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Search
Associates, Sydney Amora Jamison Hotel,
January 3-5, Organizer:
Rob Graham
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Australia 2/20
I
think that this fair is suited to teachers who have not yet taught
overseas
or have not been to a job fair before. The majority of schools
were from Asia and schools were well aware that teachers attending
this
fair were new to the international scene. This job fair would also
suit teachers who don't mind where they want to go...teachers need
to keep an open mind when signing up for interviews and not focus
on one school or place. I arrived in Sydney having researched two
countries that I desperately wanted to work in, but after interviewing
with the schools decided that they wouldn't be a good fit or weren't
offering jobs at the Sydney fair, and so I kept an open mind, and
happily walked away with a job in a different country.
With the job fair so early in the year and with
schools still waiting to hear back from staff as to whether or
not they were
returning for the following year, several schools were not able
to offer jobs at the fair. This made for some difficult decisions
- do i take a job at a school i'm not particularly interested in
that i've been offered at the fair, or decline and wait to hear
back from a school of preference who may not have a job to offer
me in the end?. I would question the credibility of a few of the
schools attending the job fair as well. It was my understanding
that Search Associates placed teachers in 'good' schools that were
well recognized and it appeared that some schools were not 'international'
schools or, after speaking with principals from other schools,
not good schools to work in.
The experience was a lot less stressful than originally thought
and the interviews were somewhat casual and relaxed. |
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New
Zealand 1/20
My first fair and I thought it was great. I have been
with Search
Associates
for
most of last year and I found they reply to any emails I sent very
promptly with good advice. The fair was well organized, they had
a group of people who were very accessible and we were given good
advice at an early meeting.
I found it a very busy time with attending presentations and interviews
but people were very understanding if you walked in or out of presentations
because of interviews.Yes it was an expensive hotel - a treat for
me! Search Associates were there for schools and teachers, they
were trying to make a 'good match' which would be to the advantage
of
everyone. I accepted one of the offers I received. |
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Australia 1/12
In
response to the posting below from Vietnam,I am the person that
wrote the first review "Excellent
Fair" "wouldnt
change a thing". I am NOT in anyway a representative of Search
Associates. I joined Search on Saturday the 2/1/10, went to the
fair on Sunday 3/1/10 and got a job offer on Monday 4/1/10. I DID
find
the fair to be excellent. We were informed of what was expected
from us and the recruiters and if we needed help Search was onsite
to
help (which they were). I had a wonderful experience, I cant speak
for anyone else and I resent the fact that because my comments
were all positive, that they were therefore invalid. I had not
worked
overseas before, never been to a international job fair before
and have just 2 years teaching experience therefore, I WOULD recommend
Search Associates especially if you are new to the whole experience,
open minded, flexible and looking for a new and wonderful experience.
I think some people just like to complain. I'm sure if I really
sat
down and started to analyze the whole fair from beginning to end
that I could find something to whinge about but I'm not that type
of person. I got a job at the school I
wanted, maybe others didn't and that is why our experiences are
vastly different. My suggestion is to try it for yourself.
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Vietnam 1/11
OK.
The one review that is all positive and "change nothing" is
obviously written by Search Associates. I went to their fair Feb.
2009 in Cambridge
and got the same sense of the 1st reviewer (the one that starts
with "Excellent fair" at the bottom of the page). One associate
would be helpful but the other was just completely inept. |
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Australia 1/11
There were a reasonable
number of schools attending for the 160-odd job seekers but were
mostly based in Asia plus a couple of middle-East schools. I found
the majority of schools to be reasonably organized but expected
better communication from the Search Associates staff. I've always
got positions
directly through the school so this was my first fair - there was
an assumption that everyone knew how it worked when the reality
was that many (most?) attending this fair were first time international
school job seekers. On the opening day, we were told that the average
rate of offers for this fair was that 1 in 2 of us would have an
offer by the end of the fair. I didn't really believe this but,
talking
to people afterwards, it seems that it really was the case. Many
of the positions that were advertised as 'definite' on the Search
Associates web site prior to the fair weren't available, but other
schools that had no positions advertised, did have some available
at the fair. The hotel was expensive and the rooms somewhat
small. Wifi was available via Telstra but ridiculously expensive
- take
your own internet dongle if you have one. If you're not overly
fussed on geography it seems that this is a good fair to attend,
especially
for your first international posting as that is what the majority
of teachers here are looking for, and the schools that attend are
aware of that and not overly bothered by it. |
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Australia 1/11
Excellent
Fair. It was run really well. It was my first fair so I was a little
nervous about the process but everything was spelled out clearly
on 'what to do' and 'what not to do'. There were approximately
60 schools there and 160 candidates. Lots of jobs, venue was
a good
size with nice surroundings, lots of support, not sure about the
wifi, but everyone that had laptops appeared to be using the Wi
Fi without a problem. There were lots of interviews from about
8am - 6pm, quite a few people were offered jobs on the spot including
couples and singles and myself!. Heaps of people got 'white slips'
in their folders from schools requesting an interview with them.
I would definitely recommend this fair especially since it was
the first for Search and with the amount of job offers, first in
best dressed seems to be the motto of the day. Nothing I would
change. |
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