WorkSmart - help when you need it

ICAL WorkSmart is an exclusive mentoring program designed to help ICAL TEFL teachers find work and then be successful in their teaching.

Think of us as a knowledgeable, friendly professional who can help you with advice and suggestions; someone you can turn to when you’d like a second opinion; someone who has many, many years experience in the TEFL industry and who is there to help you.

Once you register for an ICAL course you are part of WorkSmart.

It is 100% free to all ICAL students while they are taking the course and then for 12 months following their graduation from ICAL.

What ICAL WorkSmart offers

ICAL WorkSmart helps you when you’re looking for work:

• We’ll help you prepare your TEFL CV/Resume.
• We’ll help you prepare your cover letter and job application.
• We will look at your specific skills and circumstances and then offer you real, practical advice on the best places to find work and how to go about getting a decent job.
• We will offer you advice on job advertisements and proposals and give solid, impartial advice on which sound good and which you had better avoid.
• We will advise on which countries would best fit your profile and requirements.

ICAL WorkSmart helps you when you are offered a job:

• We’ll take a look at the contract and paperwork and make sure it all looks good.

ICAL WorkSmart helps you after you’ve started work:

• Help and advice once you’re teaching. Our many years of experience can be used to give you a heads up if you come across a problem in the class or with the school admin. We are here to offer you good, practical advice on any problem or situation you may face where you’re or if you're uncertain or worried about what to do.

And much more!

Join ICAL WorkSmart

If you are an ICAL student currently taking the course then you are already part of ICAL WorkSmart and there’s no need to do anything else. You can already ask us for advice, get suggestions from us and run ideas past us.

Quite simply, just email us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. along with your ICAL Student ID and we’ll get back to you.

How can ICAL WorkSmart help me?

Every teacher is different and every teacher uses ICAL WorkSmart in a different way. Here are a few examples of what we have done to help teachers find work and make the most of it.

What is important to remember is that ICAL WorkSmart works for you: you may not need some help in certain areas, but you might in others. Whatever you need, however, we are here to offer advice and help you.

CV/Resume & Cover Letter

Your CV/Resume and Cover Letter are crucial in finding work. We will take a look at these and help you format and present them in the best possible light for prospective employers. We’ll work with you in this so that they really reflect you and your personality to show people who you really are.

We will also advise you on presentation techniques that will help you make a lasting impression on potential employers.

Work Permit, Visa, etc. - Document Preparation

Often getting a teaching position abroad involves getting some sort of work permit or visa. Visa types in particular can be many, and they vary from country to country. We will advise you on which one is best suited to your particular situation and the best way to go about obtaining it.

Finding Work

The world is a big place and there are TEFL teachers everywhere! We have worked with teachers looking for work across the globe. One recent teacher was heavily into rock climbing; in the end he found work just an hour from a national park in southern Europe where he climbs each weekend. Another teacher was nervous about her first time overseas so we advised her to head for a friendly town where we knew there was a thriving community of foreign teachers for her to meet. She's now loving life there!

Scams

Unfortunately they exist.

On several occasions we’ve had teachers send us job offers which we’ve identified immediately as scams. They followed our advice, deleted them and saved themselves a lot of heartache as well as financial loss!

In the Classroom

Being a new teacher isn’t always easy.

We’ve had several teachers who have found themselves facing disruptive students in their class. In cases like these sometimes it’s nice just to have someone to talk to about the situation but practical advice is helpful too and we’ve worked with those teachers in finding effective ways of dealing with troublesome students.

A recent situation one of our teachers faced was dealing with a class who just wouldn’t respond to her teaching. They would sit and watch and barely do a thing for the entire lesson. We helped this teacher adjust her style and prepare more stimulating lesson plans and in the end together we helped her get the class talking and involved.

Outside the Classroom

Culture shock happens to teachers when they move overseas. We’ve helped several teachers with practical advice on finding new friends and dealing with being in a new country and environment.

And Sometimes...

And sometimes it’s just a matter of knowing you aren’t alone. ICAL WorkSmart means that there’s always someone you can turn to if you need advice or want to get something off your chest!

Remember, if you are an ICAL student then you are already part of ICAL Work Smart - it's included in our course fee. Just email us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. along with Student ID and we'll get back to you.

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