The good  news  is that  a  teaching credential is not necessarily a prerequisite for teaching in an international school. Obviously  the  best  paid teaching jobs at the top internationals  schools will nearly always  require qualifications  as  well as experience but that  doesn't mean that all international schools do. All International schools would prefer to hire qualified staff, however due to to many reasons they may not be able to attract qualified staff and will therefore give people without QTS a chance.

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Finding a School That Will Hire You

A school will lower the requirements for one main reason, they struggle  to find staff with the  skills, experience  and qualifications. This  can be due to 2 main reasons, a scarcity of specialised teaches or  the schools  has problems.

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In particular international schools  find it hard to find Maths  and Science  teachers. If you  have previously worked in a career in these fields or have a masters in them many international schools will overlook your lack of teaching credentials.

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School problems are normally a combination of the following:

• location (if they  are not in a big/popular city they will probably struggle to attract teachers or if it is on the outskirts)

• pay (if a school is offering less than 20,000 rmb  they are unlikely to expect a teacher  with QTS)

•  management, problems  with management  are harder to spot from a  job advert, but  if  the wage is high (25k+) and  they are desperate for staff in a Tier 1 city  there could be problems in management. The best way  to find out is to try and contact someone who is already working there.  

•  poor HR department  that doesn't know  how to advertise their jobs.

 

Obviously  all schools have problems, and it  is  preferable to work somewhere without any but  if you are looking to  become a teacher in an international school you will probably have to make some allowances.  Schools that suffer from these sorts of problems are great as a transition school. They hire a TEFL teacher  in a year or two you can use the experience gained to apply for schools in better locations, pay, management etc. Check out our International Schools and see if you can spot any!

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Which School To Choose?

When considering an international school the curriculum is very important and the grade. Once you have experience  in say the American Common Core in primary school you may find yourself stuck in schools that teach this. An IB school  has  a big  advantage due  to the international  nature of the course most international schools will value your experience  highly regardless  of  their own curriculum . This  is why IB experience  is  valued so highly.

 

Applying

When applying for the job, be sure  to write  a  cover letter express your interest in that particular school, this will show that you are interested and that you know  a little bit about  their  curriculum and can sell why you think you would be a good fit. Make sure that your c.v is up to date and that you have read  the 8 Tips To Improving Your C.V

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Interview

Before your  interview  read  up on the school and curriculum especially if you are unfamiliar with  it. Try to find out as much as you can about the  school as this  will impress the  interviewer. Make  sure you are on time! Especially if it  is over skype  and  you have a time difference. Think before hand  what makes you a good  candidate and  prepare for questions like

"why do you want to work here?"

"why do  you want to be a  teacher?"

"what can you tell me about xxx curriculum?"

"how would you control a  class that  is out of control?"

"what rules do you have in class?"

 

Also during the interview  is your opportunity to find out more about  the school. As  mentioned before there are often issues  at the school which is why they are hiring someone who is not qualified. Ask questions  such  as  "how many positions are you looking to fill?"

"why do people leave your school?" ( people leaving is not  necessarily a  terrible thing,  if they are  going on to better jobs with their  experience  having taught at the  current school it  shows  that you could also be getting a better job in the future by taking this one)

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Make sure in the interview to nail down exactly what you will be teaching and where. Many schools have an international part and a local part,  make sure you are in the international part. The school might not be able to tell you exactly what grade especially if  they are hiring for quite a few positions, but  try to get an idea. 

 

Personaly Development

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If you are looking at teaching long term the  best thing to do is to start getting some qualifications. Check out our guide to Personal Development, in particular the PGCEi.

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