Six years ago, I began researching a way to make it back to Spain. I was a senior at the University of Iowa, finishing a degree in journalism and “how the hell do I get abroad.”
Fast-forwarding to the present day, I’m sitting in the sunlight basking into my apartment on the fifth floor with a café con leche. My one goal post-college was to move abroad, and thankfully the North American Language and Culture Assistants gave me a visa, a job and the ability to make Spain my hogar dulce hogar.
Remember Mike? He wrote about his intention to start a new life in Spain through the same program, and has gladly shared his experience of tackling the application process.
Well, the application period for the Auxiliares de conversaciones extranjeros en España finally opened up on January 10th. It seemed as though each day approaching the 10th would just creep by. However, I felt that I was going into this application process basically blind. All I really knew is that I had to login to Profex (the application system they use), and upload documents. Everything I had read of various blogs and forums said that you should apply AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE! Basically, once someone applies they are assigned a number, and then once the application has been approved, placements in regions and schools are given out in the order of the application received. First preference being given to those who are renewing their current placements.
The website has a program manual that outlines the application process and a Profex manual that detailed each screen on Profex and how to navigate the page. Once I was actually in the process of applying, these documents were actually very helpful. I was able to begin working on the list of documents on the website which needed to be submitted for the application:
- The main page of a U.S. or Canadian passport
- A copy of college transcripts or college degree
- Letter of intent or statement of purpose
- Medical certificate (if not a U.S. citizen) – to be turned in during VISA application process
- Letter of recommendation
Before the application period opened, I was diligently working on the collecting all the items above. The passport page was an easy photocopy, as was the copy of my college transcript. I browsed many forums and blogs, as well as the Facebook group for this year’s auxiliares to see if it mattered between the transcript or the degree. Everything I came across said that it didn’t matter as long as one was uploaded. Needless to say, I chose the transcript. The letter of intent was fairly simple, as I had to put into words why I wanted to teach in Spain. However, the only glitch with it was that it had to be 300 words, so my 750 word first draft had to be significantly reduced. Who knows if they really even read it though?
The website had a guide for how to write and submit the letter of recommendation. The letter had to come from a professor or former professor unless the applicant has been out of school for over 5 years. I contacted my former professor and faculty advisor. She was ecstatic to be writing the letter for me. I was thrilled because I had been nervous that since I could not ask her in person she may say no or put it on the back-burner and finish it later than when the application opened. My professor wrote the letter in the format they requested and mailed it in. I asked that she send me an electronic copy so I could upload it online just in case it got lost in the mail. Luckily, she obliged and I was able to upload a copy when I was applying.
On January 10th and 5:01 p.m. here in Milwaukee, WI, (00:01 a.m. in Madrid), the application period finally opened. I began logging in and creating a user account, while following the Profex manual. After I had created a username and began entering my personal information, the system started to load very slow and kept shutting me out. I attempted to login a few times and kept receiving an error message from the website. Quickly, I began searching forums to see if others were having this problem, and I found out that others had the same exact problem. It seemed as though the mad rush of applicants had overloaded their server.
I attempted to login nearly every hour, sans when I briefly slept; however, it was to no avail. The same error message popped up every time. Since it didn’t work through Friday Spain time, I figured it would be down through the weekend, which it was. Although, it did not stop me from constantly checking to see if for some reason it would work! On Monday, I was able to login and finish my application. The Profex Manual was a breeze to follow with actually having the web page up in front of me. Most of the fields that need to be filled in are personal information, college information, any teaching experience, and any study abroad experience, fairly straight forward.
After all that information was completed, the fun part began: selecting regional, type of city, and school preferences. For regional preferences the applicant put each group in order of preference, from 1 to 3, and then selects one region within each of those three groups. The options for regional placements are:
Group A: Asturias, Cueta y Melilla, Extremadura, La Rioja, Navarra, País Vasco
Group B: Aragón, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Cataluña, Galicia, Islas Canarias
Group C: Andalucía, Castilla y León, Islas Baleares, Madrid, Murcia, Valencia
The regional preferences are followed by the type of city preferences, which allows the preferences of a rural community, medium sized community, an urban community, or no preference. Then, the school preferences consist of primera, secondaria, or no preference. Personally, I found this to be the most exciting part, as I was actually selecting where I would prefer to be located. Now, I know that I may not get placed in any of my selected preferences, which is perfectly fine with me. I was just excited to be actually submitting something that said where I would like to go and what I would like to do.
Once this part of the application is finished, Profex generates a .pdf print out. It is necessary to print this out and sign it because it needs to be mailed in to a specified regional coordinator along with a checklist that is initialed and signed.
An application becomes Inscrita once the online part is complete. When the regional coordinator receives all the documents the status is changed to Registrada. This is where my application is at this point. Admitada is the next stage, which is when all the submitted documents have been accepted. So far, no one that I know of has been placed past this stage this year.
According to everything I have read, it takes a long time to reach the next stage, Adjudicada, which is when they send the autonomous community assignment that the applicant has been placed in. You have seven days to accept or reject this placement. Assuming it’s accepted, the status becomes Aceptada. The final stage is when you receive your Carta de nombramiento, your school placements. These latter stages of the Profex application process are exciting to think about, but still seem far off for me. I’m just looking forward to being Admitada!
This whole Profex process was not actually as difficult as I had anticipated. Current auxiliaries de conversation blogs and forums were incredibly helpful and reassuring throughout the process. Unfortunately, I discovered Facebook group for those applying to teach after I applied, otherwise that would have been pretty helpful too. In the end, I wound up with number 780. While it’s not the best number in the world, I still feel as though it is respectable and feel very comfortable that I should get a placement. I’m checking my applications status every hour, if not even more frequently, and I look forward to keeping everyone updated with my thoughts about this whole process.
Hasta luego.
Got any questions for Mike or me about the program? Leave them for us below in the comments! Check back for his process from the Midwest to Spain.
About Sunshine and Siestas
Really good to hear an update from the first-year side of the ocean about the application process. We renewals here in Spain are having our own set of challenges, but at least most of us have the all-important inscrita number.
And for reference, Castilla-La Mancha, Cataluña, and Valencia cancelled the program for the 2012-2013 school year (and presumably the next one, too); the Canaries and Navarra only accept British Council folks, and nobody knows anything about Ceuta and Melilla, the two Spanish cities on the Moroccan coast.
Looking forward to hearing about your placement, Mike!
Trevor Huxham recently posted..Paris: The Best Christmas Present
You’re a stud, thanks for this info! I met a Brit who was in Melilla a few years ago, so it may be that they’re from the British Council, but – as with all things in Spain – es cuestión de cuándo va a cambiar!
Thank you Trevor! As of yesterday, I am now Admitada! So now, I play the waiting game…I found out at work on my cell phone and could hardly contain myself.
I’m a bit confused but maybe I missed a post. Is he in Spain now? was his application process a year ago January? Did he start a blog? I didn’t check back to my comment on the other guest post of his where I suggested he start a blog. I imagine there would be a link if he had. anyway, I would love to read it if he does start one!
very interesting process!! I think I’ve mentioned this before (maybe not on this blog) but this is something I am considering doing at the ripe age of 60 “when” we move to Spain (7 years from now, I hope!). I’ll obviously have to review this again at that time, but I found this very interesting nonetheless
tobyo recently posted..Winter beautiful
Mike is not in Spain yet, as the program doesn’t begin untli October. Blog in the process of getting started!
aha! I think it was his “café con leche” comment that confused me. It sounded like he was already there. Okay then, cool!! Can’t wait to see his blog!
tobyo recently posted..A visit to the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park, St. Paul
The italicized part is me talking! Mike is still camped out in the Midwest, waiting to see if he’s gotten a placement.
Cat addressed the part that I am not in Spain. I’m in Wisconsin, in a 5-8 inch snowstorm to be exact. My blog is currently in the works and I will be certain to update you and everyone else once it is up and running. Thanks for reading and the encouragement!
for a minute I thought you wrote this and thought-
I think uploading documents is a fairly new thing how did you manage doing this 6 years ago?! Then I realized it’s a post from Mike.
Seems uploading docs is a fairly new thing, which makes more sense!
Or maybe I just have deleted the nightmare process of Profex from my brain!
Lauren @ roamingtheworld recently posted..Jet-lag, a hostel stay and an unexpected friendship
When Profex was introduced, it was the biggest pain in the culo and always crashed. I even went to the MEC office in Seville, saw the papers stacked up, and wondered what the point of doing it electronically was – they printed out every application anyway!
i think it s great that you are teaching people how. so many people talk about do this or that but few tell you step by step how… great. one day we might too!
gabi recently posted..The Time I Almost Died In Las Vegas- The Nomadic Family Budget World Travel Blog
I’m a proponent of the program, though it has its pitfalls! I never expected to like teaching, and this program gives you all of the good sides of it without the meetings, dealing with parents and admins, etc.!
Great info, Cat. I look forward to passing this on to those I know who are considering taking similar steps
Larissa recently posted..Free things to do in Florence
Thanks, Larissa! I found it to be a springboard for getting abroad, and it’s provided me with a career I have never considered. I’m more than willing to be in touch, too!
To everyone and anyone who is curious, my status was updated to Admitada! So now, I am simply waiting until the they find me a regional placement. There is a rumor out there that they will be doing a round of early placements some time in February; however, that is a rumor. If it’s not true, then I am expecting a regional placement around April or May. I will keep everyone updated if anything happens! Thank you all!
Very thorough and helpful! I wish I’d had something like this to help me through when I was in my early 20′s and completely at a loss of how to get a job overseas
Micki recently posted..Six Quick Steps to Nailing the Cheapest Flight
I wish this were available for Filipino citizens. I would love to get a job in Spain! Ohhh, such a romantic country! (And language of course. A lot of our words have Spanish roots.)
Aleah | SolitaryWanderer.com recently posted..The Most Romantic Places in Europe
This was one of the best decisions of my life. At 40 something, a lot of people thought I was crazy to ask for a year leave from a well paying job not knowing if they would take me back (and ready to quit if not) to become an auxillar. I’m back stateside now but the experience will remain one of the best years of my life and Malaga my second home.
I applaud you! It can be scary stepping away when you’ve got a lot more established in America, I think! Many thanks for your input, Christine.
Whenever I try to speak in Spanish I found very tough language to speak properly, but I’m still confident to learn Spanish soon. Your mentioned each suggestion about how to apply to me a language assistant in Spain is quite effective and educative. I’m very glad to find such suggestions, to learn Spanish perfectly mentioned suggestion will be effective for me. Thanks a lot.
Ericcson James recently posted..Tips for the Golfing Tourist
Spanish is a language that is much harder than it sounds! So many words and idioms. In my experience, moving here has made all of the difference, along with the willingness to learn. Suerte!
For anyone looking to get their TEFL certification to be a trained English teacher for Spain or elsewhere, take a look at International TEFL Academy http://www.InternationalTEFLAcademy.com as they train over 1,200 new teachers a year and provide lifetime job guidance assistance to teach around the world. They are an American based company and one of the largest TEFL school in the world.
I got a TEFL certificate before coming abroad, and it was great training. I went into the classroom with a better idea of what to expect and how to plan a dynamic class. Thanks for the tip, Bruce!
What about works visas, etc? Does being given a placement also mean you’re given a work visa? I did a TOEFL course in Barcelona a while back and was offered a job by the school at the end … a job that was quickly revoked when they realized I didn’t have a work permit and they had a policy of not applying for any. I was on a tourist visa while I was there, not even a student visa because they wouldn’t secure those, either.
Getting a placement will get you a student visa, as work visas are a long, excruciating process, not to mention expensive. You can get a student visa in other ways, such as studying at a language school, doing a masters, etc. This is why I promote the Auxiliar program: you get all of the necessary paperwork and health insurance, plus a letter stating you’re being paid by the government to prove you have sufficient funds. It will also be a test in your patience and a good into to spanish bureacrazy!
Hi everyone! This is Mike (author of the above post). I wanted to let you know that I got my blog up and running. If you’d like to follow my journey of teaching in Spain please feel free to follow it. Thank you!
Mike recently posted..Deciding to Teach Abroad
buenas acabo de enterarme de tu blog y la verdad es que me parece super bueno no sabia de mas personas interesadas en estos temas, aqui tienes un nuevo lector que seguira visitandote quincenalmente.