Teach English Abroad
The Complete Guide
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Getting a Job Offer
At last, the thing you have been waiting for arrives, the job offer. No matter how pleased or relieved you may feel to be offered a job, you need to clarify and get all the relevant information before agreeing anything definite. This may be true of other jobs but it is doubly important teaching English abroad.
Understandably many new teachers don’t like having to question the contract details in a country you don’t know well with customs you are not familiar with and especially with a new employer. But any polite enquiry shouldn’t undermine an offer or cause any bad feeling. If told something along the lines of “It’s rude to ask that here”, something is wrong and you then certainly do need to check the small print.
It goes without saying that you should never sign anything until you have read it properly first. If you don’t fully understand the language it is in, say you will bring it back in the next day once you have had time to read it through. Don’t rely on a quick translation from the person offering it to you. Take it away and get help understanding it if necessary
The first big issue to address is pay. Even if money is not high on your list of motives to teach English abroad it is certainly going to affect your experience. Pay is often regarded as a tricky subject and one most people don’t like discussing. You are far more likely to feel more uncomfortable later if quite literally “short changed”. Find out when you will be paid, the day of the month or week. Check what the process is. There may well be a form to submit detailing the classes you have taught for that time period. Will you receive your salary by bank transfer, cheque or cash,? Find out if travelling from one class to the next is part of the job. As it often is, will you be reimbursed for travel expenses? Is travel time paid or not?
Tax and social security are issues related to pay and must not be overlooked. These have legal implications and can affect your immigration status. If the employer makes tax and social security deductions then you are officially an employee but if you are liable for your own contributions then you are self-employed or freelance. In many countries this will affect your visa status. If you are freelance you need to register with the authorities immediately. This is often a long and usually difficult process. Get local help if you can as finding your way around all the bureaucracy is usually difficult and confusing.
Check the benefits you can expect, such as holiday and severance pay. The contract must clearly state the usual number of hours per week you are contracted for and find out if this is only teaching time or if it includes other duties. If other benefits were mentioned in the job advertisement or discussed at interview, check they appear accurately in the contract. These might include: accommodation, flights, local travel expenses, insurance.
If you feel you made a strong application and the employer definitely wants you to work for them, then you may be able to negotiate a better deal. While you may feel uncomfortable doing this back home, it may be perfectly acceptable teaching English abroad. It depends on local customs as well as the applicant and employer. Find out whether it would or would not be improper to try and negotiate. Consider how flexible you think the employer is willing to be and decide how far you want to try.
Anybody with a good amount of teaching ESL experience and/or who is well-qualified may well be able to negotiate conditions and get a higher salary. Much depends, though, on the demand for English teachers where you are as well as if they think hiring you is worth the extra cost. If you know there is a shortage of good teachers or you are getting plenty of interview requests then by all means try. If in doubt whether you should accept, it is perfectly reasonable to say that you have another interview that day and would at least like to see what they have to offer. This can often push them to make a better offer.
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Understandably many new teachers don’t like having to question the contract details in a country you don’t know well with customs you are not familiar with and especially with a new employer. But any polite enquiry shouldn’t undermine an offer or cause any bad feeling. If told something along the lines of “It’s rude to ask that here”, something is wrong and you then certainly do need to check the small print.
It goes without saying that you should never sign anything until you have read it properly first. If you don’t fully understand the language it is in, say you will bring it back in the next day once you have had time to read it through. Don’t rely on a quick translation from the person offering it to you. Take it away and get help understanding it if necessary
The first big issue to address is pay. Even if money is not high on your list of motives to teach English abroad it is certainly going to affect your experience. Pay is often regarded as a tricky subject and one most people don’t like discussing. You are far more likely to feel more uncomfortable later if quite literally “short changed”. Find out when you will be paid, the day of the month or week. Check what the process is. There may well be a form to submit detailing the classes you have taught for that time period. Will you receive your salary by bank transfer, cheque or cash,? Find out if travelling from one class to the next is part of the job. As it often is, will you be reimbursed for travel expenses? Is travel time paid or not?
Tax and social security are issues related to pay and must not be overlooked. These have legal implications and can affect your immigration status. If the employer makes tax and social security deductions then you are officially an employee but if you are liable for your own contributions then you are self-employed or freelance. In many countries this will affect your visa status. If you are freelance you need to register with the authorities immediately. This is often a long and usually difficult process. Get local help if you can as finding your way around all the bureaucracy is usually difficult and confusing.
Check the benefits you can expect, such as holiday and severance pay. The contract must clearly state the usual number of hours per week you are contracted for and find out if this is only teaching time or if it includes other duties. If other benefits were mentioned in the job advertisement or discussed at interview, check they appear accurately in the contract. These might include: accommodation, flights, local travel expenses, insurance.
If you feel you made a strong application and the employer definitely wants you to work for them, then you may be able to negotiate a better deal. While you may feel uncomfortable doing this back home, it may be perfectly acceptable teaching English abroad. It depends on local customs as well as the applicant and employer. Find out whether it would or would not be improper to try and negotiate. Consider how flexible you think the employer is willing to be and decide how far you want to try.
Anybody with a good amount of teaching ESL experience and/or who is well-qualified may well be able to negotiate conditions and get a higher salary. Much depends, though, on the demand for English teachers where you are as well as if they think hiring you is worth the extra cost. If you know there is a shortage of good teachers or you are getting plenty of interview requests then by all means try. If in doubt whether you should accept, it is perfectly reasonable to say that you have another interview that day and would at least like to see what they have to offer. This can often push them to make a better offer.
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