Ichiros are like a one page summary of your CV but include pictures of you in the work place, possibly some quotes from parents or colleagues, your qualifications and any other important information. It's basically a one sided colour document that helps you stand out more at a job fair when there are thousands of boring CV's being circulated.

Hope that makes sense? Hopefully someone else can chime in and give you more detail..

I have been teaching in riyadh since August.... And so far so good!!! Never felt threatened or scared for my safety since being here... But like with any major city you have to take precautions and be aware!

I have been internationally teaching for only 2 months since August.... its very early days and maybe too early to really say but I think if or when I decide to return home I doubt I will stay as a teacher. The current UK education system especially in inner London schools seems depressing. so if I go home I will probably have a career change.

@interteach I hear you in regards to the media sensationalising the amount of pollution. But just the fact you have to live with Air purifiers at School and home does say a lot! Call me paranoid but my the whole idea of days where it's recommended to not go outside or extended period of times due to pollution is very interesting and definitely something to consider when moving abroad.

Livabroad wrote:
> Were all of the openings posted before the fair?

Yes, the majority of openings were posted. although there are always last minute vacancies and also jobs posted earlier that were already filled before the start of the fair.

@jessiejames

Was the fair successful for you? Did you recieve any offers?

I forgot to also mention that... The fair was extremely well organised!!!

So just finished me and my partner’s first Search associates London job fair!! Here is a small recount of how the fair was for us.

Day 1 – Thursday

Day 1 was definitely the calm before the storm, this first day of the London fair is mainly just presentations and the fair orientation. Fair registration was between 1-5pm as we couldn’t get the full day off from our current schools. We arrived at the fair at about 4.45pm just in time for candidate registration. We collected our names badges, put our jackets down and had a stroll around the hotel. First stop- the candidate lounge which was filled with eager teachers scanning available posts (like eagles) on A3 sized sheets mounted on walls by the schools attending.

We had been approached by schools prior to the fair and found notes in our candidate folders asking us to drop by them during interview sign up which would be the following morning. We then attended the orientation which was a 20-30 minute presentation that addressed some of the dos and don’ts of a fair and general housekeeping. After this we went back to the candidate lounge and double checked the schools we had researched before the fair still had vacancies and also made a note of schools that weren’t on our radar before but now had vacancies for us both.

It was good to chat to other people and trade stories, there was definitely a community feeling within the candidate room. Next, we posted our CV’s and Ichiro’s with a note requesting an interview with all the schools we liked the look of and had vacancies for both of us. This cover note acts much like a letter of application. It should be formal, address your interest and be brief. Do not take offence if recruiters are unable to view this before interview sign up. We handed out 13 of these and of the 13 only about 6-7 had actually seen them. I would definitely recommend in future arriving to the fair at the start of registration on the first day and handing in CV’s into the recruiter’s mail boxes upon arrival this will give the recruiters enough time to pick up your CV and have a good look first before the rush and also before the sign up sessions on the morning of Day 2.

Accommodation: We stayed in a hotel within a 10 minute walk. This gave us solace from the madness of the fair during the evening.

Day 2 – Friday
Up bright and early, day 2 was the interview sign ups. Sessions started at 8am for leadership candidates and 8.30 for other teaching position. Everyone was held in the candidate lounge and wasn’t allowed to enter the sign up room until 8.30am. The entry process to the sign up room was actually quite organised, for one there were two entrances depending on your surname. Everyone was let in at the same time although the sign up room was split over two floors which was a bit awkward as some of the schools were downstairs and others were upstairs. So if you weren’t organised or you missed out on a school while walking around you would be trekking up and down a big flight of spiral stairs. The sign up was frantic and you literally had 30 seconds to sell yourself to a school. Some already know who you are (which was reassuring) whilst others use it as an opportunity to screen you. We managed to secure 8 interviews, 4 for that same day and 4 for the day after. Some schools had queues upon queues outside their stands. While other schools looked derelict. As soon as the sign up was completed it was research time as the interviews we scheduled were in quick succession.


Day 3- Saturday
Our final 4 interviews took place. The candidate lounge was tense with nerves and emotions running wild. Being in a teaching couple has its advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, we did interviews with some schools who only had a guaranteed place for one of us and a tentative vacancy for the other. This was mainly for experience and connections being our first fair. This was very productive and helped us network efficiently and gain some fantastic feedback.
Some interviewers interviewed us separately, others interviewed us together and some interviewed us one by one and then invited us together to answer questions as the end. Every recruiter had a very different approach.
All in all it was a very successful first fair for us. We received 2 firm offers and have 2/3 tentative offers. We would definitely recommend and attend other fairs in the future.

Tips
•Research, Research, Research BEFORE you arrive at the fair, have a good idea of schools you are interested in that have vacancies available for you and approach them first. Schools appreciated this with some commenting on the fact that we approached them straight away.

•Network and talk to other teachers, swap emails and details as the international scene is smaller than you think, and you will be surprised what can become of a conversation.

•Have an open mind about locations and schools as you may be surprised where you could end up.

•Attend as many presentations as possible as this may sway your decision to apply or accept an offer from a school. It also gives you an opportunity to ask direct questions outside of an interview scenario.

•Have a large breakfast as days are long and tiring and you are often on your feet and time can be very limited.

•Dress to impress- ensure you are dressed in formal business attire as this is definitely seen as a plus and eludes to your professionalism.

I'm also at the London fair... It's my first fair and has been a very intense and interesting experience so far had 8 interviews and a couple offers.... I guess how well the fair is for you depends on your subject area. I will create a fair diary later today once it settles down a bit!!

Does anyone know How much per month in Baht would you need to live comfortably in Bangkok

chilagringa wrote:
> That happened to me! And the second time around I got offered a position. I
> guess second-best (or third-best, or tenth-best) is good enough sometimes.


@chilagringa What did you do differently the second time around?

I would reapply as well... but maybe try and make your application slightly different, no point sending the same application again.

Has anyone attended? How is it all going?

I think I may do the same @mizMorton I would rather just know than hang around hoping. Even if it is bad news from my School A.

MizMorton wrote:
> Fate has spoken! School A said no thanks. We don't have enough IB experience. School
> B has scheduled us an interview for Monday! Woo-hoo!
>
> Now I can tell you that School A was Knightsbridge in Montenegro. I was smitten with
> the country. Ah well, another time!


Did you email School A to speed up the process? or just wait for them. I am in a similar situation, although I have actually been given an offer with my School B.... but really want my School A.

I wouldn't directly ask about money until after the job or contract has been offered to you but I think its fair to seek clarification on what 'competitive' means in terms of the package offered.

I guess it depends how much information is already out there about the salary/package of the establishment you are applying for. a lot of international schools are very vague on their job advertisements so I think its a fair question to ask as long as your not directly talking about salary.

I would asks something along the lines of I saw on the advertisement it said the package was 'competitive'. Would it be possible to get clarification on what exactly it may include.

Some schools do provide a payment scale depending on your years of experience and if you have a masters or not.