By Monika Salita
@monikasalita
By Derzsi Elekes Andor (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
New technology is giving us ever-evolving, creative ways to teach what we love. But, in order to be able to teach and inspire others, we’ve got to land a solid job first.
So, how do you find that hopefully-not-too-elusive teaching job? Use new technology to your advantage; specifically social media. Social media is a revolution and it is no longer a question of if one uses it, but rather, how well one uses it.
TEFL Jobs World for example has a wide social media presence which it uses to connect with and inspire past, present and future TEFL teachers. It is one of four TEFL job sites within the greater TEFL Jobs Worldwide network, which is committed to helping TEFL teachers find rewarding teaching opportunities across the globe.
TEFL Jobs Worldwide uses its LinkedIn group page as a forum for discussions on various teaching-related topics. They also post TEFL job opportunities found around the globe, share exciting new blog posts written by their group of dedicated bloggers and TEFL teachers, discuss teaching tools and methods, and more.
How did I connect with TEFL Jobs World? None other than Twitter. I am very passionate about using Twitter as a tool to discover great news about my industry as well as a tool with which to stay in touch with wide array of friends. While tweeting about my teaching experiences one evening, the TEFL Jobs World Twitter handle, @tefljobsworld, reached out to me and started a conversation with me about sharing my teaching experiences with them. This Twitter handle is one of the four in the TEFL Jobs Worldwide network, which is used to share their latest blog posts, TEFL job opportunities around the world, and also, connect with TEFL teachers to grow the TEFL community and connect great teachers with persons who want to learn more from them.
Finally, the company uses its TEFL Jobs Facebook page to share the added bonus of photos and other visual content in its posts. Facebook’s user interface of course allows for sharing of photos and other creative, intriguing visual content so the company uses this fact to its advantage by posting striking visual images to help amplify a certain point or strike up greater interest in a certain topic with vibrant imagery. Here once again, the goal is to share content teachers will find informative and beneficial to their work as well as sharing data-rich pieces on a multitude of TEFL work opportunities. Facebook is also a great medium with which to connect with other people who may have the same background, interests or goals, in order to expand one’s network.
So to sum things up, I believe that with key goals and keywords in mind and research focused on these certain goals and keywords, social media is definitely an excellent vehicle to pursue in order to find not only great TEFL job opportunities and blogging opportunities, but also gain relevant insights and tips on how to succeed with the work itself, ask questions and connect with other people who are in similar situations, all at the same time.
Here’s wishing you great new TEFL teaching adventures unlocked with the aid of social media.