 Re: I taught English overseas! --- So What!
Interesting topic.
I returned home for about one year between contracts and moved back to my very small home town. I had several job interviews all for work with kids. A couple of the interviewers I met were quite amazed by the simple fact that I had lived abroad for more than a year and survived, so I didn't even have to "sell" my ESL teaching experience any more than mentioning it. One person, on the other hand, had a nephew also teaching in Asia, so my similar experience became a kind of bonding point for conversation.
I found that most of the interviewers asked way more interesting questions of me- natural, real questions- and we got to know each other (however briefly) in a far less stressful way than the typical "Tell me your weak points" situation. I walked away from the interviews feeling like I had had honest, normal conversations.
As I've mentioned, all of the jobs I applied for were directly related to my work experience in Korea. But even if they hadn't been, talking about overseas work experience is a welcome ice-breaker in interview situations. No, I never experienced a "so, what?" attitude at all.  |