Unless you're somewhere that is going to take it really personally, as though you're turning your back on the school or something, then I think it's good just to be upfront about it. A lot of international schools allow "recruitment leave" of about 2 or 3 days, as it's just a reality of the situation that everyone needs to know very early on that they're not returning. They hire people through fairs so they expect people will go to them again when they leave.

If you have a reference letter showing how long you worked in a school then just ask them to put an official school stamp on it. Alternatively, even just a letter stamped from the school saying ".... worked at ..... from...to ...." should be enough. I've never needed more than that.

2 ways to look at it. If you want something specific then go for it as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more chance you have of missing out. However, if you don't mind where you go then waiting until after the big fairs makes you a strong candidate for any schools that gets messed around and left hanging.

Hi. If you us the Search facility just under the main title on this page and write in "Gems" I think you'll find all the information you need. There's quite a lot of info about different Gems schools available.

That's a tough question. For starters, you have to forget about almost any big Asian city. There are cities that aren't so bad, but still not what you would call "clean" air if, for example you were coming from New Zealand. So, for places with clean air that have at least 2 international schools my list would be Phuket, Bali, Jeju, Penang or maybe some of those others that are kind of in the middle of nowhere in Malaysia. Singapore isn't so bad and neither is Japan (anywhere outside of Tokyo and Yokohama). A few years ago I would have said Chiang Mai but not anymore.

Some top schools offer the IB diploma as an option, but other than that there are only 4 schools in Thailand that are full IB schools (NIST, KIS, Concordian and PTIS Chiang Mai) and offer all 3 programmes . I would certainly agree that NIST and PTIS are in the top end, but I'm not sure the other 2 would be in the same bracket. Bangkok Pattana and ISB are the better schools that offer only the Diploma, but there's also Shrewsbury and Harrow that are good schools and only do national curriculum of England.

http://www.ibo.org/school/search/index. ... hools=Find

There are only 3 or 4 good IB schools in Bangkok and then a couple of others in Chiang Mai or Phuket. Unless you had your heart set on an IB school I'm not sure why IB experience would make a difference. If your priority is Thailand then there are a lot of different kinds of schools. You might consider starting by looking for schools that use the curriculum you were trained with, and go on from there.

For those 2 dates I don't think it would make much difference to decision making for teachers as there's only the Johannesburg fair between those dates. For admin those 10 more days are much more useful for trying to get new staff before the holidays and before fairs begin. For teachers though, I think you really need to know what you're going to do and start updating your references by the end of November. If you're still unsure by the start of December then it's already getting a bit late for getting your references together and also late for getting a fair invitation. If your school were changing from 10th of January to an earlier date then I'd get upset, but not for the dates you mentioned in December.

To me, it's the hardest part of being an international teacher. You have to be quitting your job before you have a new one (usually). Quitting blindly and so early goes completely against instinct but you still have to do it. Good luck.

I agree with Sid there. There are just way too many nightmare places to list. Ask about a specific country and you might get a few responses.

Benteacher,

in response to your question about walking in to schools to see the principal, I really don't know. It could go both ways. They'd either think "Wow, this guy is keen" or "Wow, this guy is desperate". Personally, if I were in your position I'd try and contact them first, perhaps even through a phone call and mention that you'll be going to Korea for a couple of weeks in January with the sole purpose of interviewing and seeing the place. I would be reluctant to say that you're moving there in January anyway, regardless of whether you have a job. You would be considered local hire if you were already there, and that would probably mean missing out on some benefits.

Alternatively, as you suggested might be an idea in a previous post, because you're planning to go to Korea in January anyway, if you don't get any bites then going through the front door, asking to speak to the principal and informing them that you're available to work as a cover teacher might inadvertently lead to an interview for a more permanent position anyway. Telling them you're available as a cover teacher has much less desperation in it than "I need a job for next year". If you like you then they may well ask you if you're interested in something more permanent anyway.

I've been looking at Korea a lot and as has been mentioned a few times on this board, the Christian thing is a big deal in Korea. Some are more strict than others, and I'm pretty sure saying that you are a Christian but are not a regular church goer would suffice for many, but there are some that very full-on "You must be Christian to work here".

I agree with Buffalofan about not bothering with a fair if you are only interested in Korea. It would be OK if you felt you were going to be competitive for the better schools (I think there were about 5 schools from Korea on the list of attendees for the Search fair in Bangkok last year), but if you won't be going for them then it's not worth it. I'd consider going direct, but in an assertive manner. What I mean by that is doing a bit extra to try and get the email address of the actual principal and then contact them (rather than go through the HR address that's posted on websites). They will easily recognize generic emails that you send out to everyone and send it straight to the trash or just pass it to H/R, so you'll have to make it more personal to get their attention. It can't hurt. For some of the lower end schools they do get a bit desperate from time to time and try to grab anyone with a related degree and just some cram school experience, so you'll be high at the top of the pile in that situation. I would seriously consider having a back up country in mind though, such as China or a small school in Japan (they're both close by). That would make the fairs worth while. Also, although the January fair might not work, consider the Bangkok spring fair. There are less schools and lower quality schools than the earlier fair, but it might preset a few options. .

From anywhere I've been and with anyone I've known, the UAE has definitely been the most hit and miss when it comes to housing. There have been a few situations there where housing has suddenly been in very high demand, and prices gone through the roof, and then a few months later there's way too much housing available and prices drop down. The housing crisis in 2009 in Abu Dhabi was a nightmare for schools as they had to pay crazy prices for basic accommodation. Still though, there's no excuses. If a school wants teachers to be happy then give them somewhere that can be a home away from home.

My friends working in Dubai were all quite satisfied with what they'd been provided, but in Abu Dhabi you should be a bit wary of anything outside of the city. There is a heavily industrial area called Mussafah which has very cheap housing. It's not unknown for schools to try it on and get teachers out there, but I wouldn't wish the place on my worst enemy. The school where I worked that did try to put teachers new out there received conditional resignation letters within the first month (In the UAE you have a 6 month probationary period in which either side can terminate the contract with no notice) (Of course, the school buckled and out the teachers somewhere acceptable). Khalifa City A is outside the main city but has built up a lot recently and there's plenty happening in the area. It's not perfect, but it's not bad, especially if you have a family.

As a tip for anyone going to work in the UAE, do ask your potential employer about the housing. Get as much info as you can, and possibly even some pictures. Maybe tell them that you heard a few horrible stories about housing in the UAE and you just want to make sure. They should probably expect such questions, though I would also expect that ACS and ASD have good provision. Those are good schools.

Accommodation provision in Thailand is sweet. If schools are providing housing then the least you can expect is clean apartments with with a few facilities, such as laundry shop downstairs, a mini 7-11 type place. Most apartments have nice balconies and and should be close to public transport. In Thailand, I've heard of some people having nicer apartments than others, and of course some schools don't offer accommodation at all, but for those that do have apartments provided I've never heard of anyone hating their place. Thailand do apartments well.

Vientiane is a cool city. It's great for a visit and I imagine it would be great to live there too. The cost of living in quite high compared to Thailand, but certainly nothing as high as say Singapore. What I love about Vientiane is that there is so much variety in such a small place, especially when it comes to food. There's a lot more traffic in Vientiane now compared with a few years ago, and that can be off putting, but I still think it'd be cool to live there.

As for VIS, I've known people who have worked there and said good things. The IB has been running there for quite a while so it should be well established. Every place has ups and downs and although there are times it might not have been the best place in the world I've never heard of anyone hating it. With the salaries the way they are at the moment though, for me I'd work there with the main purpose being just to enjoy living there for a couple of years. You might be able to save if you're a bit tight, but if I were living in Vientiane I'd really want to enjoy it and pay the extra bucks to have a great time in the city and see more of the country.

The real lower end schools are Thailand and China are often very happy to be able to get anyone with real teaching qualifications, regardless of experience. When you work in these schools you will have colleagues with perhaps a degree and TEFL certification, or maybe just a degree and teaching experience, so although experience might not be your strength your qualification would make up for that. ESL experience is also useful if pushed properly. A lot of the lower end schools do have a high population of ESL kids, so perhaps consider pushing your experience as a real advantage to understanding those students rather than, “just some ESL experienceâ€

There are a lot of schools that have very good packages, but in some places with more international schools there's a bit of a mixed bunch, such as Bangkok which has Bangkok Pattana and Shrewsbury as well paying British schools, ISB as an American school, and NIST for IB. China also has a fair mix, as do various countries throughout the Middle East. However, I do think that some of the schools more well known for high salaries are American schools, with ISB and Shanghai American being prime examples.