I am not sure if London was a 'fair' fair.

We went with everything we've got: Excellent references, lots of experience, hardship locations on the resumé, etc. We had seven or eight interviews, all of which were quite positive and often inspiring.

But job offers? Nope. Close calls, all of them, but in the end: Someone else was the sligthly better "fit" (how I hate that word in this context by now...)

I would recommend to disregard all the chatter you may get in advance of a job fair: How brilliant you are. How excellent your career has been so far. How if anyone should get a job it's YOU. How well those years of PYP experience qualify you.

To be quite honest (and hopefully shattering most of your illusions in a still constructive way): Most of it is utter b******t!

We've met other teachers with likewise impressive credentials that any school worth its salt should hire on the spot. Yet, they also walked out with nothing. Some teachers were noticeably very young, but walked out with three or four offers. Others got jobs because they were aggressive and downright repulsive sycophants. And, indeed, some did get jobs because they fully deserved them!

If you go to a fair, it's not much different from going to Las Vegas for . (and, ironically, there was a 'real' casino adjacent to the hotel...). The odds may be slightly more predictable, but in the end I will argue that too much of it is sheer luck of the draw.

By the way, a huge caveat for first-time fair goers (we weren't, but I'm just saying...): Schools will be at sign-up who, in my view, have absolutely no business being there. If those schools (say in Switzerland or somewhere--*wink, wink*) appear at sign-up /only/ to present a facade of "We're still hiring", when they have already hired their top choices and just want to witness the signing and ink drying on that contract, and/or when all they are interested in are the candidates they've already vetted? What the bloody %&"! kind of example does that set to hopeful candidates? Get those schools out of the fairs, or have them do their thing in private areas. Call it the "Platinum Candidate Lounge"; call it "Priority Candidate Lobby"; call it whatever you want. Charge another 250 bucks for access. But get those damn schools out of the sign-up sessions!

I'm ready to go to Vegas instead, next time. It'll be a lot more fun.