Ignorance is truly bliss. At one point in time I had to turn down a great written offer from CNG. Had I known that the odds of getting hired were so low I probably would have never even applied. I think its best to not get caught up in too much info about hiring and such.... just do your best and let the chips fall where they may.

I have a Science degree and credential in Physics. I teach Physics but also AP Calculus. Last year I taught 24 students. All of them passed the AP exam, most all of them with a score of 5. Its not that hard, you do not need to be gifted in math. You just need a strong work ethic and obviously you must learn the material. For myself, the ability to motivate students is more important than anything else.

More hope for the frustrated. I got no action in November and December. Then January rolls around and I am getting more emails than I can handle. Most of the school that emailed never responded. Because I have no international experience I did not even bother to email the "top schools". Now those "top schools" are emailing me and I am fairly confident an offer will come from some of them. I almost gave up in December (thinking that no IB experience was killing me), so don't give up! It seems you never know who will take notice and initiate contact....

Is it really all that common to be contacted by schools? My account with Search has not lead to anything initiated by a school. I have had a few interviews but I initiated contact. I am credentialed in Physics and am a little disapointed by the lack of interest. I am curious if I am in the majority or minority on this one...

I am wondering the same thing and so I hope some experienced people chime in. I am starting to get a little worried as I have been applying for math and physics positions through SEARCH and getting zero responses. I have credentials and 15 years of experience. I am paranoid that I am getting no replies since I do not have a letter of rec from my current principal. I cannot tell my principal as I need my current job in case the international thing does not pan out.

at Psyguy

If there are 10's or 100's of applicants for any one position, how do people ever get hired? It seems that one's chances of getting hired at any one place would be 10% or less. Yet, it seems as though teachers move around a lot.... With the above numbers, one would think that people would hold onto their jobs...

Also, do schools ever initiate contact with candidates through the Search Database or is it pretty much entirely on the candidate to initiate contact?

If you are using a company such as Search Associates, is it best to email the school through the Search Website or email it externally? My concern is that if I do it through the Search Website, I am not really sure where it is going besides "to the school". Basically, I want to avoid my email ending up somewhere that it does not get read by the right person and thus overlooked. Does anyone have any advice on this?

@ Psyguy

To answer some of your questions... I am pretty much open to anywhere in Asia or parts of South America. My actual credential is in Physics and Geo-Science. I have also taught 15 years of A.P. Calculus with a 90% pass rate but I do not have a math credential. Personally, I think any Science teacher should be able to teach math.

Since the Cambridge fair is closed my only real fair option is SF and as you stated it is late in the season. So my plan is to get a job via skype. Maybe I am overly optimistic, but I really think that I could get a decent overseas job this season. Also, I can't imagine that ALL of the schools at the SF fair are second rate schools....

@ Psyguy

So I could provide a letter from my current principal after getting a job offer?

I am in the last stages of getting my profile active with Search. I was just told that the Cambridge fair is full with a wait list of at least 30 already. I live in California and am not going to travel over seas for a Search fair. That leaves the only other fair option as San Francisco but that fair seems like a waste of time from what I have heard. For me, that reduces Search to a database, is it worth the cost?

Related: What is the ratio of jobs gotten through skype versus jobs gotten through a fair? I know that there are no hard numbers on this but I would be interested to hear people's opinions....

[quote="inman"]From my experience and from what I've heard from my colleagues, telling your current boss is much less likely to be an issue for people who are moving countries or cities than for people who are moving to a different international school within the same city. I've known bosses to get a bit nasty when they know someone is moving to a school within the same city, and then the last 6 months of your time there can be VERY uncomfortable, but when crossing borders they can't really be too upset.

Regarding having the principal as a referee, you might see it from time to time in a schools application advice that of the 3 referees provided, 1 should be your current principal, so it's perhaps a safer bet to have it than not. If you don't include it then you might expect to be asked why not if you get an interview.[/quote]

I feel confident that if I get an initial interview, then I would be a strong candidate to get a job offer. At that point, it would be easy to explain away why there is no reference from my current principal. However, do you think that not having a current reference from a principal would stop me from getting an initial interview? I will be with Search.

I am in the exact same position. I got a letter from a former principal, my current math department head, and my current science department head. These are people that I trust (a lot) and I told them to keep it TOP SECRET. I do not want to jeopardize myself if I just stay where I am.

@ WeDoDude

If this elsewhere in the forums, my apologies. I am considering teaching in Thailand, have you enjoyed your time there?

Has anybody heard of or used teachanywhere.com? They are a free service and seem friendly but I never hear about them on any of these forums. Most of their posting are in the middle east, but they have a few postings that are interesting to me. Is this company legit?

Total newbie question here... I have 15 years of teaching experience but I will be new to international teaching.

I have noticed that a lot of teachers on this forum move around quite a bit. Is that because they want to move around or because they have to move around. For example, if a teacher falls in love with a country and a specific school do they have the option of staying put (provided the school likes them too) or do teachers need to always move due to visa requirements and immigration laws?

Personally, I would like to hop around a bit but I would not want to limit my options.