Wait for next year?

[mrspepper]

So my husband and I have received several 'thanks but no thanks' replies. We decided to go it alone and did not pay the $200 Search fee. We applied to schools on our own. (A quick recap he's a social studies and ICT teacher with a MA in tech integration working as a 12 month tech ICT admin now and I'm a 10 year veteran French teacher with a MA in French).
My question is, should we just call it quits for this year and pay Search next year and hit the fairs? Are we just wasting our time at this point?

[wrldtrvlr123]

[quote="mrspepper"]So my husband and I have received several 'thanks but no thanks' replies. We decided to go it alone and did not pay the $200 Search fee. We applied to schools on our own. (A quick recap he's a social studies and ICT teacher with a MA in tech integration working as a 12 month tech ICT admin now and I'm a 10 year veteran French teacher with a MA in French).
My question is, should we just call it quits for this year and pay Search next year and hit the fairs? Are we just wasting our time at this point?[/quote]

If you are planning to join Search anyways next year, you may as well join this year and have access to the job postings and database to aid in your research. Your $200 gets you 3 years of Search and one job fair, whenever you decide to go (and can get in).

Search could help you target your efforts for this year and at worst you will be ahead of the game for next.

[JISAlum]

Do you need to have your recommendations submitted to Search before you can access the job's dbase? I'd assume you need to pay the fee first- not intending on going to this year's fairs, and don't want to ask for recommendations yet.

[PsyGuy]

Well it depends what your job expectations are? And where you have applied already. Search (or ISS, CIS) isnt a "magic wand". Non of those places find you a job, they really just make the process of identifying schools easier and more efficient. You need to first figure out why the schools you are applying are saying no, for that youd have to give us more information???

As far as waiting to join, there isnt much use to that. It takes about a week and with the Cambridge fair coming up longer for the associates to get your check. You will also need to have your references done before you can use the database. That takes time. Search membership is good for 3 years so your not loosing anything. Its to late for the Cambridge fair but lots of people get hired outside the fairs.

[mrspepper]

I think the reason why we're receiving a lot of 'no's may be because we're being particular about the schools where we want to work. We aren't unhappy in our current jobs in the US, we just really want to switch to International Teaching, which means we're not desperate to take a job in any school anywhere in the world. (We have a 2 year old and I'm not ready to take her to a country where she would be unhappy.)

Of course, our 'sorry no thanks' replies might be because we're not good candidates too...who knows.

I think for this year we will keep sending out applications to schools that are listing openings on TIE and then if that doesn't work, join Search and get our rec. letters done over the summer.

[WiseTeach]

I think your idea to keep searching TIE is great. I paid the ISS fee $180 to access their data base, AND I paid $290 for the fair. I was offered a job that I applied for via TIE.... a school that is not members of ISS. We communicated after i sent a packet with my picture. I then interviewed via Skype and was offered the job within 2 days time. Incidently...... ISS refuses to refund my hiring fair fee. DO NOT USE ISS. Previous posters are correct... they are money driven and NOT customer service oriented. I did not pay for Search, but 2 of their staff took time to call me and advise me inspite of the fact that I wasn't a client. If you must fair... Fair Search!!!

[PsyGuy]

I think we both know its really a combination of the two. Your not "good candidates" (meaning competitive) for the schools your interested in, because you basically only would consider a position at one of the top schools, in high desire regions...

To that end Search or ISS isnt really going to help you. Search helps you "find" schools you already know what schools your interested in, an agency isnt going to increase your marketability.

[mrspepper]

I'm not 100% sure about that, psyguy. We're not only looking at 'tier 1' schools. We've applied to schools in Turkey, and I'm pretty sure they're not tier 1. We just don't want to be in a place like Saudi Arabia where I'd have to cover up and walk around with my husband all the time. We also applied to QSI and were told they didn't have positions for us...and from what I heard nobody considers that a tier 1 school.

[PsyGuy]

Its not true, turkey has some tier 1 schools. Just about everywhere (even the middle east) has tier 1 schools. They may not compare the same from region to region. As for QSI where were you looking to go? Hong Kong, Italy, or one of their "premiere" schools?

There is a "law" in international education much like the law of entropy, or Thorndiks law of effect and that law is "There is a school for everyone, if you will accept anything".

That said you both have ample experience, degrees, and certifications so its not that your unqualified, your just not competitive for some schools.

[seinfeld]

You're falling into the old trap of being too particular! If you want to move, then you need to open your eyes to the whole world.
It's unfortunate but you do really need to spend the money on Search and see the jobs that are open.

[trebleclef]

mrspepper,
Where did you get your information that "none of the QSI schools are Tier 1?" Reading the description in the "Tier" thread, there are several QSI schools located in capital cities, whose clientele is largely embassy-based, and who have established longevity and consistency. Just curious.

As far as it being "too late", I would say if you persevere, it is certainly not too late. My husband and I started later (Jan.) in the process than most, it would appear, and, after two interviews (one in person and one via SKYPE), we just accepted offers to teach in our subject areas in a country which was one of our top choices. We have two dependents, we have been teaching for 16 years and 15 years, and this is our first foray into international education. It sounds like you are qualified.

[matt]

She has the idea that none of the QSI schools are "Tier 1" because it is a FACT. Just because a school is in a desirable capital city does not make it Tier 1. The packages that QSI offers are woefully inadequate not to mention the idea that one must conform or pretend to conform to an upright Christian sensibility.

[lightstays]

It's funny how they say absolutely nothing of the Christian sensibility thing during their presentation at the fairs. Jerks.

[PsyGuy]

Being in a Capitol city may make life easier for you but has nothing to do with the quality of a school. Wile there is a correlation between high caliber schools and Capitol cities, because that's we're the students with money and expats are usually located too. A place like Beijing has both elite, tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 schools.

I wouldn't consider QSI a tier 1 school, some would be high tier 2 schools, most of them are solidly in he tier 2 category.

[trebleclef]

Interesting about the Tier 2 /QSI. That seems reasonable, having researched their schools/sites. Some folks have posted that QSI's packages are inadequate, when I am finding just the opposite. Perhaps I am missing something? We would each be starting at $41,900, housing and insurance completely covered, flights home each year for us and our dependents, shipping/relocation allowance, cost of living is low in the cities in which we would consider teaching. It makes me wonder what is inadequate about all that. Enlighten me, please!