Thanks all for the responses. My friend was interviewed by this same school two days ago and was offered a job 2 hours later by email. I think we'll go ahead and interview for the experience... and who knows.. maybe the school will knock my socks off or something.

What about Cairo in general? Is it a good place for families? All I really know of Egypt is what the American media tells me.. which could be very exaggerated.

My wife and I applied to a school who was advertising two positions in our comfort and experience zone. We got an email back a day later asking for an interview, but for positions that were not what we've really been looking for. We're qualified to teach them, we just have no experience in them, and personally it's not quite my cup of tea.

The school is an ESOL school in Cairo. Without digging too much, we'd lean toward not accepting these positions if offered, but we'd like the opportunity to get experience interviewing. Should we interview for the experience and to see what is offered, or decline an interview based on the positions they say they have available?

Right now we're open to many places in the world, but with two little ones, we aren't sure about Cairo. (maybe I'm way off base...?)

Your skype address is your username (profile name).

I've only had a screening interview with a smaller school, but not even a nibble otherwise.. elementary teaching couple with 2 years international and 2 years American public experience. Thought we'd have heard back from more schools by now. Have applied to 20 or so so far..

I visited APIS once when I was in Korea as a visiting basketball coach. I didn't really have a chance to look around a lot, but it seemed like a nice campus. Like many things in Korea, it's had to use a bit of space management and build up instead of out. I just remember the gymnasium being a bit small.. not that that would affect your consideration at all.

My wife and I also just applied to this school. Just curious, which position did you apply to? We're both elementary.

I lived and worked about 50 miles south of Seoul for 2 years and loved it. Korea is a fantastic country... Transportation is cheap and efficient, food is great, and there are a lot of cultural places to visit around Seoul. You'll be able to find just about anything you want there. It's got 4 seasons, which I like, though many people complain about the long, gray winter season. I personally didn't find it too bad, but I'm from northwestern PA, so I'm used to it.

Im registered with Search, and my associate has encouraged me to use the Search email to apply to schools for pretty obvious reasons. I had an interview with a school though, and they asked me if I had found them through Search or through another route. I had heard of them before and they said something to the effect of "We haven't looked at your profile on Search yet, and we wanted to ask that because if a candidate comes to us through Search we have to pay their fee, but if we don't access their profile, and they apply directly, then we can all save money on fees."

So, if I would have relied solely on an application through Search, they wouldn't have even looked at me.. hmm..

litgal,

Just curious, is your Skype conversation with APIS for an elem position or middle/high?

That's awesome!! Congratulations!

Have you already secured a spot at the Boston Search fair? Last I heard, it was full.

There are great schools all over the world. One way to find out about them is to just start reading through this forum. Another way would be to join a recruiting firm like Search Associates or ISS. There are also great websites that post new openings at schools all over like TIE online. The aforementioned three resources cost money, but also give you great insight into the size of each school, the salary/package, etc. You can pay for the other side of this site to read anonymous reviews of schools as well.

Thanks for your responses! I will definitely follow up closer to the fair if we haven't landed jobs at that point yet!

I'm still getting a feel for what's typical in a recruiting season.. just out of curiosity, who's had interviews here and what's your teaching area?

Any elementary teachers (not attached to a higher demand teacher) had any interviews or landed any jobs yet?

I appreciate the input!

As I've been following up with administrators, telling them I'd love the chance to interview, I've gotten the response, "We'll be at the Cambridge Fair. Come visit our table at the fair and we'll interview you there."

My wife and I are both elementary, so not a high needs area. Obviously they don't see the need to interview us ahead of time and fill those spots right away. I know they often fill some spots with spouses of higher demand positions. But does is this just a general response they give to everyone, or does it actually mean they are interested?