I'm sitting here totally exhausted, so apologies if I repeat something I've already said.
We didn't stay at the fair hotel, but at a hotel about 5-10 minute walk away, with a pool. I had this great idea that at the end of every day, I'd take a nice relaxing dip in the pool. Yeah, that didn't happen until Friday, but damn was it nice to get the opportunity.
We interviewed with seven schools, including one that had arranged an interview before sign ups. That interview was surprisingly the worst. We could practically feel their disinterest oozing at us during the interview. Wonder why they bothered?
We had a great conversation with my top choice school at their presentation, an equally good conversation during sign up, and then the interview... fell totally flat. Got a rejection in the box for that one. I have no idea what happened.
We ended the fair with one offer in hand and two Skype interviews with a decision to come later. We went with the offer in hand. They're IB, going to give us IB training, and are in a country/region we're very interested in.
We met one guy at the social who hadn't gotten a single interview. Rough. He was the only one in that position that we MET, however, so I'm not sure how common it was.
Bangkok Job Fair
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
Sevaram,
it isn't common, but it will happen every fair to someone. As a candidate going to the fair, your job is to make sure you're not "that guy".
Loved your comment about the swim in the pool every evening...
Mrs. Shadowjack wanted to go touring...my response was to ask if we were in Bangkok to tour, or to get a job...
One day we will return to Bangkok for the sights outside the fair!
it isn't common, but it will happen every fair to someone. As a candidate going to the fair, your job is to make sure you're not "that guy".
Loved your comment about the swim in the pool every evening...
Mrs. Shadowjack wanted to go touring...my response was to ask if we were in Bangkok to tour, or to get a job...
One day we will return to Bangkok for the sights outside the fair!
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
But the way to get the offers is to get the interviews.
Unless you are stellar and have offers prior to the fair (in that case, why are you there?), you have to interview to get the offer.
Therefore, you have to get the interviews first.
The objective is to get them as a vehicle for marketing yourself to schools you would go to (never interview with a school you have no interest in going to, in my opinon).
And while the objective is to land the contract, no interviews = no contract upon leaving the fair (barring the odd elevator contract, of course!)
Unless you are stellar and have offers prior to the fair (in that case, why are you there?), you have to interview to get the offer.
Therefore, you have to get the interviews first.
The objective is to get them as a vehicle for marketing yourself to schools you would go to (never interview with a school you have no interest in going to, in my opinon).
And while the objective is to land the contract, no interviews = no contract upon leaving the fair (barring the odd elevator contract, of course!)
No
No, your looking for ONE offer and you only need one interview to get it (regardless of when or where that interview is). You get an advance interview for your top choice school the night before the fair, and they offer you the position at that interview, that's how you want it to work if actually attending the fair.
You mistake is equating that their is some ration of interviews to offers that at some point gives value to the interviews themselves. That's grossly false.
I have to disagree adamantly with your suggestion not to interview with schools your not interested in. Your not interviewing with a school, your interviewing with a RECRUITER. Your not impressing any one school but every school that recruiter may be in the future, and every recruiter that the admin your niter viewing with may talk about you with. That's how networking is done, and relationships are started in this profession.
That last comment of no interview = no contract upon leaving the fair is equally wrong. Many teachers (about 30% more) are subsequently hired after the fair but based upon an interview and discussion at the fair.
It's vey narrow minded and naive to classify an exchange in the elevator or other informal encounter as not being an interview. Those events are just as much an interview as sitting in a recruiters room for 2 hours playing 101 questions.
You mistake is equating that their is some ration of interviews to offers that at some point gives value to the interviews themselves. That's grossly false.
I have to disagree adamantly with your suggestion not to interview with schools your not interested in. Your not interviewing with a school, your interviewing with a RECRUITER. Your not impressing any one school but every school that recruiter may be in the future, and every recruiter that the admin your niter viewing with may talk about you with. That's how networking is done, and relationships are started in this profession.
That last comment of no interview = no contract upon leaving the fair is equally wrong. Many teachers (about 30% more) are subsequently hired after the fair but based upon an interview and discussion at the fair.
It's vey narrow minded and naive to classify an exchange in the elevator or other informal encounter as not being an interview. Those events are just as much an interview as sitting in a recruiters room for 2 hours playing 101 questions.
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pacificsurf619
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 6:41 am
- Location: Japan
Congrats to everyone that was successful at the BKK fair and a great big THANK YOU to shadowjack for his real-time exposé on what it was like this year.
I too was scheduled for the fair but luckily 'Captain Underpants' managed to keep his pants on for a few more interviews at other schools and we received an offer and signed a contract with a tier 1 in South America.
I was actually really excited about going to the fair as it would have been my first but we were thrilled with the offer and school so no regrets.
Before the fair we had only received 2 nibbles from schools attending asking to set up interviews the day before. The school we signed up with found us through the search database and sent out an unsolicited offer to interview so that database has been well worth it for us - both in the opportunities for us to contact schools and for schools to find us when looking through the database.
For those still waiting - definitely KEEP YOUR HEADS UP and be confident. There are so many fantastic schools and opportunities. We have always taken every opportunity to interview because recruiters move around all the time and its great to talk with someone and make those connections.
Best of luck to everyone!
I too was scheduled for the fair but luckily 'Captain Underpants' managed to keep his pants on for a few more interviews at other schools and we received an offer and signed a contract with a tier 1 in South America.
I was actually really excited about going to the fair as it would have been my first but we were thrilled with the offer and school so no regrets.
Before the fair we had only received 2 nibbles from schools attending asking to set up interviews the day before. The school we signed up with found us through the search database and sent out an unsolicited offer to interview so that database has been well worth it for us - both in the opportunities for us to contact schools and for schools to find us when looking through the database.
For those still waiting - definitely KEEP YOUR HEADS UP and be confident. There are so many fantastic schools and opportunities. We have always taken every opportunity to interview because recruiters move around all the time and its great to talk with someone and make those connections.
Best of luck to everyone!
But interviews are good experience. I had 8 interviews and I learned something from all of them. Interviews also boost your self-esteem and are a good gauge of how marketable you are in the international school spectrum. They also give you a good idea about what recruiters are looking for, what they will ask, and how you might fit into certain schools/positions.
I had an interview with my dream school the first day right after signup. I talked with the recruiter for 45 minutes, and even though I didn't get the job, I learned a lot about what this school is looking for. He sent me an email the next day and gave me some good advice about how I could get into a school like that.
The fair can be a massive learning experience, even if you don't land a job.
Some advice: Try and get as many interviews as you can, but don't go over the top and schedule 15 interviews or some nonsense. Also, don't cancel interviews unless you have a job offer on hand. I nearly cancelled an interview with a school that later gave me an offer because I thought that I was a shoe in for another school. The job offer I finally accepted was with a school in an amazing location. but at first I was skeptical because it's such a small school. But after interviewing I became really impressed with them. Talk to everyone you can - there is lots to learn in just 3-4 days.
I had an interview with my dream school the first day right after signup. I talked with the recruiter for 45 minutes, and even though I didn't get the job, I learned a lot about what this school is looking for. He sent me an email the next day and gave me some good advice about how I could get into a school like that.
The fair can be a massive learning experience, even if you don't land a job.
Some advice: Try and get as many interviews as you can, but don't go over the top and schedule 15 interviews or some nonsense. Also, don't cancel interviews unless you have a job offer on hand. I nearly cancelled an interview with a school that later gave me an offer because I thought that I was a shoe in for another school. The job offer I finally accepted was with a school in an amazing location. but at first I was skeptical because it's such a small school. But after interviewing I became really impressed with them. Talk to everyone you can - there is lots to learn in just 3-4 days.
Also, remember that a lot of the recruiters at the fair know each other very well. They talk to each other in the bar (which isn't necessarily the same one that the candidates go to) to catch up, whine about the board and the quality of teachers these days, and to spend their expenses). They might really want to employ you but they have to, for practical reasons, offer the position to half of a good but not amazing teaching couple - their best recruitment fair bar buddy might be walking away from the fair without a good teacher of xxxxxx and that could be you.
Comment
@pacificsurf619
Im glad something worked out for you and Mr. Underpants (you know that makes you Mrs. Captain Underpants?)
That story is immortalized and has already been verbed ("That was a captain underpants, I cant believe my trousers were unzipped during the interview", actually heard that in common conversation).
Im glad something worked out for you and Mr. Underpants (you know that makes you Mrs. Captain Underpants?)
That story is immortalized and has already been verbed ("That was a captain underpants, I cant believe my trousers were unzipped during the interview", actually heard that in common conversation).
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
What I Learned from the BKK Fair
So here we are now, three days post-BKK Fair. Now that I have collected myself a bit, caught up on my teaching duties, gotten down to planning next semester, I thought I would reflect a bit more on my experiences and what I might change up about it.
First off, I would definitely stay at the fair hotel again. The convenience of being there and having a room to retire to was wonderful.
Second, there are things I would change pre-fair.
1. When sending CV's to recruiters, I would scrap the cover letter. Instead I would put a simple statement of teaching philosophy followed by a 1 page Highlight Sheet which highlights my relevant experience. I would tailor this for the job applied for (in case of having multiple teaching areas).
2. I would make better use of my network of former colleagues earlier in the year. This time I honestly wanted to see what nibbles I would get just going in cold. I know from seeing others at the fair (and honestly, I did contact one friend later in the fall about one school, but that was it) that personal contacts at schools played a role for many in landing that interview/possible job offer.
3. For schools at the fair, I would hit them with the same 1 page highlights sheet, in color, on nice quality paper.
4. I would also take nice notepaper to attach a personal note to each interview request I put into their folders.
5. Not sure I would do an Ichiro or a CD, but think the highlights sheet serves the same purpose.
AT THE FAIR ITSELF, I WOULD CHANGE THE FOLLOWING:
6. I would be more aggressive about marketing ourselves post-interview. I think we did a good job landing interviews and we interviewed well for all the schools that we met with, but our follow-up wasn't that good. I learned that if you are really interested in a school, you need to let them KNOW that. A simple thank you for the interview, in retrospect, seems to perhaps indicate that you are not set on the school. Using direct statements and asking direct questions would have been better, I think. IE We are so impressed by your school and the interview process. What do we need to do to make this happen (or make this work)? That puts the ball back in their court, especially when you can tell they are interested in you (as we could at most of our interviews).
7. I would not hesitate to contact the interviewers again, either personally or via a phone call to their room. Notes are nice, but if you really want the job, a single phone call can provide the feedback that helps you realize that an offer is going to happen or not going to happen.
This was the situation with the school we ended up at. Had we not made that call, I don't think we would have ended up there.
NOTE - 1 CALL. ONCE. Then move on.
I am sure I am missing some other things I would have done (like tracked schools better via spreadsheets for all the features), but this is the major lessons we learned from our first fair.
Hope it is helpful to everybody else heading to a fair for the first time!
First off, I would definitely stay at the fair hotel again. The convenience of being there and having a room to retire to was wonderful.
Second, there are things I would change pre-fair.
1. When sending CV's to recruiters, I would scrap the cover letter. Instead I would put a simple statement of teaching philosophy followed by a 1 page Highlight Sheet which highlights my relevant experience. I would tailor this for the job applied for (in case of having multiple teaching areas).
2. I would make better use of my network of former colleagues earlier in the year. This time I honestly wanted to see what nibbles I would get just going in cold. I know from seeing others at the fair (and honestly, I did contact one friend later in the fall about one school, but that was it) that personal contacts at schools played a role for many in landing that interview/possible job offer.
3. For schools at the fair, I would hit them with the same 1 page highlights sheet, in color, on nice quality paper.
4. I would also take nice notepaper to attach a personal note to each interview request I put into their folders.
5. Not sure I would do an Ichiro or a CD, but think the highlights sheet serves the same purpose.
AT THE FAIR ITSELF, I WOULD CHANGE THE FOLLOWING:
6. I would be more aggressive about marketing ourselves post-interview. I think we did a good job landing interviews and we interviewed well for all the schools that we met with, but our follow-up wasn't that good. I learned that if you are really interested in a school, you need to let them KNOW that. A simple thank you for the interview, in retrospect, seems to perhaps indicate that you are not set on the school. Using direct statements and asking direct questions would have been better, I think. IE We are so impressed by your school and the interview process. What do we need to do to make this happen (or make this work)? That puts the ball back in their court, especially when you can tell they are interested in you (as we could at most of our interviews).
7. I would not hesitate to contact the interviewers again, either personally or via a phone call to their room. Notes are nice, but if you really want the job, a single phone call can provide the feedback that helps you realize that an offer is going to happen or not going to happen.
This was the situation with the school we ended up at. Had we not made that call, I don't think we would have ended up there.
NOTE - 1 CALL. ONCE. Then move on.
I am sure I am missing some other things I would have done (like tracked schools better via spreadsheets for all the features), but this is the major lessons we learned from our first fair.
Hope it is helpful to everybody else heading to a fair for the first time!
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andyleblanc
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 4:04 pm
- Location: Georgia, USA
1 Question....
You said that you wished you would have used your connections more. How so, just calling them to put a good word iin for you because they were at a school that you desired? Any other way?