professional-looking profile picture as well as relevant interests and experience will help the educator community to completely access your abilities. It is also important to share only business-related tweets and content. All these strategies will act as building blocks to make you a famous industry voice.

Start Blogging 

Having a personal blog can take your personal branding to a next level. In fact, it is the most effective way to look professional and to market yourself internationally. It can also be an exciting opportunity to share your industry related views, suggestions and experiences with people having relevant interests. If you are not sure whether to invest in a personal blog then you can even start a free one on WordPress or Blogger (powered by Google) to see how things work. But as the paid ones come with more facilities, you might want to switch by easily buying a cheap domain and hosting from online providers. Once your personal blog is established; the next step is to clearly define your niche/theme to write posts and share content about. Which in our case is, of course, TEFL certificate, opportunities for TEFL teachers abroad, TEFL schools and academies and so on. You can even narrow it down to the area that interests you the most i.e. opportunities for TEFL teachers abroad. This will help not only to share relevant information and ideas but you can also keep yourself updated regarding your industry trends and varying demands. And the lasting benefit will be presenting yourself as a well-known brand, employers can trust upon. 

It is important to mention that the content quality should be exceptional so that the public might want to stay connected. Share anything of your interest including lesson plans, creative ideas and personal experience. TEFL community has spread all over the world and they will definitely acknowledge your efforts in this regard. And lastly, don’t forget to update your blog on a regular basis by adding newer posts at least every week because this is the only way to drive more traffic and to increase your number of followers. 

Start Producing Podcasts

If you are a type of person who loves to speak or want to share lots of ideas but doesn’t have time to write it up, then podcasts are made for you. A podcast is an online audio sharing tool which enables you to record your thoughts, ideas, future ambitions and career plans and to share them with people over the internet. Another benefit of producing podcasts is that the employers can have an idea that how you would sound like while teaching in the class. Moreover, if you are a non-native speaker and want to demonstrate your proficiency, a podcast can act as a pre-interview tool to tell the potential clients that you are the one they are looking for. Being a podcaster, you will also be improving your speaking power as well as confidence level by putting in a little effort. 

Business Card 

A very few teachers have their personal business cards despite the low cost and higher usability of them. There are plenty of reasons why teachers should have their own professional business cards same as any other professional in the corporate business. You can easily share your contact details in case you meet a client or fellow educators. This will also provide many networking opportunities by keeping in touch with other industry professionals. Also, a business card act as a basis to build your own brand. You can share information related to your blog/website and other professional services that you offer. After all, your end goal is to market yourself as a professional TEFL teacher and to find an exciting job opportunity abroad, so why not to spread the word by handing your business card to students and other educators that you meet. Being a teacher, you are an incredible resource and your business card will help to showcase your skills and abilities to the employers looking for a talent similar to yours.

A killer resume can help!

Above mentioned are some non-traditional but very effective ways to stand out from the rest as a TEFL teacher and to find the right career opportunity to teach English abroad. These strategies will surely get yourself noticed by the industry leaders. The next step is to send them your résumé and it can be a defining stage for your selection. Here are some details which can make your CV worth considering.  

• Update your résumés before applying

First, update your CV as per the job that you are applying for. Generic résumés can no longer work as the employment industry has become highly saturated as well as competitive. Therefore, the only way to survive is to put all the key services and benefits that you are about to bring after selection. Think of questions such as, what your area of expertise is? What you will offer? What are your career goals? And in what way you will serve the organization that no other employee can? Questions like these will give you more clarity and you will be able to craft your resume in accordance with the needs of that school or organization.

• Showcase your service as a solution to their problem

Think of yourself as a recruiter. What is the most important thing that you want to see in a job application or CV? Of course, you would like to have the most important benefits/services the person has to offer for your organization. This is the key to write a killer résumé. 

You need to do the hard work so that the recruiter doesn’t have to!

• Include all the relevant experience

Another important thing to mention is all the relevant experience that you have in the specific field. If you have done similar jobs in the past, then must include each and every detail of those jobs that what duties you performed, what subjects you taught and to the students of which age group. This will help the recruiters to better understand your expertise and they will also position you in the most appropriate place which actually matches your skills. 

• Keep it short

Including experience and skills doesn’t mean making your resume lengthy as no one will be reading it till the end. Therefore, keep it simple and precise by adding bullet points. You can also exclude the irrelevant details to make it look professional.

• Double check every detail 

It is recommended to cross-check every detail that you’ve entered because even minor mistakes in a professional document seem awkward and can be a big turn off for the person analyzing your CV. Therefore, it’s better to carefully proofread it before applying for a job. You may also ask a friend to suggest any improvements if needed.

• Include relevant hobbies only

For the hobbies sections, make sure that the that the hobbies you enlist are not in opposition to the job’s nature. For example, if you write that you are a person who likes to travel then it will give the impression that you are not consistent and may leave after some time. If you think that your hobbies are not appropriate to include depending upon the type of position you are applying for, you can simply exclude this section. 

• Add links to your professional profiles 

This will act as a portfolio that you have created and enables them to better access your passion for teaching English.

• Make yourself easily contactable

Adding multiple phone numbers and emails will make the job of recruiter difficult. Add only one email and phone number which can be accessible within the working hours by make the process easy for both parties.