When do good schools recruit?

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stellalocal
Posts: 82
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:21 am

When do good schools recruit?

Post by stellalocal »

[quote="PsyGuy"]
If its so wonderful why cant they staff their school in November

Highly desirable schools fill staff their schools early.[/quote]

Any opinions? (re schools that have a year from Aug/Sept-June/July)

I've found that the peak season for good British int schools is still Jan/Feb. It's always been one of those gambles in January, give up a good job not knowing whether the one you want will come up, or that you'll get it.

I've seen some good schools advertising before this, but even they often don't actually do the interviews until January.

Is it only rubbish schools advertising after Christmas?
overseasvet2
Posts: 191
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:50 pm

recruiting calendar

Post by overseasvet2 »

I can't speak to British schools - only top tier international schools. Most require teachers to definitively say if they are returning or not before the winter break so many great schools are recruiting at the first fairs in Bangkok and Boston area. I've learned on this forum that European schools find out much later about openings.

It seems the whole season is moving up. Some schools are giving bonuses for declaring departure before the due date. This means the school can start interviewing in October. Some heads are looking to avoid going to the fairs, if possible. Lots of good schools left after Christmas and even the best can have unexpected vacancies towards the end of the school year.
overseasvet2
Posts: 191
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:50 pm

recruiting calendar

Post by overseasvet2 »

I can't speak to British schools - only top tier international schools. Most require teachers to definitively say if they are returning or not before the winter break so many great schools are recruiting at the first fairs in Bangkok and Boston area. I've learned on this forum that European schools find out much later about openings.

It seems the whole season is moving up. Some schools are giving bonuses for declaring departure before the due date. This means the school can start interviewing in October. Some heads are looking to avoid going to the fairs, if possible. Lots of good schools left after Christmas and even the best can have unexpected vacancies towards the end of the school year.
Fenway
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Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 1:01 am

Post by Fenway »

The peak season is still Jan/Feb. The better schools will mostly require a face-to-face, usually at a fair. The big fairs don't start till Jan (BK) and then usually will start to slow down around the end of February after Boston.

Schools will start to advertise once they know if they have either a tentative or definite opening, this does not mean that they are going to start hiring in the early months.

This has been my experience through 4 fairs, 4 continents and 20 years in this gig.
hallier
Posts: 159
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 4:54 am

Post by hallier »

"The peak season is still Jan/Feb. The better schools will mostly require a face-to-face, usually at a fair. The big fairs don't start till Jan (BK) and then usually will start to slow down around the end of February after Boston."

I respect your experience; however, I would replace 'peak' with 'busy' because many of the really attractive schools, esp. in Asia, are getting a large % of their recruiting done before the Winter Break.

My school in China got about 50% of their vacancies filled before the fairs. I used to work at one of those uber IASAS schools and they filled about 30 positions by Christmas. I secured my position for next year in November - and the interviewing started in mid October.

I think the advent of technology means that many schools are prepared to substitute the face to face time for Skype - esp. as there is a perception among many admin that 'everyone else' is doing this, so if they drag their feet, there will be fewer quality candidates at the fair.

My Head of school returned from the US last month and commented that next year, he will try to do more recruiting before the fairs.

I do think that heads of school are biased in their recruiting towards those with international experience and those with some experience in teaching IB.

My boss found plenty of candidates at the fair, but not so many who had those attributes (relative to the large number of schools at the fair). Those with those attributes were very competitive at the fairs so had lots of offers - meaning my boss 'lost' some candidates to other schools. What he has taken from this is that he needs to be more aggressive with his recruiting before the fairs.

He even hinted that the re-signing date might come forward from December 1 to November 1.

What I have learned from this (and my own experience) is that:

a. good candidates with int. experience and experience of the IB will always get reasonable offers at the early job fairs.

but

b. these good candidates might find that some of their 'dream' schools no longer have vacancies.

So - start your job hunting in October/November and make sure you have a good internet connection!

This is only for schools in Asia and the M.East - European schools are different because labor laws often prevent them from making teachers re-sign/resign so early. I have no expertise about S.America.
Fenway
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Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 1:01 am

Post by Fenway »

Good points hallier. I agree with most of it, I have definitely seen an upswing in the amount of interviewing that happens before fairs these days.

I would also recommend job hunters to have everything organized by October/November just as good forward planning.

Wow! November 1st now that would be interesting! Not to high jack this post, but who else needs to let their admin know prior to December if they are staying of going?

This just seems very early. Perhaps in the not too distant future we will see the ISS/Search 'big fairs' moved to earlier in the recruiting season.
stellalocal
Posts: 82
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:21 am

Post by stellalocal »

Fenway, my reaction was pretty similar to yours, November is really early to be making decisions about staying or going. Luckily I've never had to say before January, and even that has been early for me. I've often been quite jealous of friends who haven't had to decide until March.

It's interesting reading this, as I think there are a few not so good schools that try to get in there early, in the hope of getting some good teachers that are concerned about being left jobless. I have seen some good schools advertising early, but many of them have been re-advertising recently too, so maybe it was just too early for teachers to be thinking about their next post.

I also know of a few good schools that don't advertise/interview until later (Feb/March) which can be a real pain as there's no knowing whether they'll have any vacancies or even that you'll get the job, and by that point there aren't so many fallback options. I think that a good school is always going to attract good candidates even if it's later in the year, I'm sure a few teachers jump ship if a better offer comes their way.

I've never done the fair thing, I was put off many years ago after hearing about them being like cattle markets, oh that and the fact that many of the schools I've been interested in haven't actually been at fairs. Maybe I'll try one out at some point, I can see the benefits.

Fenway, def good advice for job hunters to be ready in October. It's always good to get your cv and letter sent off early to a few places if just to see if it needs tweaking. If you're not getting any response in the early days at least you have time to fix it before the busier Jan/Feb period.
hallier
Posts: 159
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 4:54 am

Post by hallier »

My boss was just suggesting that 'maybe we may have to move contract signing earlier'. I have no doubt nearly all teachers at my school will hate it if the date is pushed earlier. However, at my school and I think most schools, the admin kind of call the shots on these types of things.

Fenway, when you started out 20 years ago, when did you have to resign or re-sign? It would not surprise me is you had till March.

I'd be curious to know from the teachers who were overseas in the 80s and early 90s whether, at that time, they'd have believed it possible that teachers would be signing contracts in November/December and that one of the biggest job fairs would be in the 2nd week of January.

Stellalocal's point about weaker schools trying to grab teachers before the fairs is a good one to consider - recruiting is certainly not for the faint hearted, and i think you'd have to make the judgment call that you will get a better offer later and knock them back. It's a decision that would cause some sleepless nights.

The frustration for me is that I would like to make a play for one of the Zurich schools (or maybe AIS Budapest). However, they are usually not in a position to offer contracts until later in the recruiting season. So you might have to say no to a stellar Asian school, just to be available when a school like Zurich IS firms up their vacancies.
Fenway
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Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 1:01 am

Post by Fenway »

My memory could be playing tricks on me, but this is how I remember it.

We gave intent letters (non-binding) right before winter break (Dec) and then had to give a definite yes/no by the end of Jan/Feb before the admin went off recruiting.

The recruiting has definitely changed gears though, as technology has continued to allow people to conference with much more ease.

When I took my last job, I actually enjoyed the Skype interviews before meeting at the fair, it definitely gave that initial meeting (at the fair) a more personal touch.
PsyGuy
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Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

My take

Post by PsyGuy »

From my POV on the other side of the desk, is that recruiters are always looking for an "edge" when it comes to hiring teachers. For all the technology and everything recruiting isnt really "fun" its a stressful process, and inherently adversarial. Sure heads say they like the chance to meet new people but I dont know any that wouldnt rather be doing something else or actually have something else to do. You would think that with so many teachers out there, the scales tip in favor of the recruiters, but the real pool of experienced IB teachers has been and continues to be relatively small.
So recrutirs are just looking for an advantage, and finising the bulk of your recruiting as early as possible is just the low hanging fruit approach to filling vacancies.
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