Age Discrimination in the ESL Market Place

By Jim Korea

The general age limit for ESL teachers in most countries is in the early sixties. More and more, teaching English as a Second Language is becoming a young person’s game. For example, Saudi Arabia and South Korea both stipulate sixty-two as the retirement age for all teachers. This includes ESL teachers as well. Nevertheless, one would be hard pressed to find employment after fifty. It is a common demand that foreign English teachers be in their twenties or, at the least, early thirties. One colleague recently remarked to me, “I turned 40 today, its time to start looking for a new job.” And despite his sardonic humor, his comment contains some truth.

A private study posted on www.blogspot.com in 2007 studied the effects of age discrimination in the South Korean ESL market place. The study involved posting on numerous Internet job sites the resumes of several men and women who shared an average appearance, education, experience, native country and skin color. The only thing that varied between them was their age. Information was then gathered based upon the number of email responses returned for each prospective teacher. The results clearly showed that the number of job offers was directly related to the teacher’s age, regardless of experience or other factors. The full study can be viewed at: KOREAN SCHOOL

Most Western countries do not require teachers, or other professionals, to state their age or provide a photo in the initial resume process. However, many foreign countries that desire ESL teachers do require the teacher disclose his/her age, sex and other personal information. When searching for a job as an ESL teacher, you can avoid a lot of prejudice by not immediately stating your age, sex, or even revealing your picture. Although employers will eventually ask for this information, by delaying, you give yourself a slight advantage by connecting with schools that might have initially overlooked your application based upon a quick, first glance. This gives you an opportunity to talk to the school and sell yourself to them before they brush you aside based upon a poor first impression made by a photograph or birthday.

A few months ago, I had the fortunate opportunity to speak with a very successful recruiter who recruits teachers primarily for Korea. He shared with me a simple trade secret, “Any job applicant that is over the age of 45 goes in the garbage. Teachers between 35 and 45, we generally find work at remote schools that are desperate for teachers, we do not spend too much time with them. We generally look for teachers between the ages of 22 and 30.”

A simple method that can help a teacher find a job, if he/she is over a certain age, is to show up in person at the school; this action puts the interviewer on the spot and makes it difficult to say no to experience and education. If you cannot have a personal interview, call the school prior to sending personal information, inform them of your full name and your experience and education, and that your resume will soon be sent. Age discrimination in ESL markets is a fact, but a teacher should always stress their strengths prior too revealing their age.