Send out more than 5 more applications. Having a one year contract even at a good school won't mean that much. You're still an inexperienced teacher.

The peak recruiting season is done. What jobs remain will be at less desirable schools or sudden openings or at schools that have to recruit late due to labor laws in their country. Getting an interview doesn't matter. Getting a job offer does. If you don't get another interview or a job offer from a school within a week of an interview, you're probably not likely on the top of their list. So you need to get moving on submitting applications.

Most IS are not set up to take inexperienced teachers and mentor them to at the start. That's why so many ask for 2 - 4 years of experience in teaching. It doesn't need to be in the US, but those first 5 years are critical.

When you ask "Do you have any advice on where I should look?" are you talking about job openings or specific schools? The later would be hard to do without more information and you're not likely to get that information. If it's the former, the databases for ISS, Search Associates, and TIEonline would be my recommendations. I suspect you are not a candidate with ISS or Search Associates due to your one year of experience. So TIEonline would be your best better. Also, looking on individual school websites. You can use different databases to fine schools like the IBO's database or CIS.

Good luck.

Some countries (and therefore schools) won't issue visas if you don't have an active credential. My school uses credential w/ Bachelors degree as a column on the pay scale, so one technically doesn't need it but you get paid more if you have it.

I'd look at other states where you may be able to get one quite easily. The only downside is if you try to go back to NY state to teach later, your credential from X state (Arizona, Montana, Mississippi) won't likely transfer back. But if you're overseas for the long haul, it won't matter. I had to do this because my initial credential in the US was pretty much impossible for me to convert to a long term one unless I was working in the state were it was issued.

Good luck.

Eion

The issue is that if you're only on a one year contract, you'll be starting the next job search almost immediately once you actually start your job. To me, that would be pretty awful as you're trying to do your job you are already looking for another. Staying at a place for two years isn't that much better in my mind, but if it's the wrong place you do want to move on.

I'm suspicious of places that give a 3 year initial contract as it strikes me that they don't think people will stay past two years. I start to wonder what's wrong with the school that they fear a high turn over.

Eion

Waldorf schools are pretty niche really in most of the world outside Europe. I suspect the majority of recruiters don't have a lot of experience with them unless they were coming from Europe. I worked in college admissions, so I visited a few US based Waldorf schools and I have a general sense of the style of education. It's a bit like Montesorri schools, though frankly Monetessori are probably better known world wide.

In the US since Waldorf schools are generally (exclusively?) private, a lot of the teachers wouldn't be credentialed. I think being uncredentialed is likely to be a bigger issue for schools or even getting a work permit in a particular country.

Eion

If you live in nice housing, which the good schools will provide or provide a decent housing salary, your apartment in Shanghai will be warm and comfortable. Even restaurants are doing a better job of heating from what they used to do years ago (I mean like 15 years back). But it's humid so the cold feels colder.

On the other hand, do you like sweating? Because Bangkok is hot most of the year. So it may be more problematic getting around with small kids in the heat than them wearing jackets for part of the year.

You hear more about pollution in China in the media, but Bangkok definitely doesn't strike me as having good air quality. I haven't checked out the actual stats. If your family members have asthma then either place could be a challenge.

Both could be good for having young kids though. Both have inexpensive help. It also depends on where in the city you'll be living. For instance, ISB is out in the burbs, which can be a great place to be out of the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. Not great for single people or if you like going out, but wonderful if you want quiet and suburbia like living. The same is true if you're out in Minhang (SAS Puxi, BISS, etc) or in Jin Qiao (Concordia, Dulwich, SAS Pudong, etc).

Some things to think through.

Eion

@expatscot's advice is quite good, though I'm not sure I'd advise holding off another year unless you're pretty happy where you are at and don't mind holding for a year.

Some schools have set pay schedules and won't move on that point. But some have wiggle room. I'd say more establish schools and certainly what people consider higher tier schools do have set pay scales so if you take the offer at the first place, it's not going to impact what you earn later if you're able to move to a better place. Salaries are much more tied to local economies that to some overall notion of pay.

How much more time do you need to hear from the first school? If it's less than a week, you may be able to ask for an extension. They may give it to you and they may not. I think the school is far more likely to say "No, we really need to know by X date" than "Sorry, we're rescinding the offer because you want to consider X school." And they may just give you the time.

Two hits out of 3 is a great response rate especially with only 2 years teaching, but you seem to have a good background and the experience people want. If you're a single teacher with no dependents you're in a very strong position.

Eion

My last school in China would pay up to the amount they calculated when you provided a receipt for your flight. What was cool was you could route it through other countries on your way home or on the way back. A lot of my colleagues and I would use this to take trips on our way home in June or on our way back in August.

If you decided not to fly to your country of record you could take the money, but you'd be taxed by the government at 25% so you lost a lot of the value but you didn't technically need to fly to your home country.

Eion

Hey @DallasTX2,

One thing that Shadowjack didn't mention is that some countries require IT to have certification in order to get visas. Not having a credential may limit you to countries that don't require certification. I know several years ago Singapore changed their laws and many teachers who had worked there a long time were forced to renew credentials or lose their job. I don't know how widespread it is as an issue. I also don't know if this would impact you if you are hired as an Athletic Director.

Anyway, that's something to be aware of and something you might look into before trying to head overseas.

Eion

The ME can be a hardship position because the bad schools, can be very, very poorly run and treatment of teachers can be abysmal. If you end up in a dispute with the owners of the school or even parents of students you may even find it impossible to leave the country or in extreme cases imprisoned (see Dorje Gurung) since often the owners have political connections. This can happen in other regions too, but it's more prone to happen in the ME since the money and political power is closely aligned. Add to this the challenges of accessing alcohol in some countries and regional concerns about terrorism and violence.

Do many people go to the ME and have great experiences? Certainly. However, I can count the number of people I've met on one hand who have spoken about teaching in Kuwait with enthusiasm. I've also known other people who were skeptical about going to the region who ended up staying for years and really enjoying their time there. I think a lot depends on the quality of the school.

With all these things it's a very personal decision. I really like living in China, but lots of people don't.

Usually they clarify and I've seen places listed as resume/CV or just CV. If it's an American system school and they say resume, I'd go with that.

I think the basic stuff applies.

Keep it to one page if you can; two might be okay if you've been teaching for a long time. You probably want it to be chronological. Leave out non-teaching stuff unless it's directly related to a role you might have at school like coaching or some other after school activity (ASA). Hobbies that could conceivably be useful for coaching or running an ASA could be helpful. Although you wouldn't do it in the US, they may want to see your date of birth to know your age. Many countries it's not illegal to ask about it.

Other things you normally wouldn't put in a cover letter that is appropriate is mention of partner/spouse and kids. They want to know these things.

Good luck.

Eion

If you have a friend who is a recruiter at another school they can look at your profile and may be willing to give you a heads up.

It seems from these forums that sometimes SA Associates have hinted that one of the recs is suboptimal and encouraged other recs be added, but that's generally been in very vague terms from what people have related.

Otherwise wrldtvlr123 is right, that you may not know for certain.

Is there a reason you suspect or fear you have a bad one?

Eion

Shenzhen is a big city and spread out. A lot depends on where you live. Shekou is where Shekou International School, QSI Shenzhen and other IS are located. There are lots of expats living there with kids. It's fairly pricey living in that area and it may or may not be convenient to where you'll be working and having your kids go to school.

Other areas of the city may be very local or have expats that don't have kids. Besides Shekou, I don't know where the centers of expats are who have kids. Maybe someone else can weigh in.

If your kids are into sports, you might look for youth leagues. If you're religious, you might also connect with people through churches.

Eion

I've lived in China for quite a while. It's unlikely that they'd experience any type of physical bullying even if they're boys. The bigger risk is that they may feel socially isolated. In my experience, girls tend to have bigger issues that boys. Part of that is there is sports culture for Chinese boys (basketball, soccer), which is not totally absent among Chinese girls, but it's far less developed.

Although, obesity is on the rise in China, I've found Western girls are more likely to have body image issues arise too.

The social norms are very different from Western countries to China, so your kids will have to be wiling to put themselves out there socially. Honestly, in the schools I've worked out the Western kids tend to hang out with the ethnically Chinese kids who have lived in Western countries too. They share a lot more in common.

It's not so different from what I see with teachers. Most often the foreign teachers hang out with each other rather than with local Chinese teachers. While some friendships arise with Chinese teachers, they're much more casual. I get along with the Chinese staff, and I speak Mandarin pretty well, but we don't frequently go out to dinner or have drinks. We might socialize at a school . for the whole school.

Have you asked your kids directly about how they feel about it? If they seem excited about it that would be a good sign.

If the city has a decent foreign population, that could make things easier if you'll be living somewhere they can make friends out of school too. Do you mind sharing what city? That could give more context.

Eion

Hey @usartteacher, accepting offers from one school and then continuing to search is a big problem in the IS world. It's even more problematic if you're working with Search Associates or ISS as they'll blacklist you. Also, even though it's a big world, the world of IS is surprisingly small so if you're doing something like that you may make it much harder for you to get future offers.

SighGuy is prolific in giving answers, but he often offers very questionable advice and often offers advice on things he doesn't really know about. I have him blocked, so I don't know what he's written to you.

As for the balance between a job and life-style, it's an important thing to discuss with you and your partner. If there are deal breakers, know what they are going into the search. The potential pitfall is that you end up with no offers at places you want. Do you have the option of staying put for another year if you don't find an option? Sometimes teachers strike gold the first time out when looking for a job, but often the first and/or second placement means giving up something people may be looking for as an ideal (salary, distance from home, type of school, etc). Being new to teaching with a trailing spouse and no overseas experience probably means you won't get everything you want the first time out. Finding a place where a trailing spouse can be very tough depending on their field, willingness to do something outside their field, and local regulations. I've known a number of people to head back to their country after struggling with that issue over time.

It may be that those 3 offers you received were from good schools, or it's possible you may not know what to look out for when it comes to issues. Be aware that some will have spent the same time submitting applications and received no offers too. It's hard to know without knowing more about you as a candidate and knowing which schools were offering, but that's probably not something to share on this forum.

Good luck.

I would certainly let those schools know you'll be at the Bangkok fair in a quick email that was expressing interest if you didn't mention that in the initial cover letter. I wouldn't send another new cover letter/resume in advance of the fair.

Eion