Thoughts On A TEFL Job Post: Part 4

I’ve chosen a posted EFL job ad, removed identifying details, and included my thoughts and questions in the text.

You should know by now that I’m an experienced EFL teacher who has found jobs independently before, mainly in Eastern Europe. This makes me knowledgeable but not by any means infallible or an expert. Hopefully my thoughts and comment will be helpful nevertheless. I mean neither to endorse nor slam a job by mentioning it here.

Such-and-such English School, this country’s largest American managed school, is seeking active teachers for our private language schools in …four cities… in this country for the March term 2007. We would like teachers to start on March 1st 2007. [they are recruiting in advance, so this is good.]

Contact first and last name directly at … email…or call… different first and last name… at phone number in Some City, USA .[I’m curious as to why applicants contact Americans in the US. On the one hand, I would not feel great that I wouldn’t be dealing with the school, on the other hand, if these are former teachers, it would be nice to be able to ask them questions. It may well mean no one in the school management speaks English well, which could prove to be frustrating on the job. Out of the ordinary though? I don’t know this country.]

Also check out our website at: www.ourschool.com.[It is good that they have a website and it is in English]Qualifications
We require:
Native speakers of English at least 21 years old [this is a reasonable age minimum]Nationalities preferred are Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Australia and New Zealand
College degree in any subject
Must be willing to teach children classes <em>[they don’t make it sound like a benefit, but at least it’s there out in the open]
[no teaching certificate specified]
Compensation
March Starts
One Year 25 to 27 Hrs./Wk.
Salary per/month
Hours/Week 25-27 [this is on the high side but depends on what you teach]
Teaching Days/Wk 5 <strong>[doesn’t specify M-F, which would be nice to know, but it seems to mean you won’t work six days a week]OT per/hr for over 25 hours per week (monthly scale) [this very likely means if you work 30 hours one week and 20 the next, you don’t get overtime]
Completion Bonus 1,000 USD
Medical Insurance Yes
Personal Leave Days 14

…some examples edited out for space…

Six Months 15 Hours/Wk [interesting and probably appealing to many that this is an option – people might like to check it out for six months and see if they like it…but if you sign on for another six months, you don’t just get the year package automatically…you would have to sign on for a full year I presume]Salary xxxx/month
Hours/Week 15
Teaching Days/Wk 2-3 OT xxx/hr for over 15 hours per week (monthly scale) [of course depending on the salary, this could be a nice option]
Completion Bonus 100 USD
Personal Leave Days 7
Note- All bonuses are intended as your flight reimbursement. To get a full flight reimbursement you must make a commitment for at least one year and do the full 25 hour contract.[The second sentence is clear to me; the first is not: the first option, the full 25 hour contract mentioned here, still lists a dollar amount, and doesn’t just automatically cover any flight.] Lesser contracts allow you more flexibility such as the 15 hour contract only working 2-3 days per week, but you compromise on the bonusAlso note that leave days with this school are not paid [reasonable]. Time of is prorated from the monthly salary. All contracts include shared housing[could be fine, I would want to know how many you share it with and get a description of the housing], Internet access[note that this doesn’t say Internet access in your shared housing] and local language classes.