Teaching couple with dependents- which Search Fair is best?

[alanddownunder]

Hello! I'd like some expert advice please particularly from International School Teachers (a couple both teaching) with dependants.

Our context: My husband and I have 6 years International Teaching experience (China and Vietnam) but moved back to Australia 3 years ago. I have been on maternity leave since living in Australia but my husband has continued teaching full time during this time at home. We now have two children 1 and 3 years old. We both desperately want to get jobs for next school year and return to international teaching in July 2017. We would ideally like to teach in South East Asia at an IB school if our methods can be found at the same school. We are both Search Associates members and want to apply to attend a fair in January 2017.
My question is- Which Search Fair do you believe would be best for an Australian teaching couple (with experience) but 2 dependents to get jobs at good schools? We were told that the Bangkok fair is not so favorable for teachers with dependents and more favourable for North American teachers without dependents? Does anyone out there believe/ know this to be true? They suggested we would be better suited to attend the London job fair? We are from Melbourne, but the Melbourne job fair attracts a pretty small cohort of schools, mostly from China, and we don't want to live/work in China.

And secondly, I'd love to hear from teachers that have recently been through the recruiting process and do have 2 dependents. Any advice for us re applying for International School contracts after a brief stint at home?!
Thanks so much!!

[Thames Pirate]

I can't speak to having dependents, but with two of you teaching and with international and IB experience, you are reasonably competitive. Obviously your drawbacks are that your IT experience is a few years back and your own absence entirely from the field. However, it is still better than no overseas experience, so these are minor drawbacks, not setbacks. Depending on your teaching area and your interview skills, you could be reasonably competitive. I can't speak to what you heard about the BKK fair, but London is supposed to be the "IB" fair. It is also the largest fair (most schools, but also most candidates, so not necessarily more or less competitive). That said, there is a geographic component to all of this (LON has a higher concentration of European schools and BKK has more SE Asia), and BKK is earlier in the season (always a plus). Then there are travel costs and similar considerations.

I would look at lists of schools attending the fairs and maybe consult with my associate and go from there. We also got associates to send us lists of schools who had attended the various fairs in previous years so even though school signup wasn't done, it gave us a clearer picture. It also depends on how open you are to where you end up. If it HAS to be SE Asia vs. if it could be elsewhere, if within that you are open to anywhere or not (you ruled out China, but what about HK? If you had a reason to rule out China, how do you feel about Bangladesh or Taiwan or . . . ?), or any other factors important to your personal situation. That will ultimately impact which schools on which lists you will consider and subsequently your fair choice.

If you are close to Melbourne, you could always reach out to those schools attending and mention the fact that you are not attending the fair, but are available for an interview (or even "crash" the fair). You are right that it is a smaller cohort, but if it is in your backyard, then why not? Of course if you are in Perth, that is different.

I can't answer your question directly, but I hope that helps.

[PsyGuy]

First, the Melbourne fair is a dump fair its right after New Years and recruiters are getting ready for the BKK fair.

Second, the rule is you go to the most competitive fair you can get an invite too. There is some truth to what you were told. The BKK fair is harder on couples with dependents because its mostly the tier 1 ISs that give "full" OSH packages and kids are cost, 1st tier ISs can be selective because they have a large applicant pool to choose from. Its also true their is a slight advantage for US ITs, but thats because of the demographics of IE and the 1st tier ISs there are just more ASs then BSs or any other NC type of IS.
You stated you wanted "good" ISs whats that mean to you, because without going into specifics that generally means higher tier ISs especially if your concerned about comp, as higher tier ISs generally pay more coin, and have more developed OSH packages, and those ISs will have completed the bulk of their hiring by the end of BKK.

The LON fair is the IB fair but thats because IB accounts for a large proportion of the second tier and "floater" third tier ISs, and IB is what accounts for defining the "international" in ISs in the EU, otherwise its just a local independent DS, and with only a few exceptions (the UK and Euro Schools/Academies) youd have a language barrier to working in those ISs/DSs.
The other issue is that those EU ISs at LON have less developed OSH packages mostly an absence of housing, and a reliance on the regional social insurance scheme.

You dont want to work in China (no problem, but as @Thames Pirate asked how about HK, ow TW)? What about other Asian regions do you have a preference list (more importantly is it a short preference list)? How do you feel about the other less than 1st world developed countries like Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, etc?
What subjects do you teach?
Do you have IB experience, or just want to move into an IB IS?

I dont see the LON fair as your best choice since your mainly interested in Asia, though if you have 6 years (spouse) of IB experience it might be your optimal option. My advice would be to start researching now and see what interviews you can secure in advance of the fair. If you have a number of advance interviews (that means actual interview slots/times, not a come by our table invite) then go to LON. Otherwise if you can get the invite go to BKK, those are going to be the ISs with the best packages and if you have strong school leaving level experience and performance then you will be marketable at BKK, and they will be able to afford you, even if theres only one vacancy at an elite tier IS, one of you could take that appointment if offered and then explore finding an appointment at another iS in the area/city outside of a fair. Even then an elite tier IS is more likely to "create" some type of para or other support position for a trailing spouse.

The other option and I know it would be long travel is going to the BOS or SFO fairs in the US. The BOS fair has a high concentration of Asian ISs though they are more mid and lower tier ISs. The SFO fair will be the start of the solid third tier ISs and many of them will be in Asia, though they may not meet your definition of "good".

My primary concern with LON is that the offer isnt going to be good enough for you and the availability isnt going to be adequate (depends what you teach) to meet your requirements.

As far as recruiting with kids:

1) Dont try to manipulate the comp or OSH policy and programs to make yourself more marketable by reducing the burden or impact of your kids to the IS. Strong ISs just cant do this, leadership and recruiters have to follow the policy of ownership, it is what it is, and suggesting you can work around it show a lack of respect for policies and procedures. An IS willing to negotiate your kids impact isnt one you want to be dealing with.

2) You need to be REALLY well prepared for how you answer the inevitable question about child care if both of you are working. You have very young children who wont be school age at least your first year, someone needs to take care of them, and in a new country with young children where you arent familiar with the language could mean a lot of missed time dealing with local child care, finding a day care or EC center, and the cost of that. A recruiter is going to have in their mind that at some point one of you might have to take a leave of absence, its just the worst case scenario, you have to think about when recruiting in that situation.

3) Be really care about your expectations, such as housing some ISs and recruiters might think you only need 2 bedrooms since your kids are so young.

4) Think really hard about what you want to disclose about special medical or learning needs of your children. Your IS or city may not be the best place for them, and if issues develop how would you plan for that. If your children need special medical treatment your going to want to be in a major city that has access to western and English speaking medical professionals. These issues effect your recruiting restrictions.

5) Dont bring your kids to interviews or signup at the fair. If you bring them to the fair as your both recruiting (and you have some very young children) call the hotel well in advance about getting child care, and arranging a local nanny or babysitter for at least the first day of signup. Id advise leaving them at home.

6) Understand that children are cost, in general one dependent per employee is workable and acceptable, more than that and your marketability drops very quickly.

[shadowjack]

I know a fair number of people who went to BKK as teaching couple with kids and got offers. Don't let is scare you off.

You might want to go the ISS BKK fair to get earlier options and also book the SA BKK fair as backup.

[reisgio]

I think BKK is best for you because at least you are both teachers. But the position you are recruiting for is critical information that you left out. But LON has many Asian international schools too.