[quote="livefree"][quote="sevarem"]livefree, you could try to aim for China, but some of the schools can't get work visas for teachers with less than two years experience. That being said, I'm certain some of the lower tier, Chinese run schools would hire you and find a way to get your visa. Try Beanstalk, Beijing Bilingual (formerly Kinstar), Guanzhou Country Garden School, and Changchun American.

Actually Changchun American might be your best bet. They're IB and, because no one wants to live in Changchun, they hire newbies. Give them an email.[/quote]

Got a response back from Changchun. They want to do a skype interview. Where can I find out more about this school in terms of salary, health benefits, and housing?

Is it an okay place for a single female?[/quote]


Read the ISR reviews. They are mostly correct. Health insurance is offered but it's fairly useless. Housing is okay - 2 bedroom apartments which are very new. However they do have some older ones too so make sure you ask to be placed in the newer accommodation. Very few single people work at the school (although there are a few). Most are married and that's how they survive. It's a tough place if you're single because the city is very grim and does not offer much to do. No one speaks English, there is a massive taxi shortage, and -35 winters. However the staff is great and the students are wonderful. If you can survive for 2 years you'll no doubt be able to jump to something better. Most people don't stay more than 2 years, and some less than that. 6 people have already left this year.

Bumping this. I interviewed with them and they claimed to be non-profit. Very new school but the package is good for Thailand, plus you get to live in Phuket. It's IB - MYP and PYP and they're going for DP as soon as the students can enter the program. Anyone have any more recent updates?

Lower 2nd-tier school I think, at least from the reviews and the package. I remember thinking the salary was a bit on the low side, especially for Shanghai.

Yeah, I have a trailing spouse and I mention it in the cover letter. I'm positive about it and tell them what she'll be doing while I'm at work and how she helps/supports me. I also mention it in the biographical portion of the SEARCH application.

^Are you at my school? Ha ha. I work in a small school and a few reviews were posted last year - it was quite fun to try and figure out who posted them; kind of a little game we played.

How small is your school? If there are only 10 teachers there then yeah, I'd be reluctant too. Also if you're a native speaker, that will narrow it down even more.

^I didn't think it was that hard to get an invite. This will be the third time I go to the BKK fair. The first time I went I had been teaching EFL for 5 years and was handed an invite....didn't get a single interview, and I wasn't the only one. I met teachers there with dependents and no IB experience, even some teachers who weren't qualified yet. They all seemed to get invites somehow.

The next year I had finished my M.A. in English Lit. and had been teaching subject matter English for a year.....I received 2 interviews but no offers.


If I had a choice I'd go to the Cambridge fair and not the Bangkok one, but from talking to the associates it doesn't seem like that's possible. So let's just hope I have better luck this time around now that I have some IB experience under my belt.

Bumping this because I asked my DP coordinator and she said that I would absolutely be allowed to go to the fair; just to give plenty of notice.

In truth I would like to go to the BKK fair as well as the Cambridge fair, but unfortunately my associate is out of invites for the Cambridge fair because he's not the organizer and there's a long waiting list. I contacted one of the organizers for the Cambridge fair to see if it's possible to switch associates in order to attend the fair, but she said that doing so is highly uncustomary and she highly advised me to attend the fair in BKK.

So it looks like I'm out of options here - go the BKK fair in January, hope I get lucky, or just forget about Search entirely and try and get a job without them.

Yes, I'll be in BKK anyway visiting my wife's parents, so it's convenient to go to this fair.

I am at a 3rd tier school however I am teaching IB. 2 years ago I went to this fair and received 3 interviews (no offers) without IB experience, so I was hoping to fare better this time around.

I'm not sure what they're reaction will be. I highly doubt they would fire me. Plus, this school as a very big turnover rate each year (about 12 of us are planning to leave after our contracts are up after this academic year) so it will be no surprise to them that I don't plan on staying after my contract is up. But I don't want to lose the reference - otherwise these last 2 years will have been somewhat of a waste. I think I will register and tell them later. But when should I tell them? School has just started - probably not a good idea to tell them in the first month.

I haven't paid the registration fee yet; I was going to wait and see what my school says. If they forbid me from going (which is likely), then I won't bother paying the fee obviously.

I would like to go to the Bangkok Search fair in January. Unfortunately, it means missing a week of school. My current school is probably considered 3rd tier and does not give any time off for going to job fairs. In order to go to this job fair, I need to sign up quite early - October at the latest, so I need to ask my school if this is even possible quite soon.

So my question is this - what do I tell my current school?

Like I said before, my wife is coping here, but it's difficult because we're not in a cosmopolitan city. She does various things (besides facebook) - cross stitch, shopping, gym, exploring various parts of the city (which aren't much), learning to cook, studying advanced English...but it's not easy, especially because we don't have many friends here. She was going to join an advanced English class to improve her writing but the school was charging wayyyy too much and she really didn't like the idea of being in a class full of Chinese people (she's Thai). We have one more year here and that's it - either we move to a cosmopolitan city or we go to America. And after reading some of the comments here, the latter is looking like a better option.

I wouldn't want to lie to a school like that. I guess I could just tell them that I would pay for my wife's expenses, but I don't think that's the real issue. We're in a very remote city in China now and while we are coping, it's difficult because there's nothing to do here. It hasn't really put a strain on our relationship, but I know it's tough on her not being in a cosmopolitan city.

I have been in touch with my Search associate and he's basically said that it's a risk going to the Bangkok fair but still possible to land a job because of my IB experience and training. But I'll have the cards stacked against me. We'll be in Thailand anyway visiting her parents (she's Thai) in January, which makes that fair the most convenient one to go to.

I have been to 3 Search Fairs - I was not hired at any of them because of my lack of IB experience. I have IB experience now (2 years) and want to go to the Bangkok Search fair next January.

I'm currently teaching DP A1 English and Language & Literature, as well as some MYP Language A at a 2nd tier international school. I have a master's degree in English and a teaching (CLAD) credential from California. I am married however my wife is not a teacher; she would be coming with me as a dependent. What are my chances at the Bangkok fair in January? I was turned away last time primarily for my lack of IB experience, but I know that schools favor teaching couples and singles without dependents as well.