When I arrive in Thailand what is the best way to start my job search?

I think you firstly need to ask yourself three questions. Where do I want to work? It’s no good applying for jobs in a rural town if you’re a city person. Secondly, what kind of students do I want to teach? It’s pointless applying at kindergartens if you prefer teaching adults. Finally, how much money do I need to make? Why apply at schools paying 25,000 baht a month if you need to make far more than that and in reverse, why work full-time at a school if all you are looking for is a few hours here and there? Answering those three questions honestly will narrow things down and give you a better focus.

I would then scour all the Thailand-related job sites and spend a day or two on the phone. Set up quality appointments and by quality appointments, I mean those phone calls where you got a good vibe from the person on the other end of the phone. Don’t go to interviews for the sake of it, especially if when you called, the school sounded desperate for the first teacher to walk through the door.

A lot of teachers advise just turning up at a school unannounced, and while it is a strategy that sometimes works, it can be very time-consuming. I would make this strategy your plan B.

Don’t overlook the possibility of working for an agency. Although there are bad points to working for an agency, they do allow you to get a foot in the door and find out how things work here. Once you have a year of teaching under your belt, you’ll be a much wiser person and in far better shape to go it alone.