If you turn up for an interview, and you’re not what they want but they need someone, and you can talk up a good show, then you may get the job anyway. Sending in a pic that tells them you’re not their ideal teacher may prevent you from ever getting as far as the interview, so if you really need the work and have nothing better to do with your time than go to interviews, then what have you got to lose? It’s all good practise.
But once you have your situation under control it pays to be very careful who you work for. Once you have a bit of flexibility you’re interviewing the employer as much as they are interviewing you. I changed jobs several times in my first year here because I didn’t really have the resources to survive long enough to be picky. Imani has (I believe!) been at the same school for years because she was able to find the right one for her.
Oh yeah, BuLaiEn did talk to me about working for him once. I think that was before he knew me though. But at least he had the sense to recognise that long hair does not equal stoner. I do not do drugs. Never have, never will, and I get really sick of people assuming otherwise. I wish I could say that only Taiwanese employers have this stupid preconception, but I actually get it more from foreigners.
I have been at the same school for four years, but it’s not because I was secretive about what I looked like (which for some people, unfortunately, is synonymous with “what kind of person I am”).
Yes, you might get shut out of jobs instead of being able to sweet-talk your way into one by including a picture, but I could have saved myself a whole lot of heartache if I hadn’t gotten all worked up for a job only to have them lie about the position when they saw I was not white.
I’d rather have to wait for a job where people aren’t discriminating on looks, than to get my hopes up for something that more than likely is not going to happen. Time wasn’t a luxury I had when I began my job search, but I would have saved myself a lot of trouble if I had cut through the bad employers with a picture up front instead of being optimistic that qualifications alone would land me a job here.
In my position, I get inundated with applications a few times a year after our school’s ad runs in the paper. I don’t feel a photo is absolutely nescessary. Indeed, quite a few of the photos that come through are shocking: hungover backpackers who shuffled into the photobooth at Carrefour to have their photos taken. There was one guy who was determined not to close his eyes and his photo had a surreal buginess about it. These pictures often make my day. I keep them in my desk to remind me that things could be worse.
Passport snaps, if they look good, are fine. But, if your application doesn’t look like the application of someone who knows what they are doing in the classroom you won’t get called.
Spooky photographs of you sitting with a group of children, or holding a young niece or nephew should be avoided. We don’t want proof that you’ve been exposed to children before. Do you like them? Do you want to teach them? Are you any good at it? I don’t care if you’re black, brown, or plaid. Can you hold a flashcard?
In my position, I get inundated with applications a few times a year after our school’s ad runs in the paper. I don’t feel a photo is absolutely nescessary. Indeed, quite a few of the photos that come through are shocking: hungover backpackers who shuffled into the photobooth at Carrefour to have their photos taken. There was one guy who was determined not to close his eyes and his photo had a surreal buginess about it. These pictures often make my day. I keep them in my desk to remind me that things could be worse.
Passport snaps, if they look good, are fine. But, if your application doesn’t look like the application of someone who knows what they are doing in the classroom you won’t get called.
Spooky photographs of you sitting with a group of children, or holding a young niece or nephew should be avoided. We don’t want proof that you’ve been exposed to children before. Do you like them? Do you want to teach them? Are you any good at it? I don’t care if you’re black, brown, or plaid. Can you hold a flashcard?