How to find a TEFL job without teaching experience

18 January 2022 • Tips

Here’s our step-by-step guide to landing a TEFL job without teaching experience. Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) can be the ideal career move for someone who is looking to experience different cultures by travelling, whilst making a difference in a person’s life by teaching them English.

How to find a TEFL job without teaching experience

But what if you haven’t got any teaching experience? Is this something you could still do? Well, in a nutshell, yes! You can fulfil your dream of travelling and teaching at the same time, and we will show you how.

Step 1

Undoubtedly, the first step you should take is to get your TEFL qualification. Here at TEFL UK, we have a number of courses you can choose from, but we would recommend you start with the 120-hour Professional TEFL, which is perfect for first-time teachers with no prior teaching experience.

As a comprehensive, internationally-accepted 13-module qualification, you will learn:

• classroom management
• lesson planning
• grammatical awareness

You can study this qualification online at any place and at any time. Contact us for more information and to take the first step towards your TEFL qualification.

Step 2

Have an accurate up-to-date CV, which showcases your TEFL qualification. You should also have everything you have done on your CV, including career summary – regardless of the industry you have worked in – as this provides a full picture of your experience and also highlights your transferable skills.

An example of this would be customer service, as this shows that you can engage and communicate with people from all walks of life – ideal for being a TEFL teacher. As well as your education, you should also talk a bit about your hobbies and interests, as this always gives the interviewer something to connect with you on.

Writing CV’s can be a tricky business and there are companies out there who can help you with it or you can download a template online, which will help you to set it out.

Helpful CV hints:

• always write your CV in the third person rather than first. First person is reserved for other professional documents, such as a personal statement or LinkedIn Profile
• try and include some key achievements, so something you have done within a role which has made a difference to either the company or to other employees
• try to keep the CV to two pages – employers can be put off if your CV is lengthy as they rarely have the time to read it from cover-to-cover
• include a professional profile at the start of the CV, which showcases your capabilities
• include a separate key skills section which lists your skills – don’t use more than 12

Step 3

Now you’ve written your CV you need to circulate it. You could be proactive and send it to language schools within the countries you are particularly keen to work in. This can sometimes take time as not everyone will reply to you, but at the same time, it could pay off. Even if there are no jobs advertised, often there can be jobs available.

Alternatively, you could apply for a suitable role advertised on our website, where you can select the country of your choice, or even see what is available and plan your trip dependent on where there are vacancies for a TEFL teacher.

It’s important to note that some of the job adverts may attach minimum experience to them, such as one-year teaching experience, but it is definitely still worth applying without the experience. If you can highlight your strengths and capabilities, then you never know!

Once you’ve applied for a role, you may be invited for an interview, which is more than likely going to be held online or over the telephone:

Helpful interview hints:

• if the interview is over the telephone, then make sure you pronounce your words clearly to avoid any confusion
• try not to interrupt the interviewer
• speak in full sentences
• answer all of the questions to the best of your ability
• if your interview is over Skype, Microsoft Teams or a similar online platform, dress smartly as this gives you an air or professionalism
• make sure your background / backdrop is appropriate
• if you can, face the light or have a ring light on in front of you
• make sure your environment is tidy and quiet

Step 4

Find some local or online experience. Yes, this is about finding a role as a TEFL teacher without teaching experience, but it wouldn’t do any harm to get some experience a bit closer to home.

Most areas have an expat community and it’s a great idea to see if you can engage with them and offer to help with teaching English for free. This can give you the edge over someone who has sent a CV in for a TEFL teacher role and will also give you experience in communicating and teaching people who are from a different part of the world.

There is also the possibility that you could find an online teaching job, as online has become more popular since the Covid-19 pandemic started in early 2020.

Step 5

Once you have applied for a role as a TEFL teacher, even if you are rejected, it’s important to keep in touch with the schools you have applied to.

And even if they don’t reply, there is nothing to stop you contacting them again and giving them a polite nudge that you have applied and are still waiting…. Making that follow-up call could potentially see you jump to the top of the CV queue!

For further information on how to gain TEFL qualifications, contact us today on 0800 368 9848 or email us [email protected] and we will be happy to help!