Asma BegumBritish Curriculum School, Sharjah, UAE
No UAE experience. Hired anyway.
Getting hired in Sharjah without UAE experience.
- Now
- ICT teacher, British curriculum school, Sharjah
- Before
- Many interviews, none successful
- Programme
- PgCTL, interview call within five months of joining
Asma was applying for teaching posts across the UAE and being turned down each time for having no local classroom experience. Five months into PgCTL she cleared every interview round at a British curriculum school in Sharjah, chosen ahead of more experienced candidates.
Demotivated, day by day.
Asma Begum is plain about what the run of failed interviews did. “This was demotivating me day by day,” Asma says. Asma places this in 2020, a pandemic year with, in Asma’s telling, a major impact on health and on finances. “Somehow I got to know about PgCTL and Suraasa. I researched a lot about it and finally joined the course.”
The offer letter.
Asma counts the job as the first thing the course changed. The interview call came within five months of joining, and Asma cleared the rounds. “There were many other experienced teachers for the interview,” Asma says, “but the interviewers were impressed with my pedagogical skills and I got selected.” The offer letter came from an international private British school in Sharjah. Asma calls it a dream coming true.
It was not just a job but one of my aims to teach in this school in UAE.
What changed in the planning.
Asma lists four changes in all. The second is in the teaching itself: lesson plans that use different strategies and build in reinforcement, reflection after every lesson, offline and online tools, and feedback to parents and students given in a professional way. Asma also lists differentiated activities for a diverse class, and an inclusive environment for SEND and gifted and talented students.
The third is recognition at work. Compliments from line managers felt, Asma says, “like I am achieving my milestones”. The fourth, which Asma calls the most important, is balance: being productive at work and still giving the family quality time at weekends. For other job hunters Asma has a message: “In spite of lot of competitions, it is possible to achieve your goals.”
