I was under the impression that GRC could be considered somewhat exclusive because you have to have taught at one of the member schools to sign up. And most of the member schools are what would be considered top tier.

Does anyone how difficult is it for a school to get added to GRC?

Thanks for your responses. I'm already registered with Search. Because I am based in the UK, I didn't have to pay the registration fee that they charge. Plus, it was easy to just reactive my file. I have many old recommendations on there with former administrators that I have since lost touch with.

I also registered with ISS Schrole, but they don't seem to have as many schools as Search does, so I think it may be a good thing that I am with Search too.

Another free service was GRC (Global Recruitment Collaborative) so I signed on with them too. They have a very early job fair in November, but since it's rather new, I don't know anyone who has found a job through them. Anyone have any information about them? The job fair is free, but it would involve travelling to Dubai.....

I know that when I begin work this August it will be my last year at my current school. I would like to secure a job for 2020 as early as possible. It seems that the recruiting season begins earlier & earlier each year. What is the earliest you or someone you know of have secured a position for the following school year?

Is October or November to early to begin actively looking, or are there schools who will be hiring at that time? I know GRC has a Dubai fair in November. Is it worth going to that, or should I hold out until January and go to the Search fair in Bangkok?

Thanks for the responses.

To answer your questions: I am a middle school teacher with over 20 years experience. Half in my home country, half internationally. I teach maths & science, mainly in middle school, but have done a couple high school classes (pre IB)

I do have a masters and have held leadership positions (head of department, team leader, etc). I've worked at top tier school before, but took a second their school to teach in Europe, and now I'd like to be back at a really strong school again.

I was thinking Bangkok might be the way to go, but it is SO competitive and I'm only a middle school teacher. I feel this is when they're really looking for the power teaching couples; I'm single with a trailing spouse (and I'm not even sure I would qualify, must ask my Search person)
I was also thinking Cambridge because its late int he recruiting season and I would only have to go if I hadn't found anything by then

I am looking to move on from my current school and plan to recruit next school year for the 2020-2021 academic year. I will be registering with Search (again- sigh) and am wondering which job fair to attend.

I am looking for a Tier 1 school with American curriculum. I have taught internationally for several years, but mostly in middle school, and have never been IB/MYP trained. So I am hoping for a large American school in Southeast Asia or the Middle East.

My thoughts are:
East Asia in October - I know this is a new fair. I feel its awfully early & recruiters will be picky. However, for some schools who like to finish recruiting as early as possible, this may be a great opportunity to hire early & get it done. Possibly a chance to get a jump on the competition? Anyone have any idea which schools attended last year?

Latin America in November - I think this might just be for those who want South America. Seems awfully small...

Dubai in November - Again, quite early & I think mostly middle east schools attend, not many from Southeast Asia, although I could be wrong...

Toronto in December- I have no information on this one at all. Anyone know anything about it?

Then there's the big three:
Bangkok - Always a stressful madhouse, but with some great schools in attendance, but I feel they are sometimes reluctant to offer jobs on the spot, sometimes saying - we have to go to London/Cambridge before we can offer anything (or maybe that's just a polite brush off)

London- Again, rather a stressful madhouse- seems to geared more to British International schools and people with IB/MYP/PYP experience

Cambridge - A lot of great school attend, but a bit late in the game. I feel like by now, a lot of the good jobs are gone & the top tier schools only go to fill positions like IB physics, etc. The flip side is that a lot of less experienced teachers attend this fair, so maybe someone with more international experience might stand a better chance?

Obviously, the dream is to be hired over Skype prior to Winter Break and not have to attend any job fair, but if I could only afford to attend one, which is my best bet for a top tier school? I imagine it may be one of these three: The early one in Asia (Singapore in October), Bangkok in January or Cambridge in February.

Can anyone who has recently been hired by a top tier school (or knows someone who has) shed any light on which fair they attended?

Any ideas or insight is appreciated! Thanks!

Tried this question in the members forum, but thought I'd give it a go here as well:

I recently got married and my spouse is willing to move abroad if I can find a teaching job which will support us both. I have ten years experience teaching internationally and have worked at some very reputable schools. (i.e. IASIS) We have no dependents. I'm concerned about my husband not working & both of us just depending on my salary

I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience. If so,

1. As I have always recruited as a single before, will having a trailing spouse decrease my marketability? (I teach maths and science) If so - to what degree?
2. Are there countries where I could work where my spouse could obtain a work visa?
3. Does anyone know of schools where dependent spouses are included when considering housing allowances, home leave, health insurance etc?
4. Any ideas where we could live well and still save on a single salary?
5. How did going to only one person working affect your relationship?
6. What did the non-working spouse do all day if there were no children to care for?

Any information you can provide would be great! Thanks!

It's not ASL, but maybe that's a good thing. More of an international feel than an American school. Some really good teachers, solid curriculum. Nice campus, Really lovely grounds. I don't know if you could find another school that's still located in London which has so much outdoor space. Lots of kids from central London attend even though it's all the way out in Hillingdon because the school provides busing. Do you have specific questions?

Porter1- Yes, that is true. I was offer a contract last year.

I think it seems a bit high. The norm tends to be 5 teaching blocks out of an 8 block schedule. At some of the nicer Asian schools, you only teach 4 of 8. What you are proposing sounds like 6 out of 8, which seems excessive considering you would teach one full day with no breaks given for planning.

Hi. While I don't really know about the schools themselves, I have met the admin from the French school in SF, as they came to my school for PD. They were great guys. Seem like they would be great to work for, on the basis of meeting them in a conference setting. They were motivated, open to hearing ideas from both teachers and admin, and seemed to have a lot of energy and enthusiasm, so I took these as positive signs.

Not sure about the British school in Houston, but I was interested in a British school in another US city and the requirements were that in order to teach there you had to have qualified as a teacher in the UK. Also have a dear friend from England whose cousin recently was hired at the school in Houston, so that reinforces my belief that they only hire UK trained teachers.

It's interesting how much the game has changed. Six years ago with no prior international teaching experience, I went to Cambridge and landed a job a a top tier IASIS school in Southeast Asia. This year, two top tier teaching assignment later, I had to return to Cambridge, as I was unable to secure a position over Skype.

That same school that hired me six years ago was not even in attendance, nor were many of the others I recall from my first time at Cambridge. There were schools that attended that did not even have jobs available. They simply posted signs that said- taking applications for 2015- 2016- as if they knew people would walk away from this job fair without having secured a position for next year. I feel like Cambridge used to be the place to land a job and now it is far too late in the season to find something good there. I felt lucky to get anything at all and I have a spotless resume and credentials. I find this all very disheartening. I fear having to look for a job again in the future.

Is it just me, or does it seem like this year a lot of really good, experienced international school teachers are having trouble finding positions for next school year?

Just from stories I have heard from friends around the world, and postings I have seen other sites, it seems like a lot of people from top tier schools are still looking. I know I personally had a really hard time recruiting this year even with years' of international school experience at excellent schools.

Is anyone else seeing this happening?

I'm not sure ASIJ has a great salary anymore. i believe they have restructured their salary schedule. I do know when I was speaking with them they told me that everyone who would be hired this year would get the same starting salary, regardless of years of experience or education level (just bachelor's degree vs. PhD) Seemed kind of strange to me.

Psych;
At the good schools, a lot is expected of you and you will spend a great deal of time at work. That being said, Sao Paulo can be a lot of fun and the travel opportunities are expensive, but wonderful

Work hours vary by school - roughly 8-4 officially, but you will often end up doing a lot of work after school, or at home to stay caught up depending on what you teach

Not sure what EEs are

Life outside of work is what you make of it. Depends on where you live as well. Can be a lot of fun if you are into music. the better you know the language, the better it seems to be. There are great clubs for music, dancing. Restaurants. Lots of culture if you go look for it. Iberipuera park is great for running, hanging out. There are expat clubs. Pretty much something here for whatever you're into.

Kids are good- but once again depends on the school. A lot of the expat kids tend to be form other S. Amer. countries. Not a bad thing, but they are chatty. Really care about interpersonal relationships, etc. Not the same studiousness you will find in Asia, which many people find a relief. Most still want to do well.

Pay depends on school. i believe it is Brazilian law that you be paid in reals, which is unfortunate, because it is losing value against every other major currency right now. There are other benefits- lunch at school, sometimes a doctor at school- things like that.

Turnover varies. There are people that hate it and leave after 2- 3 years, others marry a local and stay forever. I'd say avg. stay is 5 years. Many schools have contracts that have you lose overseas hire benefits after a certain amount of time. Graded used to be 11yrs, now it's 7. I think Chapel is 4.

WW;
I think the only schools you should consider would be Graded, Chapel and maybe St. Francis.

Pollution- some days it's gross, but nothing like China

Crime- mostly robberies, many have happened to school staff, stolen purse, i phones. Certain neighborhoods are safer than others.

Nightlife- Great, but can get really expensive really fast

Activities - Anything you want to do you can pretty much find here, but it may be far away and sub par to what you are used to. Drinking, music and futbol are huge. If you like those you will be in heaven

Cost of living- the most outrageous I have ever seen anywhere. Hideous taxes as well. You get nothing in return. Truly shocking and appalling. After living here I took a taxi ride in a black cab in London and thought 'that wasn't too bad'

Sao Paulo is a huge, unruly city. But the people can be lovely and gracious. Despite the rare acts of crime, I have also seen acts of unbelievable kindness as well. It does get under your skin and make you fall in love with it somehow, kind of like an ugly dog that after a while you think is kind of endearing.

when i was interviewing there this year, i was told 'every new hire starts at the same salary'. i was shocked. someone with a master's an 15 year's experience gets the same salary as another person with a bachelor's and 3 year's experience. that doesn't seem right.