Teacher's CV Advice

[Jhopkins]

Hi All!

Can anyone give me any advice about writing a CV for teaching positions in New Zealand. I am beginning to apply for primary positions starting in Term 1 2010. When visiting NZ this year I was advised that NZ teacher CV's are generally 4-5 pages long, and include photos and quotes from colleagues and parents. My current CV is in the UK style - c. 2 pages long with a personal statement followed by relevant experience and qualifications. Does anyone have any experience with applying for teaching jobs in NZ and what is expected?

Any advice gratefully received!
James

[HeidiRussell]

Originally Posted by Jhopkins

Hi All!

Can anyone give me any advice about writing a CV for teaching positions in New Zealand. I am beginning to apply for primary positions starting in Term 1 2010. When visiting NZ this year I was advised that NZ teacher CV's are generally 4-5 pages long, and include photos and quotes from colleagues and parents. My current CV is in the UK style - c. 2 pages long with a personal statement followed by relevant experience and qualifications. Does anyone have any experience with applying for teaching jobs in NZ and what is expected?

Any advice gratefully received!
James

Hi James,
I am also looking to apply for primary teaching jobs for term 1. I had never heard that our CV needs to be so long. I better look into that! Also, what kind of photos do we need to include? I have a head shot, but should we include pictures of ourselves teaching in a classroom? Thanks in advance to anyone with any advice.
Heidi

[Cadibel]

Originally Posted by Jhopkins

Hi All!

Can anyone give me any advice about writing a CV for teaching positions in New Zealand. I am beginning to apply for primary positions starting in Term 1 2010. When visiting NZ this year I was advised that NZ teacher CV's are generally 4-5 pages long, and include photos and quotes from colleagues and parents. My current CV is in the UK style - c. 2 pages long with a personal statement followed by relevant experience and qualifications. Does anyone have any experience with applying for teaching jobs in NZ and what is expected?

Any advice gratefully received!
James

Hi - we also heard that the NZ CV is longer than ours, but when we talked to a Deputy Principal, he disagreed!

he told us 2 pages was fine - no colour an d no photos (apparently they have a giggle over them in the staffroom but that's all!)

I've applied for a couple of secondary school jobs with my 2 page b&w CV and got interviews out of them, so I guess is ok.

[sarahholloway]

Hello everyone

I'm about to start looking into primary teaching jobs in NZ, in particular north island. I was just wondering how people have found the process? I hear there are a number of steps you have to go through to register in NZ... what was that like?
I cant seem to find many sites advertising jobs, is this because I'm looking in the wrong places, or are there very limited jobs? Any advice would be appreciated as I'm very new to all of this!

Many thanks
Sarah

[Cadibel]

Originally Posted by sarahholloway

Hello everyone

I'm about to start looking into primary teaching jobs in NZ, in particular north island. I was just wondering how people have found the process? I hear there are a number of steps you have to go through to register in NZ... what was that like?
I cant seem to find many sites advertising jobs, is this because I'm looking in the wrong places, or are there very limited jobs? Any advice would be appreciated as I'm very new to all of this!

Many thanks
Sarah

Hi Sarah,

This is the place to look: http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/Vacancies/Default.aspx

If the link doesn't work, google edugazette nz. It's the Kiwi TES and where all jobs are advertised. You might also want to register with education personnel, a recruitment agency who advertise on that site - my dh got his teaching job through them.

As for the whole process - takes about a year if you have all your paperwork sorted. You need all your certificates and also a transcript from your degree course - you need to get this from your Uni. You then need to get your qualifications assessed by the NZQA and once you ahve done this, you can register with the Teacher's Council and get the visa ball rolling. TBH, wouldn't even think about jobs until you have your teacher's reg - most schools won't be interested.

Good luck!

[sarahholloway]

Hi Cadibel

Thanks for the advice, the website has been very helpful. Can you register to teach even if you haven't applied for your visa yet? I'm hoping to have a job offer before I apply - this will help a lot with my points.
Thanks again
Sarah

[Cadibel]

Originally Posted by sarahholloway

Hi Cadibel

Thanks for the advice, the website has been very helpful. Can you register to teach even if you haven't applied for your visa yet? I'm hoping to have a job offer before I apply - this will help a lot with my points.
Thanks again
Sarah

Hi again,

Yes, you can, although a lot of schools are a bit tentative if you ahven't already got everything in place, as there can be delays and they don't want to end up missing a member of staff!

Their start of year is Feb so September onwards is a really good time to look for start of term 1 jobs, although obviously there are some mid-year jobs which come up too. We start at the start of term 1 2010 and head out there next week, so feel free to pick my brains once we're out there!

[sarahholloway]

Originally Posted by Cadibel

Hi again,

Yes, you can, although a lot of schools are a bit tentative if you ahven't already got everything in place, as there can be delays and they don't want to end up missing a member of staff!

Their start of year is Feb so September onwards is a really good time to look for start of term 1 jobs, although obviously there are some mid-year jobs which come up too. We start at the start of term 1 2010 and head out there next week, so feel free to pick my brains once we're out there!

Wow that would be so helpful! I'm not looking to move until 2012, so I have a little while to go yet but it would be great to think I knew someone going there with first hand experience! Are you primary or secondary may I ask?
Again, thanks so much and good luck!

[jenswaters]

Hi

My name is Jen, and I too am a teacher (secondary PE). I can offer you some insight into getting set-up to teach (if someone can offer me some advice back)!!

I found that applying for jobs BEFORE I had been granted residency didn't actually get me anywhere. However, my situation is that I am in a role that is most popular for teachers, and for which there are plenty of people readily available. If you are a science, maths or technology teacher, then you are more likely to get considered for positions when not already in NZ than say, an English or PE teacher.

The key things you must have in place to start applying are your NZQA assessment, followed by your Teachers Council Registration. To register with the Council, you need your NZQA assessment done!!!!! NZQA needs your original documents/certificates and transcripts from your qualifications (ALL of them) to give you an assessment. The whole process takes about 10 weeks. I would start this pretty early, as once it is all in place, you then have a lot of stuff taken care of for your EOI/ITA (e.g. you have the certificates and assessment needed for your application).

Jobs....we have been granted residency now, and are desperate to find work before we move out there. However, due to the high number of teachers in my subject area, I have been advised by a few principals to move out there BEFORE applying for jobs. This is a little scary for me with 2 very young children (especially as I did this when moving back from Trinidad to UK, and STILL have no work 3 months later) Also, an agency told me that the number of teaching jobs had 'plummeted' and it was highly unlikely that I would pick anything up in my area. Has anyone moved out there as a secondary teacher? Is this information true? Does anyone have any advice about the next step? Does anybody work in a school that needs a great, enthusiastic PE teacher?!

Please help. We have come soooooooooooo far, and suddenly things look a little grim!!!

Jen