We're in a similar position to Uncloudy. Well established school, got the jobs via Skype interviews, signed an intent to hire, sent in police background check and all the other paperwork. We have electronic airline tickets in our possession (for an August start, very good price btw), handbooks, our child's admission paperwork, but no contract yet.

We're not really worried but even if we did have a contract, they could cancel it and there is nothing we could do. We left ourselves active on Search for a week or so but have now deactivated. I like being able to see school information for my friends or just general research reasons but we felt like we held out long enough.

MisMorton,

Your description sounds like a school we were close on this season. Bangladesh by chance? If so, PM me if you'd like. I have A LOT of information from the research.

Pretty typical. Has been that way in all of my IT posts. You may be able to take a cash allowance after a year or two- that's also pretty typical. Wouldn't hurt to ask.

Teaching Couple with lots of experience but not in high demand areas. No IB when we started out.

1st School: UNI fair in February
2nd School: Search Cambridge fair in February
3rd School: Skype interviews in early January (but after BKK fair)

I think it's a risk but one that can pay off nicely.

A friend of mine told me yesterday that she has some unconventional stuff in her Search file. One of those items (a paean to her favorite singer-songwriter) caught the attention of a recruiter at a notoriously picky school with a great reputation and the compensation to match. After a discussion, she had the recruiter eating out of her hand. She didn't wind up taking the job - polluted city- but the risk with the resume paid off.

If you really think the graphic resume represents who you are and won't turn off anyone but the most conservative recruiters, I would go ahead. Please report back and let us know if the unconventional move is what cinched great jobs for you both.

I think many of these schools were going to the London fair too. That ends today. If they didn't find the right candidate there, I'm sure you will hear from a few now before Cambridge. Why don't you ask your Search associate to check your letters? I don't think he/she will give you any particulars but if you tell him what's going on, he might advise you to pull a certain letter (as long as you have enough others).

Thanks Twimih. That's exactly what I think we need. The reason I said it was a candidate's year is completely anecdotal. But from all the stories I heard this year, I've inferred that even people not in high needs areas are doing well. Here are some examples:

Us- Both secondary, neither high needs, one dependent, had three offers after Skype interviews with 6 schools. Very happy with the final result.

Couple 2: Lang B teacher, PK teacher, 2 dependents, got jobs at Bangkok fair, had at least one other offer

Couple 3: PK teacher, tech coordinator, 3 dependents, got a job at Search London

Couple 4: English and Math, got jobs via Skype

Couple 5: Art and History, got jobs at CIS fair, Tier 1 School

Couple 6: Admin and trailing spouse, 2 other dependents, Tier 1 School

Teacher 7: Music, got a couple of offers at CIS, took job at a Tier 1 School

AND I haven't heard back from a few others. I don't know anyone going to any other fairs, but I'd be curious to hear about other experiences too although I hope that I personally will not be looking for a job anytime soon.

That other thread was highjacked for very different purposes, but I'm still curious about people's experiences at the fair. And I'm sure lots of other people recruiting this year or planning for the future are too. I have a lot of friends and colleagues recruiting now- many at the London fair right now- and most have been highly successful. It feels like a candidate's year. So would anyone care to comment?

An Update: We accepted offers at school 3 and we're thrilled. Decent (although not dream job or admin experience) positions for both of us, very international student body, clean air, good overall package, and nice climate (for the half of a year when it's not hot as you know where). Plus we have strong ties to the area with both friends and family. So excited.

And...maybe a bit of advice. I originally contacted this school in late November. I know they usually hire through job fairs, so I wrote back a couple of weeks ago to reintroduce us and ask if they'd like speak before the job fair because we weren't sure if we were going based on the two other offers. Then they asked to Skype. Because we had that other offer with a tight deadline, things moved fast.

We had a Skype interview with administrators who were at the BKK fair. We wondered why they had the time to take a break from fair interviews to speak with us, but maybe some of these speculations are right- fewer quality candidates at the fair.
We did wind up getting an offer from the Skype interview and will probably wind up not attending the Cambridge fair we had planned on.

Thanks everybody. I appreciate your feedback and have been sharing your responses with my family. The plot has thickened a bit. We had a very good interview with a school 3 today. I really think we killed it, but who knows. Hoping for a next step with school 3 before school 1 needs an answer. It would be a compromise place. No supervisory position but good money in a nice place to live. All IB. I'll keep the group posted.

What a strange year. Last time around we didn't have any real interest until Boston and even then it was slim pickings.

My husband and I have been bickering all day. Please weigh in on what you would do so we can consider. We need to have an answer to school 1 by Friday.

School one- mid-size, Tier 2, all IB with a solid reputation. Very hard place to live (pollution, air quality, poverty, etc) but we'd live in a nice area and have a car with a driver to keep us out of the mess. Very low cost of living, so potential to save 30k or more. Decent jobs for both of us but nothing to get excited about.

School two- mid-size, strong Tier 2, American curriculum with IB diploma. Position of leadership for me (a dream job really) and a very part time position of leadership for my husband- we're basically considering it as just one salary. Nice place to live, clean air, good food, friendly people, decent package, high cost of living. We would be able to save moderately if my husband eventually gets a FT position.

We have one child. If given the choice, she would probably say school 2, but we have to make the decision that's best for the whole family. I'm leaning towards school 2 and my husband is fighting for school 1. What do you think?

Wow, which GEMS school are you referring to? There are dozens in the UAE. What people are writing in this thread was not my experience or the experience of my friends.

Yes, I hear they have from a couple of friends there. Starting with math and science.

You need to ask some specific questions. What are you after? Package? Admin? Students? Facilities? Other things?