ESL Job Search Part II

One thing that may not be so obvious when looking for work in countries like France, Spain and Italy (southern Europe in general)is that inorder to succeed, one must network. One must take an interest in the local people and talk to them. Through just simple talking and taking a sincere interest in others, you can actually talk your way into a job or help finding a job or housing.

So often, people come to this part of the world so focused on just "finding a job" that they don't even pay attention to the things that make them want to live in said country in the first place. They ignore the culture and the people while maintaining their attention solely on what they want out of the situation. And often these people fail miserably because in southern Europe, its hard to have much without help from the locals. When you have developed real friends and relationships, that alone takes you much farther than any other skill you may have.

My advice is, of course, during your TEFL course you should work dilligently to secue employment but along the way, take time to get to know others and even help out. Its all about the process, not necessarily the final result. GG