It looks like your lack of recruitment and instructional supervision experience is showing.

A two-year contract is a decent balance for both schools and teachers to get a sense of fit. It is also admittedly advantageous for both parties since it eliminates having to head into a job search or recruiting shortly after a teacher arrives. There are a few schools either of poor quality and/or in difficult areas that will provide a one-year contract, but that's about it.

I don't recall ever hearing other recruiters/administrators talking about "adding value." I do hear a lot of talk of commitment, ability, relationship building, interpersonal skills, vision - real human skills rather than an impersonal "adding value." There are poor administrators who view teachers as puzzle pieces and not really as people but they don't inspire much loyalty, they don't get a great deal of peer respect and they often don't do that well in their careers.

One of the traits of an elite school is the average length of tenure for teachers. Those of us who have recruited for such are wary of tourist teachers - and that's teachers with a string of 2 year contracts no matter what you insist.

I have also hired exemplary early career teachers with short tenures, but only because their files, their interviews and their reference checks indicate that they are looking to teach not to travel. They all stayed a while when they found the right place.

As a former recruiter, a string of 2 year contracts is definitely a tourist teacher.

Even two 2 year contracts in a row requires explanation. Schools are looking for teachers willing to commit to the school and to take their time exploring the location. There are some legitimate reasons for a couple of short term contracts in a row, but it will certainly be explored in following up on references.

There are those interested in a career in international teaching. There are those who want to travel while holding down a job in a foreign country. You can often spot them easily at a hiring fair or a Skype interview. Unless you are desperate to fill a position, these types aren't usually going to make the commitment to the school that justifies the investment in them. As teachers they are generally mediocre at best.

It's not a Search fair, but you might want to consider the GRC fair in the autumn. Some top schools have earlier dates for current teachers to indicate if they are returning or not, and this can be a popular fair for schools to get earlier recruiting done. This can be especially true of larger top schools who will often have a larger number of positions to fill and like to finish recruiting as early as they can.

Most schools in China are still working through exactly what they will do. Absorbing costs means higher tuition and/or changes in spending, and with fewer non Chinese corporate families schools are sensitive to both tuition and facilities/budgets. There are conversations taking place but nothing is firm yet.

To update, there is no longer a statute of limitations on the federal part of your student loans - they will follow you for as long as the US government wants to.

There's also a morality issue at play here, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for those who try to skip out on them.

Having strong references (and not have to strategize them), a reputation for being dedicated to your job, having it clear that you love what you do as an educator, and not needing to ghost previous jobs might possibly perhaps have something to do with what jobs you get interviewed for and accept.

Just saying.

Worked in Europe for ten years, left a couple of years ago. First year savings about $15K/year. Final years $25K/year. Single. Had a great lifestyle. It depends on the school's package and the cost of living in the country.

It is a precept of academic research (and schools are academic institutions - sorry to state the obvious but it feels necessary under the circumstances) that for any research data to be regarded as valid, the source(s) of the data must be made available. Such disclosure allows peer review, and researchers with integrity welcome such a process.

Anecdotal data is permissible if it a) well documented and b) demonstrated to be significant to the case at hand.

Speaking from direct hiring experience, references are not always positive nor are they neutral at worst.

Several expats use Charles Schwab and Fidelity as they reimburse all ATM fees worldwide and it's easy to wire money in. According to some, Fidelity uses a very good exchange rate when using an overseas ATM. You might want to check out both.

I know some people who have very good experiences with wires and foreign transfers with their credit unions. It depends on the institution. You might want to check.

The better/more-reputable the school the easier it will be to wire/transfer some or all of your paycheck to the US. It's something to ask about at a second interview if it's important.

Many international teachers will have an account set up by their school as well as an account in their home country. Some people using Schwab and Fidelity just use those accounts if their school is OK with it since ATM fees are reimbursed and wiring can be easy depending on the school and country where you're located. Then you don't have to bother reporting overseas accounts to the IRS.

And one more thing. It sounds like just about no counseling program focuses a lot on college counseling and the counselors I know say you're pretty much on your own to learn about it. There's a UCLA program for college counseling but no one says anything very good about it.

I've worked with some counselors who got their degree and certification from Goddard College and they spoke highly of it. I think you have to do a long internship but you don't have to be on campus much and you can get a license at the end.

Gmail can be spotty at times without a VPN. Astrill gets both good and bad reviews. Express VPN doesn't do a good job with tougher connections and needs good infrastructure to work and is overall slower than others. Vypr works well and has good tech support. Strong is good but can be a bit behind in updating. A lot of the smaller companies aren't worth your time since they don't update very well.

First off, if your qualifications and personal qualities meet institutional priorities for the position. Even if you're a strong candidate but not a match you won't get on the shortlist. You might reach the "maybe" list if you otherwise seem strong as a backup candidate.

Second it's a combination of depth of experience as well as good references. There's a lot of play on depth of experience. If it's short but a clear match then good references and a good interview will help you. If you have good references from someone known and trusted by a member of the recruiting team it's a major plus.

If budget is a concern, how much do you cost? Trailing spouse and/or dependents? You can still be shortlisted but others may be higher on the list.

Then it's what else can you add in terms of extracurriculars and other elements of school ife. After that it comes down to the interview.

There is usually a spoken or unspoken profile for each candidate that many applicants don't take into account. Don't take it personally if you're a qualified candidate but not the right match.

For countries where teachers can still get a work visa/permit over 55+ a strong teacher in that range is viable. In a shortage area extremely viable. As in many situations, it comes down to qualification and the overall shape of a school's recruiting season.