It Looks Good On A Resume: Part 2

Does it really?
Much depends on how you sell yourself and your experience.

My personal experience is that while employers (in fields other than teaching) may initially express some interest in or appreciation of teaching overseas, many just don’t know enough about it to value it as much as those who have done it or are interested in it. If you are otherwise just as qualified and experienced as other candidates for a job, your teaching may be icing on the cake, so to speak, but my own feeling is that the teaching alone is not enough to propel you ahead of someone with a more practical or conventional background. For all the talk of “thinking outside the box”, traditional qualifications and experience do seem to go a long way.

But although a potential employer may not realize the value of teaching experience, you can, as with any other experience you feel is valuable for a job, refer to it when answering questions and give specific examples of why it is relevant to the job at hand, including some as outlined here.

The truth is, plenty of people see taking a year (or more) “off” of your regular career activities to teach English as a waste of time, or as something to fill a few spare hours while you travel abroad. They may think you just walk into a room and start talking. Other people may feel envious of or threatened by someone who has taken the risk of moving to another country independently and doing a job with a minimal amount of training. Both of these views represent extremes and neither would be pleasant to deal with. Don’t assume that everyone falls into one of these categories, but be aware that some people might.

If you want to work in a field where international experience is important, teaching abroad will likely open some doors, as will advanced degrees and personal contacts.

In short, teaching abroad can enhance a resume, if you present it the right way, just don’t expect it to make a resume outside of the teaching world.