Thank you, benteacher. In the US, a lot is required of teachers outside of school hours due to limited prep time and constant meetings. If I had four preps in the States, I would spend hours outside of work on a daily basis lesson planning and grading papers. While I'm a professional who takes my job seriously, I also, like everyone else, value some semblance of work-life balance. Three-four preps here sounds like a taxing load which would require a ton of sacrifices outside of school.

Is four deemed an incredibly taxing load or is it relatively common? I ask because I've applied for a position with four preps and the thought of that many regular preps seems daunting to me.

So four different preps is pretty standard in international schools? Seems like a lot to me. In the US, I teach two content areas, meaning I have just two different preps, though I differentiate from class to class according to ability level. I've never known a teacher with more than two preps, but judging from the interviews I've had, it seems most international schools require you to take on 3-4. Is that the case?

PacificSurf313-Kinder wrote:
> I am registered with Search but always hold out until April-May-June when I
> choose my next school. I really did not enjoy the Jan/Feb fair scene and
> the ways schools treat you when they think the perfect teacher is right
> around the corner.
>
> I have seen amazing jobs come and go from April-July and if you have the
> intestinal fortitude to wait, it definitely reduces the imbalance of power
> that schools have when early recruiting.
>
> I definitely recommend Search and/or Tieonline to keep updated with
> openings. Search sends a daily email that I review and I check on Tieonline
> frequently. If I see a school/ position I like, I email them and let them
> know I am ready to make a firm commitment if everything works out. More
> times than not I am the one being contacted by schools at this late stage
> which makes life so much easier.
>
> As always, YMMV, but I have always found it an alternative to the cattle
> call that is Jan/Feb job fairs.
>
> Best of luck!


Great stuff. Love this perspective.

A couple weeks ago I received an email from a school informing me they had reviewed my application and wanted to take me to the next stage in the recruitment process. They said they would be contacting me about setting up an interview but probably not until after March 3rd. Is this a situation where I just need to be patient or should I email them and follow up? I emailed them after receiving the initial email and told them I was excited about the opportunity to speak with them. Is it too soon to follow up or should I if I don't hear something soon?

Thanks.

Congrats, Khalida! Best of luck to you!

Europe. It's a legit international school, just small and in a relatively small city.

Thanks for all the responses.

I don't have an offer yet, but I do think I performed really well in my interview the other day. The location isn't ideal but it isn't horrible (it's a smallish city but I want to live in a big one), the position isn't ideal (lots of daily preps) but it isn't horrible, and I was quite comfortable with the director who seems like a really good person to work for.

I know that I'm not landing my dream job right off the bat, but two years is a huge commitment to me. If the city were a little bigger it probably wouldn't be much of a debate but I'm afraid I'll feel isolated and thus bored and miserable. For me, teaching internationally is as much about the experience as it is the school.

Should I temper my expectations or continue to be selective? I have a very good teaching job here in the States. Another year there wouldn't be the end of the world, I'm just ready to get this show on the road. But I don't want to leave only to be unhappy for two years.

Thoughts?

Are we just over halfway through, about 75%, or on our last leg?

I know people get hired in March and April all the time, but I'm just wondering if it's time to start getting nervous. I didn't have the opportunity to go to any of the big fairs, but I have landed two interviews, one of which was yesterday for a job that isn't ideal but is at least worth considering, especially since I have no international experience.

I don't want to settle for anything, and I won't, but where we are in the recruiting season could impact my decision-making with regards to this post. I just don't want to accept an ok job if there's a solid chance I could land something better in the coming weeks. Of course there's always a chance, but I'm trying to determine just how much of a chance there is.

What I mean is, when I see a job posted on the Search site, I generally contact that school through my own email, not through Search's message center. Is it advisable to contact Search schools through Search or through one's personal email?

This was referenced briefly in another thread, but without any answers, and I feel it's important to know one way or another. As a member of Search Associates, is it advisable to contact schools through Search or through one's own email?

I've been emailing schools my CV and resume while making them aware that my references are online. I've received two emails from directors who have actually accessed my Search information, one from a prestigious Tier 1 school in Europe to which I didn't even apply. I think the reason I'm getting good results from Search is because I have really strong references.

With that being the case, I'm starting to think I need to start emailing schools through Search instead of my email. Initially I assumed it was best to email the information since that's what they seemed to require.

Which approach is actually the best? I assume there's no 100% tried and true preferred method, but I wonder what people's opinions are on the matter.

Would that be true for much of Asia or just China?

Sometimes I wonder how much rhyme or reason there is to this stuff.

Five years ago with a year and a half experience I embarked on my first international teaching search. Didn't attend a fair, just joined Search and sent out my CV and cover letter for a couple months. That resulted in maybe three interviews, the last of which resulted in an offer from a tier one school in SA, which I declined. After declining I decided to end my search and focus on simply moving to another school here in the States.

Five years later, here I am with seven years experience, impeccable references, IB MYP experience, a licensure add-on of a much more high demand subject area than I had the first go-around, and I feel like I'm completely unemployable. It's the heart of recruiting season, I've sent out probably 20 CVs to schools of varying qualities, and I haven't so much as gotten a nibble.

So just know you aren't the only one. With limited experience I got the tier 1 offer my first go-round. Now I'm wondering if I can even get an interview with tier 2 and 3 schools. It's maddening. But I keep telling myself it's early, the market is flooded at the moment, and things will start to play out in my favor in February and March. One can only hope.

Just can't help but feel disappointed that I haven't heard from a couple fair schools that I really thought would at least grant me an interview.

Best of luck. The right job is out there, you just haven't found each other yet. It'll come.

How exclusive are they? Seems like a really good school. Does one need international experience and/or a masters to teach there?

Thanks for the advise about German schools, Shadow. Germany is definitely a country I would be interested in. Berlin is my favorite city in the world, so obviously I'd love to teach there.

Sid, Germany and Switzerland are probably the furthest West I would be looking. I have very little interest in France, Italy, etc. Norway, Czech Republic, Finland, Ukraine, Poland, maybe Russia... those are places I'm really interested in.