How to recruit an EFL/ESL teacher in the Philippines

Recruitment is the process of looking and getting the right person in the right job.  And the success of the company depends on the person that will be hired.

Six years ago, I became a part of the recruiting team in one of the universities in Thailand.

I was assigned to assess foreign applicants who want to teach EFL in the Language Department of the university.

I encountered applicants from various backgrounds, and honestly speaking, it was a difficult extra job given to me.

To be a recruitment officer needs patience and analytical skill. You have 30 minutes to 1 hour with the applicant to decide whether he/she is going to fit in the job.

This article will talk about it, and my main focus is for language schools here in the Philippines who are looking for fresh and experienced ESL teachers.

Here in the Philippines, summer is the usual time for the new graduates to look for a job. It is a great opportunity for newly opened language schools to hire teachers, likewise for old language schools. Also, many Filipinos are benefited because of the possible jobs as ESL teachers.

Before you start the recruitment process, it is important to know exactly what your school needs. Have your goal in sight, and list down the questions that will guide you in the recruiting process.

Here are some of questions you need to consider:

• Are you planning to hire teachers for young learners or adult learners?
• What kind of ESL program your school is offering?
•  Is it a short term program or long term program for ESL?
• Are you looking for a teacher with a long experienced or just a new graduate? (Both of these have advantages and disadvantages)
• Do you want to hire a full time or part time teachers?

After you know what you want, you need to brainstorm the profiles of the candidates. These are the three categories you need to consider:

Qualifications –

·         Is a university degree important to the school?

·         Will you hire an applicant with a TEFL / TESOL certificate?

B.      Work Experience –

·         How long has been the applicant an ESL teacher?

·         Does the applicant have a work problem or criminal record in his/her past jobs? In 2007, an FBI fugitive was caught in Thailand. He was an ESL teacher in an international school when he was arrested. It was unknown to the school officials that the man they hired was a rapist and a pedophile in America. This experience should teach us that a background checkup is important during the hiring process. Here are the following suggestions that you can do to check the applicants background:

1.       Ask the applicant to produce a latest NBI clearance and local police clearance. You can also ask for authenticated birth certificate from NSO to be sure of the applicant’s identity.

2.       Call the previous employer if there is any, and ask for the applicants working behavior.

3.       If you noticed that the applicant’s documents are faked then it is better to get rid of him/her. Honesty still rules.

C.      Personal Qualities –

·         Is the applicant adjustable; has a sense of humor, energetic, knowledgeable, etc?

These three categories will help you during the recruitment process. You can add more categories as long it will fit on the job qualifications.

Let me add more questions that will help you before the recruitment:

·         What will you ask during the interview?

·         How will you verify the applicant’s diplomas and certificates?

·         Will you do a post interview before the actual interview?

The bottom line here is to get as much as information as possible before you invite the applicant for interview.

Now that you know what you are looking for, then you are ready to start for advertisement.

There are many ways to do it. You can do it by word of mouth, internet, newspaper, billboard, etc. If you will post advertisement on the internet, make it attractive to the applicants.

List down everything that the applicants needed to know like experience, qualifications, qualities that your school is looking for an ESL teacher.

You might want to include the information of the class (size, age group, type of ESL program). Do not also forget to include your school information, contact number, and its location. It is your discretion if you will also include the teacher’s salary.

Once you posted an advertisement through online or offline, then expect that you will receive calls or emails from potential candidates.

Check the applicant’s CV using the three categories I just mentioned. Use it to analyze if he/she is fitted for the job.

You can phone and ask a few questions if you want to ask some clarifications. If the applicant is well fitted, then schedule an appointment with the applicant. You can also ask him/her to bring some documents that will support the information written on the applicant’s CV.

Make it sure that the interview will be done in a quiet place without interruptions. It will make the candidate at ease and not to be stressful during the interview.

I’ve noticed that applicants reveal less if he/she is not at ease.

Avoid too personal questions.  It is better to list down the questions so there will be a flow during interview.

You can also ask the candidate to show a teaching demonstration in front of the student. After the interview, tell the candidate that he/she will be hearing from you in _ _ days.

Professionally speaking, it is better to wait at least 24 hours before you contact the candidate.

It will give you the time to decide to accept the candidate as an ESL teacher in your school.

I believed that a time well spent in finding a right person will give you less time spend with problems once the applicant is hired.

3 things that you must know before accepting a job in any Philippine recruitment agencies?

Recruitment agency is one of the best ways to get a job. There are two types of recruitment agencies in Philippines.The first type of agency is pad by a certain company to find people to hire. The second type of agency will look for companies that matches the jobseekers qualification, then after he/she is hired, the applicant will pay a certain fee for their service.

But before you use their services, you must know 3 things about Philippine recruitment agencies. Let me share this to you.

1. Avoid any recruitment agencies that charge high service fee. Many victims of this kind of agencies are usually Overseas Filipino Workers. One time, an employment agency from Manila phoned me. The woman on the phone told me that the employer saw my resume in workabroad.ph, and I am qualified to be a part of the school’s working team. However, I need to pay almost 80,000 pesos to be accepted. She explained that it covers the processing fee, the dental and medical fees, and the place ticket fee. When I did the calculation by myself, I found out that it will only cost the half amount of fees mentioned by the woman on the phone. I know that it is a good job, but the recruitment agency was charging me a very high fee that will make me financially crippled.

2. Check the recruitment agency’s background before you accept the job offered. Hundreds of recruitment agencies are everywhere in our country. This is a good opportunity to get a job. But before you use their service, make it sure that they are legal recruiters. Many Filipinos were scammed by illegal recruiters, and most of their victims came from provinces. Their style is this: they will ask you to pay an upfront fee to process your application, and once they have the money, they will disappear and will not show up anymore. A good and legal recruitment agency practices ethical working standards. It is also registered in the Department of Trade and Industry or Philippine Overseas Employment. Their license are not expired, and they have a valid phone number and office. Do not deal with recruiters who communicates with you through phone or email. If you are unsure of their existence, you can check them in DTI local agencies, and POEA for overseas agencies.

3. Make a good presentation and be prepared always. If you are called for an interview then make it sure that you will prepare everything including yourself. These are the common things that you must:

• A professional resume. Some recruitment agencies will also require you to fill up a bio data. It can be available in their office for free or you must pay for it.
• ID pictures. Most required pictures are 2x2 passport size. Some agencies will ask for a whole body picture of yours with a white background.
• Pencil, pen, glue
• Original and photocopy of Transcript of Records, Diplomas, and Certificates.
• NBI Clearance
• Police Clearance
• Medical Certificate. Most agencies are affiliated with a certain hospital or clinic. Even you bring a medical certificate, it will not be honored unless it came from a clinic or hospital recognized by them.
• Supporting documents like recommendation letter, barangay clearance, sedula, NSO birth certificate, marriage certificate for woman.
• Valid ID’s like SSS, Philippine passport, drivers license, etc.
• extra money