Applying to the Auxiliar de Conversación Program

It was January 9, 2013 here in the U.S., but at midnight in Madrid time the application Auxiliar de Conversación program opened up.  All of my documents that I was able to prepare ahead of time were ready to be submitted, and I began the application.

Alhambra

I followed the manual they had posted on the website. However, the manual did not quite match up with what I was seeing on my computer screen. It did match up well enough though to get the point across and help me through the application. Later on after I had finished my application, they had uploaded the manual for this year’s application, so I know that many other applicants had to do what I did. It would have been easier with the actual manual, but I can’t complain since it still got me through the application.

While I was applying, I had to get up from my computer for something and when I sat back down it had logged me out. This happens with plenty of other computer programs and is an understandable safety feature. However, when I tried to log back in I kept receiving an error message. This error message kept coming up every time I attempted to log in and was getting to be very annoying. I continued to get his error message into the next day, and once it became Friday afternoon in Spain, I had come to the realization that they would not probably not be getting around to fixing this problem until Monday. It turned out that so many people logged on, their servers crashed.

All weekend long I continued to try and log back into Profex, but had no luck. Come Sunday night in the U.S. and Monday morning in Spain, I was finally able to log back on and finish my application. My inscrita number was 780! Basically, the lower the inscrita number the better. If you log in and fill out the application without submitting all the documents electronically they give you an inscrita number and then you’re able to go back and add the documents later. Had I known this little trick earlier, I may have gotten a lower number, but I’m very comfortable with 780. It’s important to know that they place people based on inscrita number as opposed to merit or anything else, so having a lower number is vital for increasing your chances to get one of your top regional placements.

Toledo

If you are considering applying to the program, but are not sure if you would end up going or not I would highly recommend that you do the application. It’s free and non-committal, so if you receive a placement, but have chosen to go on a different path you can simply decline the placement. Plus, if you decline a placement you would still have the opportunity to apply and be accepted the next year. The only way you may not be able to be considered the following year is if you accept the placement and later decline it.

While I am by no means an expert on applying for the program, I am more than happy to answer any questions or help out with any problems anyone might have, so please feel free to contact me.

Also, make sure to check out all my posts on Teaching in Spain for more information about How to Apply to Teach in Spain and everything in my journey to teaching in Spain.