Is it still a good idea to get our CV around as much as possible, or are there better ways to get in touch with schools? I asked two TEFL experts for an opinion, Roberta Begliomini from IELO and Megan Wummer from TEFL in Italy and TEFL in Spain.

It’s easy to fall into the mistake: the more I send my resume around, the more my chances of finding a job as an English teacher increase, and since I’m a very organized person, I’ll spend 8 hours a day sending resumes to everyone until the job I am looking for arrives.

But after hundreds of hours of work and thousands of resumes sent, nothing comes. How come?

I asked two TEFL professionals for their opinion on the right way to look for work, how to approach those who offer it and get results.

Despite having a very different background, many of the suggestions they have given based on their experience are common.

Roberta Begliomini, founder of IELO, is a Portuguese teacher who moved to Italy. In the past, she found herself in the situation of looking for a teaching job and she decided to found a small school.

Megan Wummer is an American from New York and is the Course Director and Center Manager of a larger company that has offices internationally: TEFL in Italy and TEFL in Spain, and has professional experience in recruiting. 

According to both, rather than working on the quantity of contacts, we should focus on the quality. Networking is more important than sending CVs, because trust and word of mouth are essential in the world of teaching English.

What if we are good teachers, but not particularly sociable and inclined to networking?

Roberta and Megan give great advice on that…