Kirstin Schwartz is the Career Services Coordinator for TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages). She has been the director of the Employment Clearinghouse at the past two Annual TESOL World Conventions. We spoke with her in March 1998 at the TESOL convention in Seattle.
Could you give our readers a general description of what you do at the Employment Clearinghouse?
The employment clearing house is for people who are looking for jobs and for employers looking for qualified professionals. We're always well stocked with jobs from Asia, the Middle East, and North America. Half of the jobs in the Clearinghouse are in North America. It's a worldwide job fair.
We offer a variety of services to employers from simply posting an advertisement at the conference to renting interview booth space. This year we also offered a special advertising rate in the February TESOL Placement Bulletin. They arranged appointments with prospective employees before the TESOL convention by e-mail and conducted interviews onsite.
What qualifications does the average applicant have?
Most of our job seekers have an M.A. in ESL, are TESOL members, and have at least three years of experience. We also get a group of new university graduates, and R.S.A. and independent TEFL/TESL certified people, but on average, most job seekers have experience plus a post-graduate degree.
How does this year compare with last year?
In 1997, we had 1,500 job seekers and 313 jobs posted. It was a banner year. In 1998, 1,300 job seekers attended the Employment Clearinghouse, but only 88 institutions posted job announcements.
Can you tell us about some current trends in the job market?
Because of the economic crisis, the Korean market is in trouble. Their weakened currency has caused problems because foreigners teaching there have expected high salaries. Korean employers can't afford to pay them, and some are unable to honor their contracts. Language institutes are often struggling to survive or are just going out of business. Given the financial problems, many people are leaving.
On the other hand, Vietnam and China are opening up. I wrote an article on Vietnam in the 1998 February TESOL Placement Bulletin . It was astounding doing the research because it really showed that Vietnam is going to be the next hot market. In some ways it already is. People have gone there, networked, and gotten jobs. Right now, they're only offering about US$600 a year, but that economy is developing and its going to be the next big place.
We also have a few Brazilian schools here at the conference and their numbers are increasing. Good positions are available with housing benefits and competitive salaries.
Eastern European countries are opening up--Poland and the Czech Republic are advertising, and this year we had positions in Moldova. Spain has always been more open, kind of a nonwestern Western European country. They do things their own way there--meaning they sometimes hire Americans while the rest of Western Europe usually holds back.
Saudi Arabia has always been an area that was open for qualified language teachers--how does that region look today?
Saudi Arabia and the Middle East are still very good markets. Interestingly, we also have a lot of Turkish jobs. The Turkish government just poured a large sum of money into the field.
In Japan some people with M.A.s are dissatisfied with the fact that foreign teachers are not treated the same as Japanese teachers. Some say, "Well, I'm going to go back home and get a job where I will be treated with some respect."
Where? The only place you're going to get any respect or status is if you get your Ph.D. and go into teacher training. There are a huge number of TESOL preparation programs that churn out M.A. graduates to fill an already overwhelmed job market.
What do you mean?
To serve the students best you need to have good teacher support. That means money, supplies, faculty support, the whole thing. In order to do that you need to have the right kind of market conditions. If you are churning out too many M.A. graduates, then you are ruining the entire system. Ultimately you're shortchanging the students at the end of the line.
So the surplus of teachers is not just in Japan but in the States as well?
Absolutely, and what's happening in the U.S. is ESL professionals either go overseas or they diversify. In the TESOL Placement Bulletin I try to give readers food for thought on how to diversify.
For example?
Freelancing, teaching in the workplace, or even just going into another field, such as computers, nonprofit organizations, or possibly consulting if you have some solid overseas experience.
What advice do you give to those looking for teaching positions?
What I generally tell those looking for work is that you can get a job if you're good--if you're the best in your field, you'll get the job. How do you be the best and beat everyone else out? You get involved! Get involved with your affiliates, get involved in TESOL, get involved in technology. These are things that you need to do to get ahead in the profession.
You use the word "involved." In the Japanese context we often use the word "connections."
In a way the term connections may be a little more honest. Getting involved leads to connections and that's the nature of this field. The single best way to get a position is to involve themselves in the field and then network, network, and network some more. People who don't know how to network usually have problems getting ahead.
Thank you very much.
My pleasure.
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