In general it's difficult to secure a teaching job before you arrive here, but not impossible. Be wary of chain schools, although some are good, they may not treat their teachers as well as other places. In most places, employers will want to meet you before having you sign a contract, they might also have you take English or physiological tests and do a demo lesson. Don't worry too much about TEFL certs. Having a degree and being a native speaker are usually enough to get a job. Experience and is also a big help. And if you have a teaching license, you can get a job just about anywhere. Even if you can't arrange a job before you arrive, you should be able to secure one within a few weeks. Here are a few tips to help you get a job.
Sending your CV works, but going in person is better. Also, with lots of places, you will need Recibos de Honorarios, and unless you are legally here, you can't get them. You'll have to find someone who does have these. They're like receipts. Many people won't want to give you theirs since there's a limit on how much money you make a month without paying taxes. So if your recibos de honorario total more than 2550 soles a month, you have to pay taxes. So if you don't have these, start looking for someone who does. For institutes, teaching experience isn't that important, though it helps. Knowing English, being able to explain it and being reliable is.

Where to go: Some people are certain what city they want to live in while others aren't. Many people want to go to Cusco. Keep in mind that there are lots of tourists and is similar to Europe, so if you want the real Peru experience, I would advise against Cusco. Smaller towns are an option. Piura and Chiclayo are close to the famous beaches. Trujillo is a uni town. Lima is the centre of everything. Arequipa is famous for its volcano. Puno has snow. Iquitos is in the jungle. Do some research; what appeals to some many not appeal to others.

Teach online: Nowadays there are many places that need online teachers. Usually you will be a conversation teacher, but there are other positions available, such as assisting with writing. Pay varies, but is around 10USD an hour.

Job Placement: If you've done a TEFL certificate programme or are planning on doing one, often they have a lifetime job placement service that you can use. If this isn't an option for you, there are places that specialize in job placement for teachers. There's usually a fee involved, but they tend to have good contacts with schools. Some good places are Innovative English and TEFL Job Placement , they have placements in Cusco. Lastly, although it may be a long shot, try your local college or university. If they have a career service centre, they might be able to provide you with some places that are looking for teachers.

Short-term: If you want to come here for a short time it's difficult to get a job and a visa before you get here. However, if you want to stay for six months, you could sign a year-long contract with a school and simply leave after six months. It's not that honest, but it is an option. And chances are that they would get you a visa. But, if you have a work visa, the school has to give you papers in order to leave the country to prove that you have paid taxes. See section 2G for more information.

Many people simply come here and hand out their CVs. You will probably make about 5 USD an hour. Keep in mind working without a visa is illegal. However, this being said, many people do it though and chances are slim that you will run into problems. You get 90 days upon entry and then can extend it three more times, each time for 30 days, so you can get a total of six months here. Some places hire people on tourists visas. Expect to get around 6-10 USD the hour.

Networking: Many jobs aren't even advertised and are filled by word of mouth. People often find jobs through friends of friends and that it especially true here in Peru. Be sure to tell everyone that you're looking for a job. Who knows, your cousin's girlfriend might know of a perfect job for you. You can also make contacts through forums as people tend to help each other out.

Answer Adverts: Advertised jobs in Peru are few and far between, however, there are some. Some of the ones that usually have jobs in Peru are Teach Abroad, Volunteer Abroad, The Peru Job Bulletin, Living in Peru, Expat Peru, Laborum.

If you're in Peru try buying El Comercio on Sunday. The good jobs can be found in the Empleos section.

Cold Calling: This comes in many forms. Applying to schools can be discouraging. Many places won't reply. This may be because they usually hire in Jan or simply because they would rather have you come in person before they hire you. Don't give up. Being persistent pays off. You can try emailing places. Another option is calling or better yet going to schools in person. If you'd prefer to work in a school or university than an institute, check out 4F for links to Peruvian schools and universities. Try also contacting top hotels as they often need to train their staff English.

Private lessons: Another option is coming and teaching private lessons. Try posting at private schools and universities. You can also try posting your advert at Expat Peru and Living in Peru. Also Expat Peru has a Listserv, you will have to join first, but around 1000 people: expats and Peruvians read it. So consider posting your advert there. You can also post in the local paper. Privates outside of Lima pay around 5-10 USD the hour. In Lima they can pay up to 20 USD an hour. Another thing, MAKE them pay AHEAD Of time. There's nothing like giving a months' worth of classes and never hearing from the student again. Charge more if you go to their house. Make a minimum time, ex. lessons must be at least 1.5 hours.

Word of mouth, the yellow pages, and business cards work well. Sending out fliers, business cards to your target area. If you want to teach Business English, go to Businesses, if you want kids English, stand outside schools. Try posting in El Comercio, OR read the classifieds, students post there and are looking for teachers, so you could call them.

Volunteering: Volunteering can be expensive and some places charge up to 2000USD for a month. Some affordable programmes include AYNI, Awaiting Angels, Cross Cultural Solutions, Habitat for Humanity and Teach Peru. See Section 5 for more volunteer opportunities.

Working legally: Getting a permission to work legally is difficult, however, this is Latin America, so laws tend to be shades of grey rather than black and white. Some options are getting a permission to sign a contract visa, see 2C for more info. Have your work get you a work visa: schools and universities are more likely to get you a work visa than institutes. Or if you're married to a Peruvian and get a llamado de familia / marriage visa, you can work legally. There might be other visa options for you that let you work legally, such as student, independent, artist, immigrant, and religious, so see DIGEMIN for more info. Or simply work under the table and border hop. If you're only planning on staying for a short time, it might be the best option for you.

Learning How to Teach

There are plenty of one month training courses out there. Make sure the course has at least 100 teaching hours and 6 hours of teaching students. Your library is a good place to start researching about TEFLing.In addition, you can find plenty of resources online, such as The Peace Corps Guide. You could also try TEFL Boot Camp and more articles, tips and tricks can be found at TEFL Tips.

Sharon de Hinojosa (naturegirl321) has lived and worked (mainly teaching English) in the US, Scotland, Spain, the Czech Republic, China, Korea, and Peru. As well as teaching short-term in Venezuela and Taiwan.

She has created The LA Job List http://www.thelajoblist.blogspot.com which lists schools, institutes and universities in 19 Latin American countries which offer English teaching positions.

Since living in Peru since August 2006, she wrote The Ultimate Peru List http://www.theultimateperulist.blogspot.com - With 60 pages it's a comprehensive guide for those living in or moving to Peru.