I think schools were hiring and not just shopping, but some schools are not going to simply settle. That's a good thing. What I don't like, however, is that some schools are willing to pass over a great or excellent single teacher simply because it's more economical to have a teaching couple. Yes, I know they are more economical and have a built-in emotional support, but an excellent single candidate who has lived overseas before, with a good work history and references, should have an equal opportunity as the couple. With some couples, one is fantastic while the other is mediocre. However, at times, the teaching couple will still win over the great single teacher. What a disappointment.

On another note, the event sponsor was fantastic! Paul Poore is professional, energetic, helpful, what more could you want? He made the fair worth while!

Would I recommend this fair to others? It depends: single, couple, position, experience? For example, teaching couples where one is IB Physics with an elementary teaching spouse could pretty much write their own fate. However, single elementary teachers, teaching couples in rare/not so common positions, get ready! An emotional rollercoaster awaits you!

I did land a job, but it wasn't easy. I really had to sell myself. My references, resume, work experience, etc. was not enough. I was too common and "elementary positions are the easiest to fill" as I had one recruiter tell me. "You are a very strong candidate, but I prefer a teaching couple" is what I heard more than once.

I hope recruiters and fair sponsors read this. Change definitely needs to be done.

I agree the sign-up ballroom space was too small, and that will be rectified for next year's fair which we are hoping to hold in the same hotel. There were also schools with too few recruiters for the large number of openings they had posted.

Some candidates, to be honest, did no research in advance of the fair and did not really have a strategy of how to approach a hiring fair: thus my advice to use this fair and any other fair as a learning experience. And I do think that life is a crap shoot! Sometimes things work the way one thinks they should, and other times they just don't."

At AASSA we have taken candidates' and recruiters' evaluations very seriously and improved each year's fair...as we will do with the comments that are posted on this site. Our aim is two fold: to support our member schools but also to act on behalf of the candidates. We put a lot of time and energy into trying to meet the needs of everyone, and my staff and I spent long hours advising candidates the best we possibly could. I appreciated seeing that captured in your review.

The reality is that a job fair brings out the very best and the very worst in people. Egos are delicate and we are all easily hurt by rejection--just as we are elated by our successes. It is our goal to help candidates through this process as honestly and as fairly as possible.

I thank all of you who attended.

Paul Poore

Georgia, USA
I was impressed with how well thought out the AASSA fair was--starting with the website, which was extremely helpful. It listed things that most other recruiting fair sites do not list. Very helpful was the line about whether or not there were age limitations. This is extremely helpful for the rather sizeable number of highly experienced teachers who decide to teach overseas after a long career in the US--especially the first-timers, who haven't learned this information yet via 'the grapevine'. This is the first time I have seen this information on a job fair website.

Obviously, the room needed was shockingly size-challenged. Since it was not in the room that was designated in the schedule, perhaps he got bumped down by another event. I have been to many a job fair, and his pre-fair talk was perhaps the best I've seen. It's clear he knows his stuff, and is not on a power trip. (Some overseas teaching veterans know of whom I speak!) Because it is a relatively small fair, there were meager offerings in some specialties. I overheard a disgruntled specialist complain about the fact that there wasn't a single offering in his specialty. His point was well-taken: AASSA could have and should have notified him of this in advance of the fair. In the past, I have been so notified, since my field is sometimes also small. I think Mr. Poore did an excellent job in his planning and supporting both the recruiter and the job-seeker. I'm guessing that the internet problems are, unfortunately, the result of the common problem of hotels saying they can deliver when, in fact, they can't. I would suggest that Mr. Poore find good reason to believe that next year will be different before he hands what is a fairly lucrative contract over to the same hotel again. There are many hotels in Atlanta which could handle such a conference, possibly with more satisfaction, though the negotiated price for all was reasonable and much appreciated!

Secondly, I am a single elementary teacher with little experience and I still got three offers at the fair. So all the complaints about people getting "overlooked" because schools wanted teaching couples.... maybe you should look inward instead of projecting the pain from a hurt ego onto the recruiters and fair directors. The whole 'crap shoot' analogy is true and if you really had all that experience, you should know that one needs to keep their mind open when attending these things. My first-fourth choices basically all told me to beat it in the interview sign-up, but I still managed to get two full days of interviews and worked HARD to utilize these opportunities.

Candidates need to RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH before the fair. This will go a long way to alleviate the frustrations of feeling bombarded when schools don't have the vacancies you thought, or don't want to hire the candidate that you imagine yourself to be. Be a 'pest', contact the HRs at the schools, the directors; send your letter of interest and CV. I had many directors already know who I was when I approached their table from my photo resume I had sent them via e-mail prior to the fair. We joked about how I had been "persistent" before-hand, and many times it saved me time in the sign-up. Schools already had seen my CV before the fair and knew that I wouldn't be a fit. On the other hand I had two interviews set up before I even got the fair, so doing about a month of work and communication BEFORE the fair will go a LONG way.

So I don't mean to just rag on the other candidates, but there were so many people I met at the fair and whose reviews I am now probably reading, that lead me to believe that some of you need to step your game up research and ambition-wise. As cliche as it is to say, life isn't perfect and these fair experiences are all about what you make them. Although I had offers, I left "empty-handed" but still view this as a valuable experience. Do your homework, stay hungry and be flexible; ready to adapt when life, or fairs, throw you a curve. You could end up at a great school that wasn't on your radar. At the very least, if you have this approach you won't be all jaded afterward blaming schools, Paul and Esther for everything.

To be honest, I was very picky at the fair. I am curious to see what schools you interviewed with at the fair. Truthfully, many schools offered me jobs, but I'm not going to work for peanuts or for a school with a lame package. Also, I don't want to work at a school full of new teachers who have one or two years of experience. I'm at a point in my career where I'm being picky. So yes, I went to the schools with great packages, for my standards.

I RESEARCHED, RESEARCHED, and RESEARCHED MONTHS BEFORE THE FAIR. Some of the schools I desired did not post until a few weeks before. I refused to accept a job with no worldwide health insurance. Now that I live overseas, I see how important that is. I'm also not going to accept a job where I can't save AT LEAST 30% or 40% of my salary. Not only were the schools interviewing me, I was interviewing them as well. There were schools in Colombia, Jamaica, Venezuela, and Brazil that contacted me before the fair. I know I could have had a job with them. But, hello!, their packages were not up to my standards. Some even had the nerve to not offer medical insurance at all. I didn't even bother interviewing with them. I had two interviews before the fair. But so did many others. The "better" schools don't really need to interview before the fair. They know they'll have no problem getting candidates. Some schools, however, have to work a little harder. I only accept what I think I'm worth.

I landed my dream job because I didn't settle. I have worldwide insurance, a fantastic salary, the reviews on this site about the school were great (I read all this BEFORE the fair), the school has a great reputation, and it was on my list of eight schools.

I went to the fair with eight (8) schools that I knew in which I would like to teach. I have very high standards, so I expected the same with the schools.

If I were a newer elementary teacher (1 or 2 years experience), with little or no overseas experience, I too would lower my standards and expectations. Sometimes at that level, you get what you can take. But then again, you can get lucky.

Remember, one person's experience may be different from another. For me, it was an emotional rollercoaster. But, I landed a job and at a great school!!!!!!!!

By the way, schools DO discriminate in many ways (race, age, sexual orientation). Believe it or not. Sometimes, however, people from one world can't empathize with those from another. But don't say it isn't so if you really don't know.

To start, the few negatives of the fair: It felt like a "recruiters fair" in terms of candidates to applicants. This could very well be a function of the economy though. In any case it will be interesting to see the % of hires from this fair in comparison to previous years.

Also, as mentioned, there was not enough room during the sign in session. It was a chaotic experience and perhaps more so for us new teachers. However, from what I understand, this was a hotel malfunction and not the fault of the fair who had originally contracted two ballrooms.

Now to the positive-- and MOST of the fair was very positive: It was very well organized, both online and on site. The organizers really worked hard to make it a smooth experience. I didn't really have a problem with the mailbox. It was convenient and allowed me to not have to carry around a laptop constantly to communicate.

About the director, Paul. My impressions of him were not anything like an above post. I found him a very helpful, interested director. He didn't seem arrogant to me in the least, but he was enthusiastic and maybe this rubs off on some differently than others. Personally, I thought he, Esther, and Alex (?) did a great job and were helpful.

Overall, the experience was a roller coaster but very informative. And it is a crap shoot. You are going to spend 1,000$ or so going to a fair like this and are bound to see it negatively if you walk away without a job. Its human nature. I felt that the economy and size of the ballroom were the only thing really conspiring against teachers, as well as my lack of experience. But 2/3 of those can't be attributed to the fair. So in conclusion, the fair was well done