Yep. Us. Husband & me.

Our #1 problem was lack of jobs. The boards seemed awfully empty (was it just me?) but then to find both of our subjects in one place? I think we found four places. I'll post more about it in the Cambridge Fair thread.

I'm not really nervous, because I know there are more jobs coming, and like my agent said, the schools will *actually* respond to their e-mails now that the major fairs have passed. It's just depressing. It reminds me of when I was having dating trouble in my 20s. I told my friends that I'd just have to wait until all the good men were getting divorced in their 30s and then I'd get my chance. (That didn't happen, for the record.)

My husband noticed that when we were lining up for interviews, they'd say "how about tomorrow?" We could see that their Friday sheets were wide open, so he guessed that the Saturday interviews were for the second string, after they'd gotten answers from their first choices interviewed on Friday. Their first string wasn't even on the roster yet, though. So that kind of hurt.

It is SO thrilling! I love it! We were just approached by a school that we wouldn't have considered otherwise. Great school, good reviews, very very nice administration, fantastic package... Tough place to live. But we're going to talk to them tomorrow. Even if nothing comes of this fair, it's great fun and getting me so excited for next year!

My impression so far:
(A) Holy WOW, there is a serious lack of jobs. At least for us. It seems like most schools just have one or two jobs posted on their signs. That is seriously depressing. Finding schools that had jobs for both of us cut our choices down to almost nothing.
(B) That said, we do have two interviews set up. Yep, only two. But we both really like the people we met from those schools! Everyone here is very friendly and we are having a great time. Just being here is fascinating.

Blergh-- sorry, I found the answer to my own question. 25-30. Tried to delete the topic, couldn't. Ehh.

How many resumes (official, not ichiros) do you suggest we bring to the fair?

Climberman, we must live very close... I'm sure the cabin fever has a lot to do with it!

...Until the fair? Or until you hear from schools?

I'm eating my emotions, and sometimes literally pacing the floor, walking from room to room in my house. You?

KAAAAAAKKKK I WILL JUGGLE 900 INTERVIEWS IF THAT'S WHAT GETS ME A JOB!!

FREAKING OUT
KERMIT FLAIL
HYPERVENTILATING
HOW DO YOU ALL DO THIS
HUFFHUFFHUFF

Kidding. Sort of.

No, I'm not. Seriously, of our top schools, I think maybe two of them have jobs posted that fit our description. Two. There were more, but they dropped out of the fair, with more disappearing daily.

I will be absolutely amazed if we come away with anything. I am picturing 500 sweaty people swarming around tables with like two jobs in ESL and Elementary. UGH I have to turn off this computer.

ETA: At this point, our "top schools" list is just comprised of countries with running water, breathable air, and where decapitation isn't a plausible threat. UGH goodnight...

Route66 wrote:
> Livabroad wrote:
> > Were all of the openings posted before the fair?
>
> Yes, the majority of openings were posted.

Ohhhh, someone PLEEEEASE tell me this isn't the norm. We've made a list of 12-15 schools we're interested in, and each one has like two jobs posted on SA right now. Why would a school spend all that money and time if they only have two jobs to fill? Is that typical?

*fanning self*

I mean no disrespect, reisgio, but that sounds like an awfully effective bridge-burner.

Thanks for your advice everyone. I've decided to use the cartoony one as the ichiro (which I still don't think I have a full grasp of yet, but we'll figure it out when we're there, right Fraisinette?) and a standard resume for... the resume. We will also be able to get a read on people in person, and if they seem humorless, then humorless is what they'll get, and vice-versa.

Let the torturous waiting commence. Tick. Tick. Tick.



Tick.

Wow! I hope they see the same great match in you-- good luck!!

Okay. I'm gonna put this out there. At this point, I've got everyone's opinion on one side, and my gut on the other. Fraisinette, this is what I was going to write to you in the PM. I didn't want anyone else to copy my idea but I've gotten some negative feedback so at this point, I don't care. Now that I've seen that link that wrldtravlr123 posted, I want to talk.

After reading here about Ichiros, I came up with -- what I thought was-- a great idea. My brother-in-law is a professional artist. He is in the process of creating two things for us for Cambridge. One is a postcard to pop into mailboxes the day before interviews. On the front is a 50s-style travel postcard saying "Greetings from (us)-- Looking forward to meeting you!" And on the back is a drawing of us as teacher-superheroes with very brief information about us (subjects, experience) in two "POW!" boxes. I bring this up because the artwork is SO similar to the picture in Vidar Olufson's CV-- the Cold War dossier guy in that link I mentioned. It's really, really good.

The second thing he's doing is a graphic resume... our Ichiro. One side has superhero-me to one side, with my basic information filling most of the page; "basic" meaning about 75% of what my resume says. It gives information without extra accolades or minor activities I've done. On the back is my superhero-husband with the same. In one corner will be a drawing of our two kids, ready for school (with a caption, of course). As someone said elsewhere, we're a package deal.

I was so excited about this idea that it renewed my confidence about the fair 100%. Then, just to cover my bases since I'm a complete first-timer, I sent it to my SA agent. She liked it, but is torn about whether we should use it. She got a bunch of opinions around the office, even sending it to a few recruiter friends of hers, and got the same mixed reaction of "Wow! Buuut..." The consensus was that it's good, but risky. I lost a little sleep about this last night.

She also said that what we give the recruiters should be a FULL resume. Again... Hmm. Obviously I didn't mention anything about the Ichiro. But remind me again when that is used?

So now I'm the one who is torn. My basic dilemma is this: yes, it's unconventional and creative, but that is exactly what we are-- I make my students cook and do claymation movies. Do I use it and run the risk of putting people off with bright colors? It's not a fussy design; everything is very clear and still quite easy to see, and we can add photos of ourselves to the graphic resume part. Will we be shooting ourselves in the foot by shutting ourselves out of the running before we even get the chance to interview? Or will it actually be helpful in weeding out the more conservative, stuffy schools where we might not be a good fit anyway? Do I want to work for someone who would be that put off by creativity, take one look at it and go "ugh, color, no" and bin it? Or... are they all like that?

My gut says to be myself. You can't go wrong being who you really are, and it's not like I'm a rodeo clown or ---- star; we will still look completely professional. It's just a graphic resume (and in reference to that link, it's still a flat sheet of standard-sized paper that can be added to a stack, not a t-shirt or cake or cardboard box malarkey). My gut says that being myself will get us the best fit.

But then, I really want to get a job. Y'all know better than I do. Your thoughts? (Please be gentle.)

SciTeach, what about Nagoya?

ETA: Oh, I know all about ASIJ's greatness. Still gonna throw it at the wall and see what sticks! ;)

Does anyone know how the Fukushima incident has affected levels of radiation around Tokyo? I am keen to try for ASIJ, but my husband saw an episode of "Vice" about the nuclear plants there and he is freaked the hell out.

fine dude wrote:
> Is it really worth working in W.Europe with sky-high taxes and the Euro
> spiralling south? The Greek election result might make matters even worse.

Yep. You get something for your taxes there. But I don't want to get into a political discussion about the value of taxes... that's why I want to leave the US!