Transferable Skills from Teaching to TEFL

Welcome to our comprehensive guide designed to assist TEFL industry novices by helping identify and leverage transferable skills. It will serve as your roadmap during the job application under review process, offering invaluable insights and strategies that will set you apart as an applicant. Plus, we've included exclusive interviews with TEFL recruiters and school managers so you can gain an insider perspective! Let's get going!

What are transferable skills from teaching related to TEFL?

Transferable skills are abilities or competencies you've developed over time that can be utilized in teaching roles. They could come from working, studying or volunteering experiences; for instance honed time management abilities while working in an office could translate to helping manage classrooms or plan lessons effectively. Understanding and identifying your transferable skills are the first steps towards landing the teaching job of your dreams!

Starting a Job Search

Beginning the search for teaching positions can be intimidating, especially when you don't know where to begin. To start off the process, consider which type of teaching job would suit you best: young learners versus adults? Would you be comfortable teaching online or abroad? For your convenience we have provided a quiz which should help identify your ideal scenario as well as links to further reading materials that will expand on this understanding of different teaching positions available to you. Once identified you can tailor your job search and application materials accordingly.

What key skills do TEFL recruiters seek in candidates for employment?

Knowing what recruiters want can give you an edge. To provide this insight, we've conducted an exclusive video interview with top TEFL recruiters. They discuss key skills they look for when selecting applicants; such as communication, adaptability, interpersonal skills, organizational and time management abilities, creativity willingness to develop, ICT skills. While these may seem specific to teaching environments alone; many recruiters already believe you possess many of them!

Consider Your Skills First

Doing well at any job requires having both the appropriate skills and knowing how to present them effectively. It's vital that your skills meet the job requirements; therefore it is key that your application aligns with these criteria. To do this, analyze the job description to understand what employers expect of applicants then tailor your application application in such a way as to demonstrate they possess these capabilities. This section will guide your on how to reflect upon and present your skills accordingly.

What does it mean to align my skills to a job's requirements?

Doing a good job matching your skills to job requirements requires showcasing how your skills, knowledge, and experience make you an excellent fit. Making this case is critical in landing the position you desire - this section offers detailed explanation on how to do this with examples from various TEFL jobs as well as strategies for understanding job descriptions and recognizing what skills/attributes employers want from applicants.

How can I effectively describe my skills when applying for a TEFL job?

Writing about your skills requires more than simply listing them on your resume; you should provide examples of when and how you have applied these abilities in an appropriate context. This section offers comprehensive advice for doing just this, with suggestions on writing style, layout and how to provide evidence of them as well as ways to articulate them effectively both in cover letters and interviews.

What is the significance of providing evidence of my skills?

Evidence of your skills is of utmost importance when applying for jobs. Simply listing them on your resume won't do; recruiters need tangible examples that prove them. In this section, we'll examine why evidence-gathering is important and give strategies and examples on how best to approach it.

Writing About Your Skills

This section goes further in exploring the process of writing about your skills, with a task designed to record and provide evidence of both transferable and knowledge-based competencies. By the time this chapter concludes, you will have gained more clarity into articulating them in such a way as to impress recruiters and distinguish yourself from other candidates.

As such, this guide seeks to demystify the job application process in TEFL and give you all of the tools and knowledge necessary for successfully identifying and capitalizing on transferable skills. With this information at your fingertips, hopefully your dream TEFL job is just around the corner - happy job hunting!