...I got a job?

Let me rephrase....
I got a job!

I haven't even finished the TEFL course yet and I already have a job. Oh, my!

So here's how it happened...

Part of the cost of the TEFL course includes career guidance. That is to say, during and after the course, TEFL helps you develop a resume, search for jobs, connect you with employers, and provide you with any other general job advice.

So this past weekend, I received an email from TEFL telling me that they had a contact in an organization who was looking for some new teachers and interviewing for open positions right away. I immediately forwarded my information and resume to that organization on Friday. And on Monday, I got a call from them asking to schedule an interview with me for that evening.

Since this was my first interview for a teaching position, I will admit I was nervous. Additionally, I did not have much time to prepare for the interview. (I had only the metro ride there to review my notes from the course and think about possible interview questions and answers.) So sure, I was a bit anxious you might say.

Luckily, however, the interview went well. I talked about my previous related experiences (shout out to VIP!) and how I think I would handle various teaching scenarios ("How would you keep a class of 10-year-olds engaged for an hour?). And at the end of the interview, she finally said to me, "Okay, Molly. Well I am very impressed with you and I would like to offer it to you."

"....I'm sorry, what?"

Obviously taken by surprise, I stumbled and looked confused for a moment or two. But my new future boss simply laughed and reassured me that yes, indeed, she was offering me the job.

"Well, yes of course, I accept!"

It all happened so quickly that on the metro ride home I still wasn't exactly sure if the interview had gone well or not. But of course in fact it did and I am now employed by an organization called Get English.

Get English is an organization that basically sets up private English classes for people, ranging from kids to adults and from one student to an entire class. They have a website and everything. Check it: Get English

What that means for me is that they act as a type of "broker" for me. Rather than having to advertise myself, find students, and set up private classes on my own, they do it for me. This type of job has both pros and cons. On the one hand, I get paid a bit less since they take a cut out of my hourly wage, and I have less flexibility with my work schedule since they make it for me. But on the other hand, I do not have to go through the hassle of finding private work on my own. Moreover, it is really an all around more reliable and consistent way to teach private classes. With individual private classes, students have a tendency to cancel, leaving the teacher with no pay for that week, and the teacher has to constantly work to find more students to ensure a steady wage. But with Get English, students are less likely to cancel (since they are signing up through a larger organization), and I have been hired to work with them until the end of June. Furthermore, Get English provides me with support (teaching advice, books, and a printer) and also allows me to teach a variety of types of classes and students.This type of job security, consistency and support will be helpful, I think, at this beginning point of my teaching career. 

So, my first day on the job will be January 9th (the start of the new semester) and I will begin with 10 hours per week, although this will undoubtedly increase as the new school semester gets going. I will have a range of students, although most of them will most likely be kids.

Obviously, this is really exciting news! I came to Barcelona with no guarantee that I would find a job. And since I am fresh out of college and (sadly and rather pathetically) still unable to support myself very well financially, that was a big risk for me to take. It is true that there are other programs that guarantee their participants a job, but I chose this particular TEFL course in order to provide myself with more flexibility in terms of the types of teaching jobs and locations, and also in the hopes of being able to make a bit more money (other programs give you less options for locations and jobs, and offer a flat stipend of around 700 Euros per month whereas I can earn more than that by taking multiple part-time jobs with this certification in the city of my choice). But I also just had a gut feeling that I could do it- that I was ready to take the training wheels off of my living abroad experience and instead experience something more grown up (oh gosh, did I just say I wanted to grow up?) And so far I have to admit that it seems my risk has been paying off.....

no pun intended.
;)