If you’re beginning to learn about teaching overseas and want to know where international teaching jobs exist, what they pay, and how to apply, there are various resources for teaching overseas.
How you proceed should depend on your goals. If you want to teach overseas in a specific country or within a small region, your best bet is to get a list of American and international schools in those countries and write directly to them. Be forewarned that restricting the places you might teach overseas will limit your chances of being successful in finding a job.
Candidates who maintain an open mind towards teaching overseas have a far better chance of being hired.
Working internationally will require you to have certain documents to proceed with the teaching job.
For the best results in your overseas teaching job search, we suggest the following sequence of activities:
1. Start your job search early and begin contacting schools in November for international employment the following September. You can also utilize online recruitment websites such as Joy Jobs to help you search for schools.
2. If you are interested in teaching overseas in one or two countries, write directly to schools in these areas. Forward your international teaching resume, cover letter, reference letters, transcripts, and anything else of importance.
3. If you find a particular school that you are interested in, ensure that you send your necessary resume documents and that they are ready to go. Remember that resumes for teaching overseas will differ from what you are required to apply to local jobs. Ensure that your resume has been updated and reformatted properly for this purpose. Indicate how and when you will be available for an interview.
4. After writing to certain international teaching organizations to secure information on services and fees register with one or more private agencies or organizations that specialize in finding teachers for overseas placements. Select the most suited organization to your needs, considering which teaching job fair would be easiest to attend.
Register for at least one recruitment international teaching fair and request information a month or two before the fair regarding how many schools will be there from areas you are interested in teaching and what types of qualifications and experience they expect from their applicants.
5. If a school wants to interview you at a recruitment fair for teaching overseas, by all means, register for this career fair. Once registered, arrange to have other interviews with additional schools for teaching overseas.
6. Once the fair has ended, if you do not receive an offer to either interview or teach overseas, do not give up. Many international educators report finding their first job teaching overseas only during their second year of effort.
