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Jobseeking & CV tips for English teachers in Russia
Since writing this page some years ago, I have since written an entire e-book on the subject of Teaching English in Russia. It covers everything from pre-departure preparation up to getting a visa and finding work and accommodation.
It is available from Interlingua Publications for 10 Euros. Proceeds from the sale of the book go directly to supporting VisaRus.
If you're planning to teach English in Russia, you'll find a lot of information from reading the Russia & CIS forum on Dave's ESL cafe. Read through the recent posts carefully to make sure your question hasn't already been discussed before making a new post, or you won't get much response.
Here, we'll cover some of the issues that most newcomers are concerned with - consider it a kind of F.A.Q. if you like. Take careful note that the information here is presented only as a guide. Things change quickly in Russia so you should confirm any details yourself before making decisions based on anything you find here. This section should, however, help to give you a 'feel' of the Russian EFL job scene that you wouldn't get simply from looking at BKC's website. Where relevant, we have included links to discussions on Dave's ESL cafe.
- Do I need a TEFL certificate? Which is best?
- Do I need a work permit?
- Do all Russian schools lie and cheat?
- Can I earn a decent living?
- Should I sign a contract?
- Should I arrange my own visa?
- How do I get a visa anway?
- Can I come to Russia and look for a job when I arrive?
- Where should I start looking?
- How should I present myself to a Russian employer?
- What information should be in my CV?
- Am I expected to speak Russian?
- Is it possible to live in Russia long-term as an EFL teacher?
- Are there any associations for native EFL teachers?
- Further reading
2. Do I need a work permit?In a word, no. Well, not really. The truth is that on a teacher's wage, even a top wage, you're going to be working quite a long time in Russia to recoup the cost of even the most Mickey Mouse online certificate. A few institutions insist that teachers are certified. Read into that statement as you will. Demand for teachers is too high for every school to demand qualifications.
If you're planning on being here really long-term, it might be worth aiming to get a job with the British Council. They require a minimum of a CELTA and two years' experience.
If you're only planning to stay for a short while, forget it. You'd be better spending that money enjoying yourself while you're here. In any case, a training course is likely to be worth more to you when you've had some classroom experience already, and can look beyond the obvious.
However, if you're interested in training as a means of self-improvement as much as a means of getting paid more, it might well be worth taking a course of some description. If you can, try to get some classroom experience, perhaps as a volunteer, before starting training. This will give you some reference points to apply the training to, and you'll get a lot more out of the process.
If you're going for a residential course, compare prices vs. content. Try to choose one that gives more observed teaching time, and make sure it gives some kind of recognised qualification at the end. (Benedict School's iTEFL certificate isn't recognised anywhere as far as I know). Try to match the course to your current level of experience - if you're going to spend money, you might as well push yourself and improve your skills rather than just going out to prove what you already know.
If you can't justify the cost of taking time off work to go on a residential course, then the online or distance option is one worth considering. Here, surprise surprise, there are a lot of pitfalls. Mickey Mouse certificates abound, and quite often the glitzier and more well-known a certificate is, the less likely it is to get you a job.
Look beyond advertising puff and guarantees of jobs in Thai rainforests and try to find a 'serious' provider. Look for proper affiliations, and try to get in touch with someone who's in the process of doing a course. You'll find some links to serious online course providers in the 'Training Resources' section of this site.
Some of the courses offered are fairly basic and are designed to give a confident grounding rather than a qualification, but some of them are very academic and challenging, and more suitable as in-service training for more experienced teachers looking to develop specific skills.A CELTA course is just four weeks long. It doesn't really claim to teach you how to teach, if you understand, and doesn't actually qualify you as a teacher. But it certainly costs a lot of money, and surprise surprise, the schools that most loudly insist upon teachers having CELTAs are those who offer CELTA training themselves.
If you have some experience, a lot of schools will take you more seriously than they would somebody fresh from a CELTA course. One thing that you have if you're teaching successfully without training is confidence - an essential part of teaching. A CELTA might just tell people that you either have money to burn or that you're nervous about teaching, particularly if you don't have any experience to back it up.
If you have a DELTA, the world is pretty much your TEFL oyster. Forget skivvy split-shifts, you can apply for DOS, Assistant DOS, you can probably even open your own school. Lesser teachers might down their drinks and move to another table when you sit down in the bar after work, you'll be so intimidating.
Some very useful discussions on Dave's ESL cafe:
English Language Teacher Neophyte
TEFL certification in Russia
We're not alone
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3. Do all Russian Schools lie and cheat?That is an eternal, infernal question. The answer is, in theory, yes. In practice, almost no teachers ever have work permits, and very few schools go to the trouble of obtaining them for their teachers. Some schools are known to arrange 'work visas' for their teachers, but this is not the same as a work permit. Only a work permit gives you the legal right to work and earn money.
Bear in mind though, that the authorities are probably too busy chasing big companies that can pay big handouts to bother with the paperwork necessary to bust a teacher that earns just a few hundred dollars per month. [Back to top]
4. Can I earn a decent living?Not at all. It just happens that the ones most disgruntled EFL teachers moan and whine about on EFL forums do. I know, I've done it myself. Moaned and whined, I mean, not cheated. There are certainly schools to be avoided, but Russia doesn't wholly deserve its bad reputation. Schools in Russia are businesses, some fiercely competitive, and EFL teachers are not exchange students. Always have a backup plan, an escape route if you like, and be prepared for something unexpected to happen.
If something does go awry, warn your fellow teachers about it with a clear, level-headed account of the situation. Post it on our forum or on Dave's ESL cafe. Try to be as fair and as objective as possible. If you write ALL IN CASPITALS AND EXCLAMTIN MARKSD WITHGOUT CHEKING YOUR SPELING OR PUNCTUATON, I'm afraid you'll be dismissed as another of the unhinged nutcases that come over here and cry blue murder the first time they're given a split shift. Worst of all, you'll be totally ignored and in the end, the school will win again. No publicity is bad publicity, and all that happens is some other teacher spots a vacancy created by the departure of an illiterate, huffy idiot.
If something really serious happens, as with the schools that keep teachers 'prisoner' with entry-only visas, go to your embassy or consulate for help, and only write about it when you're safely out of reach of the school.
Life is cheap in Russia, and so are heroes.
* We have heard on good authority that it would cost the Benedict school upwards of $1000 to cancel a visa, their current preferred approach to threatening teachers who want to leave them. That has no bearing on schools issuing single-entry visas though.
For a better experience, try going to a smaller city, or just to a smaller school. You can abandon all hopes of becoming a millionaire, but you can almost be certain of star treatment, if that's what you want. [Back to top]
5. Should I sign a contract?Yes, if you work hard. The average Russian school teacher's wage is around 80 to 100 dollars per month, maybe less. A TEFL teacher is unlikely to earn less than $300 unless he's a total slacker. However, you should remember that a foreigner has costs that locals don't. Visa processing and rent are but two that spring to mind. In a big city, don't accept any nonsense from schools that offer this kind of wage if you're planning to live normally and not come down with scurvy, unless they're offering accommodation and, preferably, visa processing costs. Some schools offer airfare reimbursement. Even if you're only doing it in a gap year 'for a bit of adventure', don't do it.
When teachers come along to have fun and earn beer money on the side, two things happen. It drives down wages for people who are wringing their livings out of EFL, day in, day out, year-round, and it feeds the low-cost, low-quality end of the market that has no business existing in the first place.
If you're willing to work for next to nothing 'just for the experience', please find a worthy cause- a charity or shelter or something.
Discussions:
We're not alone
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6. Should I arrange my own visa?Not if you can avoid it. If you have any doubts about a school, you shouldn't sign any legal documents they give you. For a contract with a foreigner to be legal, it must be written in two columns, one English, one Russian. Most schools don't bother with this anyway. The bad ones will, at best, turn around when it suits them and say 'well, that isn't really a contract, it's an agreement'. At worst, they'll try to scare you with threats of legal action if you renege on the deal.
Don't let them get the wind up you. The law is probably no more on their side than yours. If you smell trouble, go to your embassy or consulate for advice. For some reason, the rogue schools seem a little wary of embassies and consulates. Fortunately, nuisance schools are probably the exception rather than the rule, so there's no need to be paranoid.
If you're working on an hourly (off-contract or freelance) basis, there's not much need for a school to take your passport details. At most, give them the serial number and let them know your country of origin. They definitely do not need to photocopy your passport.
From a money point of view, contracts give you (usually) a stable, fairly guaranteed monthly income, and sometimes include 'perks' like paying for your visa or airfare. However, they often mean that you are tied to that school with no room to complain about being made to give lessons at 7am and 9pm on three consecutive days.
Working off-contract means that you're free to come and go as you choose. You can not only squeeze your employer for wage rises, you can also tell him where to go when he suggests that you take a class in some God-forgotten industrial wasteland on the outskirts of town without travel expenses.
You're not likely to be working legally anyway, so what value does the contract have? Your agreement with the school is verbal. Any piece of paper is usually no more than a 'reminder', so there's no harm in putting your agreement in writing. Just don't get carried away with thinking it's a bona fide contract. [Back to top]
7. How do I get a visa anyway?If you know what you're doing, it might not be a bad move. Bear in mind that arranging a visa through a travel agent will cost anything from $60 for a single-entry 28-day tourist visa up to several hundred for a 12-month multi-entry.
Organising your won visa means that you are not tied to the school that you go to work with. If a school invites you and gets you an entry-only visa, you'll be dependent on that school when you want to leave the country. Only the body that issued the invitation for such a visa can apply for the exit or exit-reentry visa necessary to leave the country. If you're planning an escape from a tyrant school, it's best to feign sickness or say that you need to go somewhere for a weekend. Don't give any signs that you're not coming back.
On the way out, ask the border guard to stamp and annul the main visa in your passport, and ask him to take away the reentry part of the exit-entry visa. Explain, if necessary, that you want that visa to be dead, dead, dead. That should help to avoid any complications if you plan to come back with a different visa.
If in doubt, ask the school to arrange a multi-entry visa when you're applying for the job. If they won't do it, try a travel agent. [Back to top]
8. Can I come to Russia and look for a job when I arrive?We'll cover this in an article soon. For the time being, there are plenty of well-kept sites on the internet that will answer this very question. [Back to top]
9. Where should I start looking?Everything is possible in Russia. In some ways, you have a better chance of being offered a job if you are physically standing in the office of the school. Job offers made over the phone can evaporate when you actually get here, or you can find that the conditions have changed. Bait and snatch.
It's a good idea to have at least one offer before you set off for Russia, maybe with an interview lined up, and arrive two or three days early to give yourself time to call round and visit some other schools. It goes without saying that there are plenty of schools in our school list that you can call round when you get here.
Discussions:
Can I just turn up and look for a job??
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10. How should I present myself to a Russian employer?It goes without saying that one of the first places you should look is VRjobs! Failing that, take a look at the school list and try contacting schools in the area where you want to work. Not everyone looking for a teacher advertises vacancies, so you might get lucky. Don't send email to schools on our list indiscriminately though, it's called 'spamming'.
Search the net for other job vacancies, ELF job websites etc. and try looking for online expat publications with classified ads (St. Petersburg Times, Moscow Times, or expat.ru for example). If you're Russian's good, you could try some Russian job websites, but they rarely have vacancies for EFL teachers.
Personal connections are the surest way to get a job- a recommendation for both you and the school from an existing employee is the best way for all parties to know that they can trust each other. [Back to top]
11. What information should be in my CV?As with any employer, you should be polite and confident. Russians are very sensitive and perceptive people, and place a lot of importance on impressions. They also hold some very strong cultural stereotypes, for example Americans are often seen as loud and brash, British as reserved and dull. Other English-speaking nationalities don't tend to be stereotyped, but instead will be pigeon-holed into 'American' or 'English'.
Thinking a little about how you behave in the interview might make a difference to the outcome. Behave in such a way as to make the interviewer think 'hey, this isn't your average American/Brit/whatever'. Most importantly, don't 'apologise' for anything, whether it be your appearance if you're not wearing a tie, or your qualifications if you don't have a teaching certificate. Concentrate on what you are, what you've done and what you can do for that employer.
Dress smartly, give the interviewer a firm handshake (unless it's a woman, when you should be gentle and only shake hands if she offers her hand first!), smile and make eye contact. Relax, speak clearly and at a natural pace. If you don't understand something, don't be afraid to ask the interviewer to repeat or rephrase, just remember to do it politely. Don't switch to Russian unless the interviewer does so, or asks you to!
You might be asked to give an observed lesson before an employer takes you on. Be ready for this, especially in case you're not given adequate preparation time. Ideally, have some 'ice breaker' and 'filler' lessons ready in your mind. They'll be useful even if you're asked to do a lesson from a coursebook.
You might want to ask questions about the students, the age groups and ability levels that are taught in the school, the textbooks that are used, the facilities that are available for lesson preparation (staffroom, copier, computer & printer). Asking to have a look at the supplementary resources that are available ought to help create a good impression.
You should look at all these things anyway, as they'll help to give you an idea of what working in the school will be like, and to what extent the school is concerned with quality. Compare the surroundings to the facilities that are provided for teachers. If the school is new and shiny but all the books are dog-eared and out of date... [Back to top]
12. Am I expected to speak Russian?Keep your CV brief, clear and to the point. Stress any relevant qualifications, but if your qualifications aren't teaching related, don't push them too far. Concentrate on experience rather than qualifications. Highlight any positions of responsibility.
Employers are interested in the kinds of classes you have taught (general/business/specific purposes, etc.), the age ranges you have taught, any kinds of mixed groups (mixed ages, mixed levels) and how you dealt with them.
If you can, sum up your hours spent in each situation, and provide as many references as you can and invite the employer to check them. Good references in EFL are often worth more than qualifications. Given the slightly unpredictable nature of foreign teachers, if you've left a school on good enough terms to get a pleasant recommendation, you're obviously a fairly reliable kind of person.
Oh, did I mention reliability? Stress that. Reliability is a major concern with foreign teachers. And include a picture of yourself at your best in your CV. Next to being a great teacher with years of experience, the thing that will open most doors for you in Russia is a tidy appearance and a pleasant smile. [Back to top]
13. Is it possible to live in Russia long-term as an EFL teacher?No. Sometimes it might be a plus if you don't know a word of the language. While it does little or nothing for your teaching, your employers might like to see you as being slightly helpless and dependent on them. Students will also feel obliged to speak to you in English, though they'll rejoice at being able to swear openly in front of you in their mother tongue. Remember that in Russia, speaking with more than a hint of an accent is considered in some quarters to be as good as not speaking at all. Don't forget your modesty. [Back to top]
14. Are there any associations for native EFL teachers?If you really want to, yes. However, Russia is probably not the wisest place to put down roots that you can't afford to break. There are plenty of expat Americans and Brits in the big cities to keep you company, but don't expect them all to be eeking out a living from teaching English. There'll be diplomats, managers, representatives, self-made millionaires with nothing better to do than chat up girls in sleazy bars and so on and so on. [Back to top]
14. Further readingThere are some, but you've got VisaRus! What more do you want?! Okay, I'll tell you more tomorrow, I'm going home now. [Back to top]
Here are some articles and publications worth reading:
Add to:
Random Quote by Bertrand Russell
"Passive acceptance of the teacher's wisdom is easy to most boys and girls. It involves no effort of independent thought, and seems rational because the teacher knows more than his pupils it is moreover the way to win the favour of the teacher unless he is a very exceptional man. Yet the habit of passive acceptance is a disastrous one in later life. It causes man to seek and to accept a leader, and to accept as a leader whoever is established in that position."
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