Hi Shansar,
I decided against Seattle because I really wanted to work in Europe, and most of the schools listed are from Asia and the Middle East. About a month ago I had Seattle interviews scheduled with JFKS and a school in Cyprus, but JFKS decided not to attend, and the position was filled in Cyprus. I thought London was worth the risk as most schools were European..it all worked out in the end.
I think you probably have a good chance in Seattle if you are more flexible than me with your location. In interviews, I kept hearing that I would have my choice of schools as there were so few candidates. If I would have let it play out, I think I would have had 4-5 offers as I received several invitations for second interviews after accepting my position. Seattle will probably not be too crowded either, as I think everyone is at ISS in New York right now.
Good Luck!!
Search found 9 matches
- Sun Feb 17, 2008 9:01 pm
- Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
- Topic: Help!! London CIS
- Replies: 11
- Views: 24214
- Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:53 pm
- Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
- Topic: Help!! London CIS
- Replies: 11
- Views: 24214
cis
I accepted a position with AICS, and I was scheduled for a second interview with United World College Singapore. I was very impressed with UWC and they have a great package. My husband and I decided against the location.
- Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:10 am
- Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
- Topic: Help!! London CIS
- Replies: 11
- Views: 24214
CIS London
Now that I'm leaving the London fair, I can answer my own questions for anyone interested.
The fair was nicely organized and not crowded. I never waited in line at sign-ups and within 30 minutes I had 10 interviews. After I left the interview session, 4 more schools approached me requesting interviews.
While at the AASSA fair, not being part of a teaching couple was a real disadvantage, here schools didn't mind my non-teaching spouse. I had great interviews with directors that really wanted to know about my teaching, not just my personality.
By Saturday morning, I was called back for two interviews, with several other schools still deciding. I ended up signing a contract first thing Saturday with a school in Amsterdam, my first choice for location.
I would definitely recommend this fair for teachers with non-teaching spouses. European schools don't offer housing, so a non-teaching spouse doesn't matter so much. My other second interview was with a school in Singapore though, and they had no problem with my husband either.
Just communicating through email was fine, and I saved a lot by staying in a hostel.
Now I have two days to explore London. Good luck to all!
The fair was nicely organized and not crowded. I never waited in line at sign-ups and within 30 minutes I had 10 interviews. After I left the interview session, 4 more schools approached me requesting interviews.
While at the AASSA fair, not being part of a teaching couple was a real disadvantage, here schools didn't mind my non-teaching spouse. I had great interviews with directors that really wanted to know about my teaching, not just my personality.
By Saturday morning, I was called back for two interviews, with several other schools still deciding. I ended up signing a contract first thing Saturday with a school in Amsterdam, my first choice for location.
I would definitely recommend this fair for teachers with non-teaching spouses. European schools don't offer housing, so a non-teaching spouse doesn't matter so much. My other second interview was with a school in Singapore though, and they had no problem with my husband either.
Just communicating through email was fine, and I saved a lot by staying in a hostel.
Now I have two days to explore London. Good luck to all!
- Wed Feb 13, 2008 12:34 pm
- Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
- Topic: Help!! London CIS
- Replies: 11
- Views: 24214
cis london
I have applied only to US schools or those international schools that indicate that they will hire Americans. At first I only received acknowledgments, but in recent days I have scheduled one interview and I have several invitations to talk. I hope that something works out, but I'm certainly not counting on it. I'm not sure if being American at the London fair will help or hurt me, but as I said, I am only targeting schools that indicate that they will consider an American with a non-teaching spouse.
- Tue Feb 05, 2008 12:21 am
- Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
- Topic: Help!! London CIS
- Replies: 11
- Views: 24214
Help!! London CIS
I have made the last minute decision to attend CIS in London. This is only my second fair- I attended AASSA and didn't get a position because of my non-teaching spouse. I have a few questions for those of you that are more experienced with the fairs.
- Most schools indicate that they have no preference in marital status on their CIS info sheets. Is this really the case?
- I will probably be staying at a hostel or with an acquaintance in London to cut down on costs. Is it okay not to have a phone if I tell recruiters that I will check my email every hour? My cell phone won't work in London, but I'm bringing my laptop.
- How much of a chance do you think I have of landing a position with the following qualifications?
- 3yrs experience teaching in a multi-cultural setting in the US (75% ESL, students from 5 continents) + 2 years as a teaching assistant
- Experience teaching 2nd grade, 3rd grade and ESL
- ESL, Elementary and Art License
So far I have mostly received only acknowledgments from schools where I have sent my documents. I know there are probably a lot of elementary school teachers out there but I do have excellent references.
Thanks for any info you might have.
- Most schools indicate that they have no preference in marital status on their CIS info sheets. Is this really the case?
- I will probably be staying at a hostel or with an acquaintance in London to cut down on costs. Is it okay not to have a phone if I tell recruiters that I will check my email every hour? My cell phone won't work in London, but I'm bringing my laptop.
- How much of a chance do you think I have of landing a position with the following qualifications?
- 3yrs experience teaching in a multi-cultural setting in the US (75% ESL, students from 5 continents) + 2 years as a teaching assistant
- Experience teaching 2nd grade, 3rd grade and ESL
- ESL, Elementary and Art License
So far I have mostly received only acknowledgments from schools where I have sent my documents. I know there are probably a lot of elementary school teachers out there but I do have excellent references.
Thanks for any info you might have.
- Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:06 pm
- Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
- Topic: ISS/CIS Seattle
- Replies: 10
- Views: 19257
I'm only going to Seattle because the New York fair is ISS, not a combined fair. I also have a non-teaching spouse so I don't want to risk the expense of a New York trip. Seattle is just a short drive for me and some of the schools attending are interested in me even with my husband. The CIS process took me about a month. The hardest part was that I had lost my BA diploma (kind of useless in the states) and they wouldn't accept transcripts. Good luck!!
- Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:00 am
- Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
- Topic: ISS/CIS Seattle
- Replies: 10
- Views: 19257
I think I can answer my own question. I finally completed the long registration process with CIS and I can now access the schools attending list. The CIS site lists all schools regardless of affiliation. So if you want to go to a combined fair, CIS seems like the way to go. There are, however, many more schools attending the ISS New York fair.
- Sat Jan 19, 2008 4:56 pm
- Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
- Topic: Have you been to an ISS/CIS job fair?
- Replies: 3
- Views: 7055
Have you been to an ISS/CIS job fair?
I posted this question earlier with no response. If you went to the CIS/ISS fair last year in Boston, did you have access to all of the schools attending or just those with the recruiting firm you registered with? I missed the deadline for ISS, but I am registered with CIS. Several of the ISS schools have expressed an interest in interviewing me at the fair in Seattle. Will that be possible?
- Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:16 am
- Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
- Topic: ISS/CIS Seattle
- Replies: 10
- Views: 19257
ISS/CIS Seattle
I am registered with CIS, but two schools that are listed with ISS want to interview me at the Seattle fair. Does anybody know how these joint fairs work? Will I have access to all the schools or just CIS schools? Thanks for any info.