I think more specific cover letters are better than philosophical ones. Your philosophy will come through if you write it correctly. You should at least mention your spouse briefly to show you have considered this factor.

I disagree; parents may not know UCL, but admin would. Maybe not outranking Harvard in terms of hiring prestige, but certainly right on up there. If admin don't know UCL, they are uninformed.

Oh, sure, do those things. It's good advice. I am just saying that, based solely on numbers and timing, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong per se. Obviously we don't know if you have or haven't done those things or similar.

Some recruiters read cover letters to find their top picks. Others never look at them. Some wait and do all their hiring at fairs. Others try to snap up teachers outside fairs. Some won't look at a teacher with a trailing spouse, others don't really look at your family situation. There is no telling, from the data given, if there is anything wrong with your application.

But of course fine dude is right--do everything you can to ensure that there isn't!

Nothing is "wrong" (that we can see--obviously not knowing your details, CV, etc.) so much as that is just how things roll. There are people who send out three resumes and get their dream job and people who send out dozens or even hundreds before they find something. Just keep applying, be patient, and present yourself as best you can.

It's not abnormal. You'll be fine.

Do your homework beforehand. Take the time to really research your top choice schools, including your pie-in-the-sky schools as well as more realistic options. Research the mission statements, browse their websites, look at whom they sent to the fair, etc. A well-organised cheat sheet is worth its weight in gold. Knowing what positions are open from both the online database and from the candidate lounge (remember, sometimes things are posted in the lounge and not online or are still online but not in the lounge because the spots are filled) will help you make your plan.

Have your prep work done and have a plan. Have your resumes, ichiro, whatever ready and printed before you go. Have your clothes ironed and your initial plan for signups made (which schools are you hitting up and in what order? What do you want to say to recruiters?). Decide which presentations you are interested in seeing. I colour-code with a highlighter so that I can easily check when and where to go, when to try to avoid scheduling interviews, and where I should go if I have the time. You won't have time to find a print shop. Having a spare set of clothes ready for when you spill coffee during breakfast.

Get your rest. Especially if you are jet lagged and/or an introvert. You are "on" the WHOLE time, and that is exhausting. The emotional roller coaster is exhausting as well. Rest when you can, either between events if you are at the fair hotel or at night. If you want down time, do it away from the fair. But be aware that you might still meet someone from the fair at the local eatery. Your room is your only real sanctuary. Use it.

Be flexible. Your plan will be shot to hell in no time. That's okay. Things change fast for recruiters as well as candidates, and everyone is tired, sometimes cranky, and doing the best they can for their schools and their situations. Don't be discouraged when you don't get hired right away but others do. Be willing to take interviews even if you hadn't considered the position or know little about the school. Change the order in which you sign up based on the length of line.

Network like crazy. Like I said, you are "on" all the time. That means watch what you drink at the social so you can be working the crowd. Talk to other candidates to see what you can learn about potential destinations or their thought processes or what went well in interviews. Maybe they will tell you where their interview went off the rails so when you talk to that recruiter later you can avoid that pitfall. Or maybe you can just encourage one another. Talk to recruiters, even of schools you are not necessarily interested in. You might learn more about the process, find an interesting job that you hadn't considered, or make a connection for the future, when that person is at a different school where you might want to be. A conversation in an elevator led to a job for us once. Or a teacher to whom you gave a kind word of hope moves into leadership and offers you a job. You just never know.

Both. Plan for a London fair (Search, CIS, or both), but you should still apply on your own, both to schools that are not on those platforms and to schools that are.

The strategy is the same as for any other region, really, with one exception. The timeline is somewhat skewed. Worker protections mean staff can announce they are leaving quite late, so many positions listed as tentative are contingent on the current occupant finding a job and making the vacancy definite. This might happen quite late in the process. If you are lucky this will be the case directly at the fair. Jobs can also open up relatively late in the season as teachers decide in the spring to move back to their home countries or fill those later positions elsewhere in the world. I had a colleague who had originally planned to stay but then in March got an opportunity elsewhere that was fantastic for his situation. The school had not done any interviewing for the position up to that point because he had planned to stay (we were lucky to get someone good).

So apply normally, make London your target re: fairs, apply for tentative positions, and recognise the potential for an altered timeline.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

Frankly, it's impossible not to take offence at your prior post. It was directly aimed at me and did nothing to further the thread. If you want to hear about my life in Europe, reread posts or start a thread asking. I am happy to share my experience if it helps, so ask away if you really miss it.

Maybe because not everyone wants what I do. I don't need to sink to the level you just did and make it about me.

I do love Europe, and for people who something similar to what I do, it's valuable to hear from someone with a like voice--one that is somewhat missing on this forum. But it isn't relevant to this post, and you know it. But hey, if personal attacks are your thing, that's your business.

I guess there are pros and cons of the strong worker protections in Europe. Mass sackings are of course no good. On the other hand it's good when, within reason, leadership can change the direction of a school. What we see here in Europe is that heads come in and have very little power to effect change. Teaching, school culture, etc. can become stale or stuck in its ways. Teachers with longevity have roles, often written into contracts, which might give them too much influence. New blood doesn't stay and turnover is high amongst new hires as they hit the immovable object that is the ossified staff. Turnover is nonexistent among the remaining staff. It can create huge problems NOT being able to let go certain teachers. So there are two sides to every coin I guess.

That doesn't excuse poor management or poor execution of that power. Tact, careful consideration, and if needed, coaching should all precede termination or non-renewal.

I don't know if there is a clear answer. It varies based on year and subject area. While we can all agree that some fairs are better than others (Search Bangkok generally tops Search Dubai in April, for example), there are some years where early fairs are the big winners and other years where schools wait until later in the season. Sometimes schools are quick to snap up art teachers and other years there are pretty much no Tier 1 art jobs available regardless of the fair.

Ultimately fair choice comes down to a judgment call based on timing, schools of interest, resume, recruiting agency preferences, and often travel.

I think it's worthwhile simply for the database. But that's me.

I can (and do) look directly at schools that interest me. I have applied directly to schools without ever looking at Search's database. However, I also use the database as a quick one-shot overview if there are schools that I like but may not have been at the top of my list. Sometimes jobs are on Search before they appear on the school's site, and other times it's the opposite.

I like the details at a glance on simple things like whether a school pays in local currency or not, benefits, makeup of school, and savings potential. I know these things are self-reported and skewed by things like dual passport students or admin inflation of savings, but they can often give a general idea. I also like that the interface is easy to use.

Since I have an existing profile that I have had for awhile, it's nice not to have to start from scratch--a few clicks to update and I'm off to the races. I do think this alone inspires loyalty, both from schools and candidates--and that means both sides have an interest in keeping the other around.

Depending on what I want in a school I would consider paying for other agencies, and certainly I check the free ones.

I would posit that a photo or so on a website is also different from having it as a major part of the marketing. Check also that you aren't looking at a local holiday/tradition (Dia de los Muertos, Pangangaluluwa, Fasching) or possibly a school play or curriculum-related event that involves dressing up. Basically I agree that it shouldn't be a major part of marketing, but a photo of kids dressed up is not a turn-off in and of itself. It's more about if they have nothing else to show.

The list above is great for traditional academic standards. But to me it's the bare minimum; schools can do the academic AND more--creative, social-emotional, innovative, action-driven, etc. can also be a part of that. Top-tier package is not necessarily an indicator, though it can be. But yes, academic results, college admissions, and word of mouth are the most accessible and often quantifiable indicators.

Illiane_Blues wrote:
> Rest assured I don't misrepresent anything, I only post from experience,
> research and reliable and trusted sources.

For the win!

To go back to the original question:

Expat forums are your friend. This might include forums, blogs, and social media groups. You can use these to get the expat community's feel of a school (parents, community), which may or may not differ from what you see on ISR or similar sites.

These can also be used for getting a feel of living in a place. People frequently discuss things like taxes or finding a doctor or local customs or things like appropriate behaviour in a supermarket. It's amazing how much information is out there nowadays.

I am also blown away by how few people take the time to do things like look at a map. People are shocked by the location of a school in relation to the city centre, for example, or by housing prices or quality near the school or at the city centre. It's not hard to find local real estate prices or look at a few apartments/houses to get a feel for housing. I also like to look at things like public transportation maps and prices, cars (if that's something I think I might need) etc. I have also looked into availability of hobbies, for example. If possible I might even do things like look at grocery stores online (assuming that's an option).

Google Images, Street view/maps, and Google Earth, including embedded photos, might also help give me a good idea of where I am going (or considering).