Looking for a job teaching in Seville?

It was almost five years ago that I arrived in Seville hoping to find a job teaching. I was lucky; within 24 hours I’d found a flat in Triana and a job at Giralda Centre. Fair enough my roommates turned out to be a handful, and I only stayed with Giralda centre for one year (more on that later), but it was a start, and if I hadn’t taken the plunge, then now I’d probably be a primary school teacher in Bognor.


When to arrive

The best time to arrive in Seville looking for work is the last weekend in August. A lot of language academies are closed at the moment but once they open you want to be the first to hand in your CV in person. You could get ahead of yourself by sending your CV now, but you really need to show your face, whether it’s pretty or not, to show that you are keen on living and working in Seville.

How to get a job

Once you arrive, get some smart clothes on, grab a cold bottle of water because it’s still going to be in the 40’s, and get walking. In my first week here I went round to all the language academies. I learnt the lesson that between 2pm and 6pm no one is about, so take a break.

You need to speak with the director or Head of recruitment for the larger institutions. If they are not around then get their name and book an appointment to see or telephone them. Some of the larger academies will just take your CV and chuck it on the pile with the rest, but you need to pester if you’re keen on finding a job. Don’t take no for an answer.

This is the technique I used in Ecuador, Brazil, Australia, and Seville. I found jobs in all places within a week, maybe they weren’t great places to start, but be patient.

What you need to get a job

• Cambridge Celta or Trinity Tesol. (No Teltas; dodgy Celta’s from Thailand)

• For the best academies you need at least a year’s experience, sometimes two.

• A working knowledge of Spanish is a bonus.

• Patience. The kids and teenagers can be hectic at times, but they’re normally all right.

• Basic IT skills. A lot of academies are using white board technology.

• A passion to teach. A lot of teachers come here but don’t enjoy teaching, they rarely last more than one year.

• A copy of English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy. Especially if you’re teaching adults, Sevillianos want to know why for everything.

A lot of Language Academies do their recruitment on-line. Here are some links to Language Academies.

I work for English Language Institute. We are looking for teachers at the moment. http://www.eli.es/es/pages/4/work-with-us.html

The British Institute; our main rivals, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if I gave you their details. http://www.ibsevilla.es/work.html

Clic. I’ve heard good references from teachers working here. They also offer teacher training courses. http://www.clic.es/en/about-clic-ih/work-with-clic-ih.html

Linc. An old mate used to work here; he said it was all right.
http://www.lincspanishschool.com/linc-contact.php

I worked here in my first year. If I hadn’t then I’d never have the lady of my life, yes she was my student. Be careful here though because they didn’t used to give you a long term contract, but maybe things have changed.
http://www.giraldacenter.com/contact.asp

A couple of my mates work here; also good to work for.
http://www.emacarena.com/

The rest of these I don’t know much about, but you can give them a try.
http://www.passportsevilla.com/

http://www.berlitz.es/

http://www.cccs.es/

http://www.stjames.es/

http://www.wsi.es/

http://www.londoncentre.es/

http://www.english1sevilla.com/masinfo.htm  

Last words of wisdom

If you like small cities with lots of bars, restaurants, and places to visit at the weekend then Seville could be ideal for you. I found it hard in my first two years to get used to the culture and relaxed way of life and sometimes I have those ‘Hate Sevilla’ days when I wish I was somewhere else, but Seville has a lot to offer EFL Teachers looking for an authentic Spanish lifestyle.