Staff Interview with Linda Dunsmore

What led your path to join the team at International TEFL and TESOL Training (ITTT)?

I was working as an EFL teacher abroad in China when I was looking for a reliable TEFL/TESOL course provider. I found ITTT and decided to take their course. After being in contact with their awesome staff, I got the opportunity to work part-time for them, which then turned into a full-time position after a while.

Describe a typical day/week for you at work.

ITTT makes if possible for their employees to create their own flexible work schedule and to work remotely from anywhere in the world. On a typical work day, I communicate with a lot of current trainees, as well as partners and affiliates who work closely with ITTT around the world. I hold Skype conference calls with recruiters worldwide to establish new networks for jobs for our course graduates. I also closely work with ITTT alumni who want to share their experiences with us for our blog and in form of reviews.

What projects are you currently working on as the Affiliate and Marketing Manager?

I am currently working on building our network of global recruiters and volunteer organizations to offer a wide range of teaching opportunities in all fields and regions of the world to our graduates.

Why is it easy to market ITTT to prospective TEFL and TESOL students?

ITTT has been in the EFL business for more than two decades, which means we really know the industry like the back of our hand. We also keep in touch with our graduates, who love to share their experiences about the courses and their teaching jobs after graduating with us and perspective TEFL and TESOL students have access to these stories and reviews on a variety of platforms. Additionally, the wide range of TEFL and TESOL courses we offer makes it possible for anyone to choose the course format that fits their needs. We make TEFL and TESOL accessible to everyone!

How do you use your own experiences of living in various countries (including the USA, Germany, China, and South Korea) in your current position?

During my time teaching English in China and South Korea, I have learned a lot about the EFL market, especially in Asia. Because of that, I know exactly what our TEFL and TESOL students need to really succeed in this market. I know how important it is to get an internationally accredited TEFL or TESOL qualification to make your resume shine, but I’ve also learned that the most important thing is all the lessons and skills you learn during the course. Just because you’re a native English speaker doesn’t mean you’ll be good at teaching English!

What challenges do you face in your role and how do you overcome them?

Unfortunately, there is a lot of negative information about TEFL and TESOL in general out there and also a lot of people who try to take advantage of those who want to go abroad to teach. Therefore, I work hard to establish trust with our prospective students. As mentioned earlier, we let our alumni speak for the quality of our courses and service in form of written and video reviews and by sharing their stories on our ITTT blog.

Can you tell us about a particular time that you were proud of the work you do with ITTT?

My goal is always to provide our students and graduates with the utmost value possible. Therefore, most recently, I was proud to establish partnerships with a range of renowned recruitment agencies and volunteer organizations. This allows us to offer amazing job and volunteering opportunities in exciting parts around the world.

What does meaningful travel mean to you?

I love traveling and do it as much as possible. Meaningful travel to me means really getting to know the culture and the people of the place you are visiting. I like to do a lot of research about a place before I go to understand its history. I also love going on food tours when I travel, as this really gets you in touch with a country’s culture.

How has traveling and living abroad influenced your life personally and professionally?

Traveling and living abroad has taught me to see things from different perspectives and allows me to tackle issues from different angles. This is not only a great asset to have for employers back home, for example, but extremely important and helpful in my personal life as well.

What hopes do you have for the future of ITTT?

We at ITTT want to remain one of the leading TEFL and TESOL providers on the market and further expand our relationships with like-minded organizations to really bring across our mission of making travel and life abroad accessible to anyone, anywhere, and at any time.