Stand out from the crowd with your cover letter!
Applying to teach in the Middle East can be incredibly stressful, especially as it is a hugely competitive market. Schools receive hundreds of CVs daily from teachers all enthusiastic about teaching in their school.
I saw this post from a head teacher in Dubai in a fabulous Facebook group called ‘Empowering Expat Teachers’ (if you’re not a member, join it! It’s fantastic). In a nut shell, the majority of teachers who wish to teach abroad will apply to way more than one school. As a teacher, I know applying for jobs is time consuming after a long days work. But the sad truth is, your CV may not even get LOOKED AT if your cover letter doesn’t show case who you are as a person, professional and a potential employee.
Why it is important to put time and effort into your Cover Letter
An employer that receives hundreds of CVs a day is not going to be too impressed with a generic CV that they know has been sent to loads of different schools. That shows that you are not bothered which school you get once you’re teaching in the Middle East. While that may be true in most cases (I myself was guilty of this initially), you need to make the school believe that this is the school for you because of x, y and z. If applying through TES, each school attaches documents such as their ‘ethos’, ‘vision and mission statements’ and their ‘school prospectus’. If you want a job in their school, you’re going to need to read up on these documents, as well as finding out information on their website.
Above is a sample of what you may see on their job application. Here they mention their vision and what they do to achieve this vision. In order to ‘stand out’ as a candidate that wants this position, you will need to refer back to these documents.
For example:
“We will provide a diverse education in a safe, supportive environment that promotes self-discipline and motivation.”
This objective stood out to me, as it highlights some of the main qualities I promote as a teacher. In order to learn effectively, a child’s basic needs need to be met primarily, such as the feeling of safety. In order to achieve this, I like to establish good, solid relationships with my pupils from day one. It is essential that they know they are safe within my care and that there is a strong link between caring for them as a person but also caring for their education. Once a strong relationship has been formed, I aim to encourage each and every child to achieve their potential no matter what their ability. A school is a place of diversity and each and every child is celebrated and motivated within my classroom. A typical lesson of mine, underlines motivating diversity through the use of mixed ability pairs, differentiated challenges and practical activities. Through this, each child leaves at the end of each day feeling like they have been challenged but also that they have achieved something that day. If a child is not happy, they will not learn and this is something I try to conquer in my lessons, by making them feel happy in their achievements.
By taking a direct quote from their ‘vision’ document, it proves:
- You have actually read it.
- You believe you are a good ‘fit’ for their school.
- You have sent an individual response to their application.
The focus when applying is generally on the CV, but make sure to spice up your cover letter too so it showcases who you really are as a teacher and how exactly you are going to flourish and develop in their school.
*If interested, on my TpT account I have created a detailed sample cover letter.
I wish you the best of luck with your applications. It is a stressful time so get in touch if I can be of any help!
