I've read all of the postings on the pluses and minuses of ISS, Search, and UNI. I'm asking for some advice from those of you who have been through the fair circuit before. I have never done this before.
Do you select one recruitment agency and hope to find a good position? Or do you select 2 or more (spending lots of bucks, I'm sure) and go to several fairs? I think I have strong qualifications (French, Spanish certified, 20 yrs exp, advanced degrees, National Board Cert., lots of interests, etc.).
If you attend 2 or more fairs, how do you go about selecting a job? Do you wait to attend all the fairs and pick the best offer? For example, if at the UNI Fair in early Feb, I get a good offer, should I hold out to attend one of the other fairs to make sure I'm making the best choice? Do schools give you a few weeks to decide to sign a contract, or do you get pressured into making a decision right away?
I was thinking of doing 2 or 3 recruitment agences (UNI, Search, ISS) and going to their fairs. But I was unsure if one could attend all three and then make a selection from the offers. Help!
Frenchy Teacher
Which Fairs To Choose?
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been there
which fair?
The recruiting season is not only intense for teachers - it is also very intense for recruiters. Some go to numerous fairs, some are limited by budget or board to attend only a few. It would be rare to find a director willing to wait until you attend several fairs and make up your mind. With your credentials and experience, you should easily find a position at one fair - so it becomes a choice of which fair best represents the types of schools you want to go to?
I've attended all 3 fairs (not the same year!) I find Iowa the most congenial for all - I feel they do a better job of vetting us to administrators as we've always enjoyed several offers at their fairs, (At a fair, most offers are open for 24 hours - if not, I'd worry about that....you need time to think and digest.) Now that it has moved up earlier in Feb., this fair should start attracting back some of the larger schools that they used to attend but stopped. Some very good schools save positions for Iowa just because it has such an excellent reputation and was one of, if not the, earliest recruiting fair. This fair is also the most economical for all, save the airfare to Iowa.
Search and ISS are similar in many ways except for size. ISS seems to have more schools. ISS charges the fees up front, Search charges you when you take a position. Many people (especially people overseas) attend both east coast fairs as they are close together. We have gotten positions through both agencies, but totally without any help other than use of their data and venues. We have been to Search twice and never even met the person who was assigned to represent us - and who knew us so little that when we went back to Search after a 5 year gap were told they had never heard of us, had never represented us, and we were obviously confusing them with ISS. Still, we went there because the schools we were interested were attending and we wanted to interview with them.
The ISS fair in Bangkok in January is smaller and more personal than their large stateside fairs - we found the workers from ISS much friendlier than they were at the larger fairs and the ratio of teachers to openings more advantageous to teachers than at any other fair. If you want to teach in Asia, this would be an ideal fair to attend. (There are a few schools from outside Asia as well). Because this fair is so early, we actually were given 3 weeks to accept offers by our current school. They said they wanted us and didn't have candidates to match our qualifications until they got to the Feb. fair, so we were able to consider the offer, email people at the school, check this site, etc.
Hope this helps. You can check with all 3 fairs which schools went last year prior to deciding, so that might help you also. I would not recommend anyone attend 3 fairs, I can't see where it would be necessary.
I've attended all 3 fairs (not the same year!) I find Iowa the most congenial for all - I feel they do a better job of vetting us to administrators as we've always enjoyed several offers at their fairs, (At a fair, most offers are open for 24 hours - if not, I'd worry about that....you need time to think and digest.) Now that it has moved up earlier in Feb., this fair should start attracting back some of the larger schools that they used to attend but stopped. Some very good schools save positions for Iowa just because it has such an excellent reputation and was one of, if not the, earliest recruiting fair. This fair is also the most economical for all, save the airfare to Iowa.
Search and ISS are similar in many ways except for size. ISS seems to have more schools. ISS charges the fees up front, Search charges you when you take a position. Many people (especially people overseas) attend both east coast fairs as they are close together. We have gotten positions through both agencies, but totally without any help other than use of their data and venues. We have been to Search twice and never even met the person who was assigned to represent us - and who knew us so little that when we went back to Search after a 5 year gap were told they had never heard of us, had never represented us, and we were obviously confusing them with ISS. Still, we went there because the schools we were interested were attending and we wanted to interview with them.
The ISS fair in Bangkok in January is smaller and more personal than their large stateside fairs - we found the workers from ISS much friendlier than they were at the larger fairs and the ratio of teachers to openings more advantageous to teachers than at any other fair. If you want to teach in Asia, this would be an ideal fair to attend. (There are a few schools from outside Asia as well). Because this fair is so early, we actually were given 3 weeks to accept offers by our current school. They said they wanted us and didn't have candidates to match our qualifications until they got to the Feb. fair, so we were able to consider the offer, email people at the school, check this site, etc.
Hope this helps. You can check with all 3 fairs which schools went last year prior to deciding, so that might help you also. I would not recommend anyone attend 3 fairs, I can't see where it would be necessary.
Waiting for an offer
I concur with the comments from 'been there'. I would also add that if you don't have a signed contract, assume you don't have a job. Obviously this depends on how much you trust the individual who is telling you that the job is yours.
However, some principals/superintendents will tell you that 'you are my first choice', or 'don't take a job until you've called me'. They'll tell you all the 'right' things, but won't officially offer you a contract.
I've had some tell me they've got to attend other job fairs before making an offer. While I find this hard to believe, in the end they are just giving themselves more options.
If a principal says anything but offer you a signed contract, they are playing the field. I guess that is fair, as long as you do to. If a principal really wants my services, they'll hire me then and not worry about it.
However, some principals/superintendents will tell you that 'you are my first choice', or 'don't take a job until you've called me'. They'll tell you all the 'right' things, but won't officially offer you a contract.
I've had some tell me they've got to attend other job fairs before making an offer. While I find this hard to believe, in the end they are just giving themselves more options.
If a principal says anything but offer you a signed contract, they are playing the field. I guess that is fair, as long as you do to. If a principal really wants my services, they'll hire me then and not worry about it.
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FrenchyTeacher
Thanks for the helpful comments!
Thanks for the helpful comments above! It helped a lot!