The International Schools Review Forum

Hello all,

I'm curious. Once you get to 10 years plus do you still attempt fairs? Or, do you just apply directly to schools? I'm wondering if at some point you don't really have to jump through the hoops and expense of the fairs?

I've only been to a small one and I was new to it all...
I was quite excited, but I wonder if at some point you will just get offers through Skype without going to fairs?

I am not a vet and this is my first experience with hiring season. I was so ignorant as to how things worked that I didn't even sign up for any of the fairs and instead just sent emails directly to the heads of the schools I was interested in. This may have not been the "correct" way to do things, but I've had 3 interviews thus far, and was just offered (and accepted) an amazing job via a Skype interview. I have to wonder if the fairs are simply becoming outpaced by technology at this point.

Wow
Good luck to you and your new school! I love those stories.

It's not up to teachers anyway these days. It's the economics of hiring that puts even the most seasoned educators in a tight spot. Some school heads love the face time to determine if a teacher is going to be a 'good fit.' IS Manila is a case in point.

It's self-defeating when schools post their 21st century learning mission based on a rich integration of technology on their school websites and then ask their prospective teachers to fly half-way around the globe to spend a few minutes in the narrow confines of their hotel rooms to make professional judgements.

I'm all for technology and if the admin wants to determine how good a teacher is, they should ask us to upload our video lessons to Schrole or to a similar online recruitment system / blog. Schools like IS BKK and UWCSEA truly live up to their mission by using technology both for hiring and for learning in the classrooms. Both schools are nearly done with their hiring.

Here is my take on a dream hire as determined by the economics of current international school recruitment: a young and 'single' licensed teacher in early 30s with 2-3 years of AP/IB experience. It's one flight ticket, one small apartment, less paper work to get him/her past the immigration, and of course, a fewer notches down on the pay scale. All of these might save a school anywhere between 10 to 15K USD a year per teacher. Now, assuming a school has at least 10% annual turnover, multiply that by five or ten, which translates to 50-150K of savings in one school year. These savings are equal to a minimum of one to two teachers annual pay at an established international school.

How do you beat this system? Well, network like crazy especially during workshops or PD sessions or by joining professional blogs. Raise your game to a level (especially in terms of integrating technology in your lessons) where you absolutely rank among the best. Enroll in a course, or offer solid activities (think MUN, Yearbook).

I'm new to the game as well and decided to test the waters before signing up with a recruitment agency. I picked 10 "dream" schools and followed their various application procedures. I heard back from three schools. Two were limited interactions where they basically told me that they were interested but were looking for more international, IB experience. However, the third offered me a chance to interview. After a couple of interviews I was offered and accepted a job. I'm still in a state of shock, as I believed that "Tier 1" schools don't hire "newbies" very often. Feeling very fortunate.

Congrats Rick! I wish you well at your new school. I so love these stories!

I guess I'm a vet and I haven't been to a fair since the mid 90's. I usually sign up for one in case I need to go, but then cancel when I get a pre-fair job.

[quote="interteach"]I guess I'm a vet and I haven't been to a fair since the mid 90's. I usually sign up for one in case I need to go, but then cancel when I get a pre-fair job.[/quote]

Hence the signing up being important for two reasons: 1, you might get a job pre-fair (that you probably wouldn't have got if you didn't sign up). 2, you can still go to the fair if you don't.

Sign up.

I went to the job fair for my first two intl jobs. With my 3rd, I was hired through Skype.
If networking hadn't led to my most recent post, I would have gone to a fair.