Search Associates Recommendation

lstanley · Post by **lstanley** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 8:40 am

I am beginning a year long process in the search for international teaching opportunities. I am excited and rather overwhelmed by the information available or not! Other than the obvious research, contacts, resume and cover letters, should I pay Search Associates and/or should I absolutely attend the San Fransisco Fair?

Thanks Lauriann

bubba08 · Post by **bubba08** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:00 am

What are you qualified in and how much experience do you have? Search seems like a good way to go. Is it necessary? For schools that only hire through Search and other recruitment firms, yes. For schools that hire through their school websites among other ways, I would say no. I also believe the more experienced you are the more likely you are to land a job on your own by applying directly to the schools you're interested in. If you go with Search Associates, Ray Sparks seems like a good guy to go with. He's in Canada if that's important. As for the fair, I think you're more likely to land the job you want by meeting in person with the people hiring but you can still land a decent job through phone interviews. If you live in California, sure go for it. It's close by.

lstanley · Post by **lstanley** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:19 am

I have over twenty years of experience teaching all levels of English, AP included and have taught AP Psychology for the last five years. I have a Gate Credential, a CLAD Credential and a Master's Degree. I have also taught Standards-based Curriculum Development at National University and Adult Education in the Community College. I am 50 years old and married. What do you advise?

bubba08 · Post by **bubba08** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:21 am

Since you have a lot of experience, you probably won't have a lot of trouble landing a good job. From what you mentioned the only possible problem could be your spouse. What I mean is that some schools won't hire teachers with a non-teaching spouse. If they do, there may be limited employment opportunities for the spouse. Is your spouse a teacher?

I would start applying this fall (I assume you're in the northern hemisphere! It looks like you're in San Diego from what you've said.) to different schools you're interested in. Pick a country or countries and then find the schools there you might be interested in. If after some time you aren't having much luck, then maybe consider Search Associates. If money isn't an issue for you, then sure pay the fee and get going with them. I think the best thing about Search Associates is that they provide a quick link to many schools as opposed to you having to search for them by yourself and the listings posted are for current vacancies so you know what's available. You also have your associate working to promote your name, depending on the associate you sign up with.

Plus the schools may be inclined to hire a Search candidate over someone who applies on his or her own. I don't know if that's true I am just speculating.

lstanley · Post by **lstanley** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:26 am

My husband is not a teacher; he is a licensed contractor. We never considered that he may be an issue in the hiring process. If he plans not to work professionally, is this still a liability?

bubba08 · Post by **bubba08** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:41 am

It may be a problem but it may not be. If he plans to not work, I THINK this might work in your favor. What I mean is that it will allow you to be more flexible in terms of where you work. For example, if he absolutely must work then he might only be able to do so in certain countries due to visa requirements and work availability. From what I understand schools do hire teachers with non-teaching spouses. I'm not really sure what percentage do though. Someone else with more information will have to answer that. My gut tells me that if he chooses not to work that the school will be more likely to give you a job since they know that won't be an issue. The only question they might have is can you both survive on your income.

According to Search Associates, more than half of the schools registered with them will consider teachers with non-teaching partners. So this is good news for you.

You should definitely go to the Search Associates website and review it. It has a lot of information.

lstanley · Post by **lstanley** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:33 pm

What placement organization would you recommend as the best? I am presently interested in Central and South America? I have begun the research into several agencies ... they are expensive and I could best afford only one choice.

bubba08 · Post by **bubba08** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 6:15 am

I can't say for sure what placement agency is the best. I would say the one that gets you the job for the lowest price! Otherwise I'm not really an expert on all the different agencies. You only need to register with one agency I think. If your primary interest is Central and South America then you should contact each agency and see which one, if any, tends to have more latin american schools register with them.

interteach · Post by **interteach** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:58 am

Deleted

the Hippo · Post by **the Hippo** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 12:04 pm

I lost my luggage and Harry Deelman loaned me a pair of trousers. "Spanning the Globe with a personal touch"!