Dear Dr.
Spilchuk,
I am applying to teach overseas for the 2008/2009
school year with a friend of mine as a teaching team.
We are all set to go to an international recruiting
fair early next month to interview with a couple choice schools. However, we
have a few other schools in mind that are not attending the fair. These other
schools are still in the process of looking at applicants, establishing vacancies,
and to my understanding, will not call for interviews until late next month
or in March. The positions open at these other schools are actually more favorable
to us than the ones at the schools attending the fair. If given the choice,
we would rather accept the positions with the schools that are not yet interviewing
than the schools at the recruiting fair.
I have been told by the recruiting
fair directors that contracts can be offered on the spot at these fairs and
that employers expect an answer before the fair
concludes.
My questions are:
What should we do if we are offered jobs at the fair when we are actually still
waiting to hear from the other schools?
Dr. Spilchuk - I do understand
your dilemma but must advise you that ethical behavior dictates you do
not accept
a
position with any school at the conference. Should you go so far as to deceive
a school, leading them to believe you will fulfill your contract and then
fail to show up you deserve to be blackballed from attending another recruiting
fair or applying to teach at any international school in the future.
Is it too terribly risky to turn down a job when we aren't completely sure
that the other schools will hire us or even have our positions still available?
Dr. Spilchuk
- Our
advice to you is to go to the conference and if
you
are offered a job that appeals to you, take it! Forget
about schools continuing to deliberate while
other schools are snapping up candidates from
the available, but rapidly dwindling, pool.
Is
it appropriate to tell employers that we are considering other positions?
Dr.
Spilchuk - I don't
think you need to do that as It places
the recruiter in a defensive position. In addition if I were the director
and knew you would leave the conference without
accepting a position I would not want to take
the time to interview you, knowing all the while
someone
else
may
be interviewing
a
qualified candidate I could hire. If you are
offered a position and you still want to wait
then you
are morally
obligated
to tell the recruiter exactly what you
are doing.
How important is it to jump at the first job given?
Dr. Spilchuk
- Not important at all,
particularly if you have not had a chance to research
the school
offering. Check out the problems our members have
gotten into
by doing just that.
Should we accept and sign the contract offered at the fair
and then if something else comes up, find a way to
get out of
it?
Dr.
Spilchuk - It's
one thing to go to a school and be treated unethically and break
your contract
for self preservation reasons. It's an entirely
different thing to keep a school hanging and
then drop
them to satisfy your own selfish ends. I'm
certain you understand the consequences of this for
both you and the school.
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