As it is getting to be that time of year, I just wanted to send out a humble request to those recruiting this year: think about doing a "fair diary" here on the forum, in the style of shadowjack or pippafrit ( and others) from last year.
They were engaging and informative for both the writers ( Im guessing) and we the audience.
I promise I will do one when my turn comes up!
:-)
A request: Fair Diaries Please!
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
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chipmunk84
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 11:35 am
- Location: United Kingdom
Re: A request: Fair Diaries Please!
I am also writing my experiences here, since in previous posts, people said it was quite helpful and I remember reading reviews beforehand and those made the fair a lot less stressful for me.
I came from one hour away by train so arrived around 8. In my opinion, arriving that early wasn't necessary. I wish I'd slept more!
I had an interesting time at the fair because I had already had a first interview with a school in the US via the search website a day earlier and they wanted to interview me again before the fair or during the first day/ evening of the fair, in case I found other positions. So in this sense the fair's timing worked really well for me! ( By the way, this ends well: I accepted the post at the school 'out of fair' in the end after a second interview on Friday night).
So back to Friday morning. Arrived, cloakroom, registration, candidate mail room to check messages. None but I had had a queue jumping slip sent to my email a few days before from a school in China.
As a teacher from a state school in the UK I was immediately struck by how friendly people were, how they talked to anyone who was next to them and engaged in very positive and supportive conversations about schools. People really were from all over, from other state school teachers like me with no IB experience to experienced teaching couples (a trend I noticed: the wife was doing all the planning, the husband was catching up on some sleep!), accompanying partners, etc.
As someone with international school experience as a child, I felt I had landed. It was another world from the pressures of my school and the negativity that plagues many state schools in England at the moment. I felt anything could happen.
Went to look at vacancies in the big candidate lounge. Obviously I was hoping for the school from Skype to make me an offer that evening but still sent messages to about 7 schools.
Then a long period of waiting for interview sign up. Again, I wish I'd arrived later. Wifi was very temperamental with that amount of people but I was OK with it for most of the time. Hotel was a fantastic venue, I thought. Very spacious. Loved the urgent email about the guy who had been taking CVs and messages out of a school's file and how we should watch out for these people.
Interview sign up session: make a clear list of where the schools are, ie. upper room, lower room, so you can complete the process quickly. You do not want to be in there too long! I saw one person trying to get in without a badge. They told her to go. I went to the schools I had sent messages to. Most had added 'IB required' on their posters so I knew I wouldn't be successful. They mostly said , sorry, IB required, or you need a degree in the subject you teach etc. China school gave me an interview early on Sunday. Another school in the ME said they would send me on IB training and it seemed like a great place to be with a really friendly Head but was worried about opportunities for my non teaching partner. Still had a good feeling about it in case the Skype interview didn't work out so signed up for interview slot on Saturday.
I was done with the sign up session fairly quickly so went to stay with a friend and prepared for my Skype interview, which happened in the evening and went very well. They made an offer and I accepted the next morning.
I then emailed the two schools I was due to interview with. The one from the ME sent me a really nice reply saying too bad as they were looking forward to speaking to me. The other one didn't acknowledge, but it was quite a large school so probably a lot of interviews that day.
After a relaxed morning updating search profile to Hired as instructed by Gez and the associate, I went back to the fair to file the paperwork about accepted offers/ fair evaluation and return my badge. I also visited my associate for the fair in their room and thanked them for the advice and for providing such a great service. They congratulated me and told me to keep in touch and to let them know when I wanted my file re-activated. Saturday seemed a lot more chilled out at the fair, people mostly in elevators going up and down for interviews, asking questions or just wanting to know how your fair went, recruiters too, which I thought was nice. Candidate lounge was fairly quiet so some were having skype interviews there and others were just working. I spent an hour or so there, before leaving to have dinner with friends and then went home.
I thoroughly recommend the fair because I could have possibly gotten a second offer on that Saturday and even though i did not have IB experience, some schools were willing to train you. Mostly I felt it was an extremely positive and uplifting experience and that the people attending were educators as opposed to parts in a big wheel, which is the way you can feel in a big state school with government pressures beyond your control. I felt from hearing parts of a skype interview a couple was having next to me that recruiters were talking about family a lot and getting to know the person and not just the skill. I therefore felt a lot more positive about entering this job market and I don't think I'll look back. This might seem obvious to someone who is already on the IS scene but for me, it was a breath of fresh air.I love the students at my current school but the pressure on teachers at the moment is a nightmare. Two friends teaching in Germany told me they were going to the fair next year as a married couple and I said they would probably be very successful. Although I technically didn't get a job through the fair, I felt I could have, and this was very different from how I felt in the weeks preceding the fair. I was set on staying in my current school after a string of unsuccessful applications and no acknowledgements but as a colleague at my current school said, 'it only takes one school'.
I came from one hour away by train so arrived around 8. In my opinion, arriving that early wasn't necessary. I wish I'd slept more!
I had an interesting time at the fair because I had already had a first interview with a school in the US via the search website a day earlier and they wanted to interview me again before the fair or during the first day/ evening of the fair, in case I found other positions. So in this sense the fair's timing worked really well for me! ( By the way, this ends well: I accepted the post at the school 'out of fair' in the end after a second interview on Friday night).
So back to Friday morning. Arrived, cloakroom, registration, candidate mail room to check messages. None but I had had a queue jumping slip sent to my email a few days before from a school in China.
As a teacher from a state school in the UK I was immediately struck by how friendly people were, how they talked to anyone who was next to them and engaged in very positive and supportive conversations about schools. People really were from all over, from other state school teachers like me with no IB experience to experienced teaching couples (a trend I noticed: the wife was doing all the planning, the husband was catching up on some sleep!), accompanying partners, etc.
As someone with international school experience as a child, I felt I had landed. It was another world from the pressures of my school and the negativity that plagues many state schools in England at the moment. I felt anything could happen.
Went to look at vacancies in the big candidate lounge. Obviously I was hoping for the school from Skype to make me an offer that evening but still sent messages to about 7 schools.
Then a long period of waiting for interview sign up. Again, I wish I'd arrived later. Wifi was very temperamental with that amount of people but I was OK with it for most of the time. Hotel was a fantastic venue, I thought. Very spacious. Loved the urgent email about the guy who had been taking CVs and messages out of a school's file and how we should watch out for these people.
Interview sign up session: make a clear list of where the schools are, ie. upper room, lower room, so you can complete the process quickly. You do not want to be in there too long! I saw one person trying to get in without a badge. They told her to go. I went to the schools I had sent messages to. Most had added 'IB required' on their posters so I knew I wouldn't be successful. They mostly said , sorry, IB required, or you need a degree in the subject you teach etc. China school gave me an interview early on Sunday. Another school in the ME said they would send me on IB training and it seemed like a great place to be with a really friendly Head but was worried about opportunities for my non teaching partner. Still had a good feeling about it in case the Skype interview didn't work out so signed up for interview slot on Saturday.
I was done with the sign up session fairly quickly so went to stay with a friend and prepared for my Skype interview, which happened in the evening and went very well. They made an offer and I accepted the next morning.
I then emailed the two schools I was due to interview with. The one from the ME sent me a really nice reply saying too bad as they were looking forward to speaking to me. The other one didn't acknowledge, but it was quite a large school so probably a lot of interviews that day.
After a relaxed morning updating search profile to Hired as instructed by Gez and the associate, I went back to the fair to file the paperwork about accepted offers/ fair evaluation and return my badge. I also visited my associate for the fair in their room and thanked them for the advice and for providing such a great service. They congratulated me and told me to keep in touch and to let them know when I wanted my file re-activated. Saturday seemed a lot more chilled out at the fair, people mostly in elevators going up and down for interviews, asking questions or just wanting to know how your fair went, recruiters too, which I thought was nice. Candidate lounge was fairly quiet so some were having skype interviews there and others were just working. I spent an hour or so there, before leaving to have dinner with friends and then went home.
I thoroughly recommend the fair because I could have possibly gotten a second offer on that Saturday and even though i did not have IB experience, some schools were willing to train you. Mostly I felt it was an extremely positive and uplifting experience and that the people attending were educators as opposed to parts in a big wheel, which is the way you can feel in a big state school with government pressures beyond your control. I felt from hearing parts of a skype interview a couple was having next to me that recruiters were talking about family a lot and getting to know the person and not just the skill. I therefore felt a lot more positive about entering this job market and I don't think I'll look back. This might seem obvious to someone who is already on the IS scene but for me, it was a breath of fresh air.I love the students at my current school but the pressure on teachers at the moment is a nightmare. Two friends teaching in Germany told me they were going to the fair next year as a married couple and I said they would probably be very successful. Although I technically didn't get a job through the fair, I felt I could have, and this was very different from how I felt in the weeks preceding the fair. I was set on staying in my current school after a string of unsuccessful applications and no acknowledgements but as a colleague at my current school said, 'it only takes one school'.
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vettievette
- Posts: 101
- Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:31 am
Re: A request: Fair Diaries Please!
Reposting mine from the Bangkok Roundup thread:
Making the trek back to my current job and finally have time to think. Compared to my first Search fair in Cambridge a few years ago, I had a much more relaxed approach to the crazy. I arrived in Bangkok on Monday and hit the ground running with seeing the city and not thinking about the fair. Everything was ready to go and all that needed to be done was for my hotel's housekeeping to press my fair clothes. We opted not to stay at the Sheraton, but stayed near the ISS hotel by the. Shangri-La. The place was already buzzing with teachers throwing around the school-speak.
I turned my imaginary earplugs on because, to me, talking about jobs and school-speak isn't very relaxing. My friend mused that we all sound the same in that "on" mode. LOL. Day 1: couple of rejections (one from a dream school but I moved on mentally fast) and a few "fast pass" notes. Interviewed with a big school in China a day before signups and that was quite a boost. The last 2.5 hours of the day I hit the presentations. One school I'd never heard of, but since I was rejected by "dream" school - I went for it and was pleasantly surprised. More on that later.
Day 2: sign-ups. Being in a specialist position, there were fortunately lots of jobs posted but only a few areas I was interested in. I prioritized the "fast pass" schools and hit the other tables. Not the long lines I was expecting except for the el nido school in Chile. I even said thank you to the recruiters who said "thanks. But no thanks" in my box. They were all very gracious and spoke highly of my references. I then hit "pleasant surprise" school. I embarrassed myself w/ a big faux pax that I can't post here for fear of outing myself, but I got an appointment anyway and walked away completely red. Signed up with a few more schools and off I went.
Day 2: interviews. Interviews went well. All schools wanted to move forward. One school I'd visited before on PD and knew all their staff in my department and their director. Tier 1 school in their region by all accounts. Not in the part of the world I am interested in at the moment, but I had the utmost respect for them and incoming 2014/15 head whom I worked for before. I made them all aware of this right at the beginning and they still wanted me to go to the next phase. I even wrote my old boss just to let him know. Another school was SUPER excited and principal wanted to create position for me, but was unsure. I really like this school and was willing to explore it more. I had another interview at 6 with a school I was interested in and did more schmoozing at the cocktails hour.
Day 3: more interviews. A few more interviews out of the way. Follow-up interview w/ the school I was most familiar with. They found me later on and said their head of school wanted me to meet him Saturday morning. I agreed. Faux pax/pleasant surprise school had all their heads, owner, etc interviewing me. I apologized for my most embarrassing moment and they were very gracious. They asked me at the end if I had any offers and I'd honestly replied that I felt some things may be in the works, but nothing solid yet. They asked me to wait for them. I get a call at 10:30 pm from principal at faux pax school while I'm at Asiatique to speak w/ their head of department in the morning. Whew!
Day 4: D-Day. The head of school in my old boss' soon to be new school makes me an offer Saturday morning. Great package and amazing city. He knows I'm considering other options, so he gives me til end of day. My excitement about the school willing to create a position for me was dashed quickly, but it was largely due to visa questions w/ my being a counselor vs. a teaching position and I appreciated the school's honesty. I spoke with faux pax school's head of department and we got on really well. Then the long wait.
I probably went from sane to crazy to sane in a period of hours. Luckily, friends of mine who were done recruiting were staying in the hotel so I was in their room hanging out. I went down and spoke w/ Michael Williams since my own associate was not there. He was very supportive and empathized with having a "bird in hand" and waiting. It was still a bit early in the afternoon so he advised that I wait a bit longer before calling. My boyfriend who was taking care of our Bangkok shopping list, was also on-call the process.
Finally, I call the principal at faux pax school since I had his number from the night before. He asks to call me back within the hour. We have a great conversation and he states that his HR head will call me now. I asked him if he was making me an offer and he laughs for putting him on the spot, but understands the nature of the beast aka the fair. He said that the HR director will be in touch shortly. She calls me and we discuss a few concerns I had about visas due to my state licensure, etc. and assures me it is not a problem. Then, suddenly, she is making me a verbal offer on the phone. I want to start screaming and I do a few fist pumps in the air. Mind you, I was in the bathroom of the hotel room so to have a bit more privacy. She then informed me she was at the hair salon and will be emailing me my contract and contacting Search later. I call the principal I'd be working with and thank him profusely. I dance into the room, high five my friends, and call the boyfriend who is quite relieved that I was not in the hospital LOL.
I pause and take time to try and reach other school. I could not find them anywhere so I leave a very nice card in their box and send an email. I also email my former boss - who happens to be one of my key references. I arrive back at my hotel, wake up my parents quickly in the US to tell them good news, quickly review the contract just emailed to me, and we head back to Asiatique to enjoy it more.
What a ride. And as they say at Search - never get distracted by the big, shiny schools...sometimes the ones you've never even heard about will offer the greatest opportunity.
Making the trek back to my current job and finally have time to think. Compared to my first Search fair in Cambridge a few years ago, I had a much more relaxed approach to the crazy. I arrived in Bangkok on Monday and hit the ground running with seeing the city and not thinking about the fair. Everything was ready to go and all that needed to be done was for my hotel's housekeeping to press my fair clothes. We opted not to stay at the Sheraton, but stayed near the ISS hotel by the. Shangri-La. The place was already buzzing with teachers throwing around the school-speak.
I turned my imaginary earplugs on because, to me, talking about jobs and school-speak isn't very relaxing. My friend mused that we all sound the same in that "on" mode. LOL. Day 1: couple of rejections (one from a dream school but I moved on mentally fast) and a few "fast pass" notes. Interviewed with a big school in China a day before signups and that was quite a boost. The last 2.5 hours of the day I hit the presentations. One school I'd never heard of, but since I was rejected by "dream" school - I went for it and was pleasantly surprised. More on that later.
Day 2: sign-ups. Being in a specialist position, there were fortunately lots of jobs posted but only a few areas I was interested in. I prioritized the "fast pass" schools and hit the other tables. Not the long lines I was expecting except for the el nido school in Chile. I even said thank you to the recruiters who said "thanks. But no thanks" in my box. They were all very gracious and spoke highly of my references. I then hit "pleasant surprise" school. I embarrassed myself w/ a big faux pax that I can't post here for fear of outing myself, but I got an appointment anyway and walked away completely red. Signed up with a few more schools and off I went.
Day 2: interviews. Interviews went well. All schools wanted to move forward. One school I'd visited before on PD and knew all their staff in my department and their director. Tier 1 school in their region by all accounts. Not in the part of the world I am interested in at the moment, but I had the utmost respect for them and incoming 2014/15 head whom I worked for before. I made them all aware of this right at the beginning and they still wanted me to go to the next phase. I even wrote my old boss just to let him know. Another school was SUPER excited and principal wanted to create position for me, but was unsure. I really like this school and was willing to explore it more. I had another interview at 6 with a school I was interested in and did more schmoozing at the cocktails hour.
Day 3: more interviews. A few more interviews out of the way. Follow-up interview w/ the school I was most familiar with. They found me later on and said their head of school wanted me to meet him Saturday morning. I agreed. Faux pax/pleasant surprise school had all their heads, owner, etc interviewing me. I apologized for my most embarrassing moment and they were very gracious. They asked me at the end if I had any offers and I'd honestly replied that I felt some things may be in the works, but nothing solid yet. They asked me to wait for them. I get a call at 10:30 pm from principal at faux pax school while I'm at Asiatique to speak w/ their head of department in the morning. Whew!
Day 4: D-Day. The head of school in my old boss' soon to be new school makes me an offer Saturday morning. Great package and amazing city. He knows I'm considering other options, so he gives me til end of day. My excitement about the school willing to create a position for me was dashed quickly, but it was largely due to visa questions w/ my being a counselor vs. a teaching position and I appreciated the school's honesty. I spoke with faux pax school's head of department and we got on really well. Then the long wait.
I probably went from sane to crazy to sane in a period of hours. Luckily, friends of mine who were done recruiting were staying in the hotel so I was in their room hanging out. I went down and spoke w/ Michael Williams since my own associate was not there. He was very supportive and empathized with having a "bird in hand" and waiting. It was still a bit early in the afternoon so he advised that I wait a bit longer before calling. My boyfriend who was taking care of our Bangkok shopping list, was also on-call the process.
Finally, I call the principal at faux pax school since I had his number from the night before. He asks to call me back within the hour. We have a great conversation and he states that his HR head will call me now. I asked him if he was making me an offer and he laughs for putting him on the spot, but understands the nature of the beast aka the fair. He said that the HR director will be in touch shortly. She calls me and we discuss a few concerns I had about visas due to my state licensure, etc. and assures me it is not a problem. Then, suddenly, she is making me a verbal offer on the phone. I want to start screaming and I do a few fist pumps in the air. Mind you, I was in the bathroom of the hotel room so to have a bit more privacy. She then informed me she was at the hair salon and will be emailing me my contract and contacting Search later. I call the principal I'd be working with and thank him profusely. I dance into the room, high five my friends, and call the boyfriend who is quite relieved that I was not in the hospital LOL.
I pause and take time to try and reach other school. I could not find them anywhere so I leave a very nice card in their box and send an email. I also email my former boss - who happens to be one of my key references. I arrive back at my hotel, wake up my parents quickly in the US to tell them good news, quickly review the contract just emailed to me, and we head back to Asiatique to enjoy it more.
What a ride. And as they say at Search - never get distracted by the big, shiny schools...sometimes the ones you've never even heard about will offer the greatest opportunity.
Re: A request: Fair Diaries Please!
Thanks for all the fair diaries, folks! So informative.
Keep 'em coming.
Keep 'em coming.
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schoolcounselor
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2010 2:28 pm
Re: A request: Fair Diaries Please!
Chipmunk, would you mind sharing what fair you attended? Thank you for the dairy, lots of good insights. I will post my AASSA fair diary soon on this thread.
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chipmunk84
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 11:35 am
- Location: United Kingdom
Re: A request: Fair Diaries Please!
Sorry! Forgot to add that crucial bit of info! It was the London Search fair 16-20 January.