Congrats, newchapter!! It's nice to have had such a relaxing experience; it was way more stressful for us, but also very rewarding.
We ended up with only four interviews. As a couple, we have a few less options than single teachers for the obvious reason of trying to fit two positions together. We had one very pleasant rejection this morning (the rejection was purely logistical, as they made a local hire for one of our positions and are saving a lot of money; they talked with us over breakfast and said how much they would like to work with us in the future).
After breakfast, we had three call back interviews. And after the interviews we had three offers, including one at a Western European school that most people would love to go to. We choose a school in Africa which will train us in IB and has a phenomenal package. We figure if we don't go to Africa now, we'll never do it, and it would be an amazing experience. Not to mention that after the crazy amount of savings and IB experience, we'll be set up to go anywhere we want in the world, even Europe. ;)
Best of luck to everyone else! I came in with NO expectations and now I'm done on Saturday with three offers, a wonderful job, and couldn't be happier; I hope everyone on the forum in Cambridge experiences the same feeling!
Hello Cambridge
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newchapter
- Posts: 155
- Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:03 pm
Re: Hello Cambridge
Congratulations, Perigrination! So happy for you. We all end up where we're supposed to...at least I hope so! Wow...turning down a job in Western Europe...that's brave! But, I'm sure your instincts told you what to do.
Hope you can relax now!
Hope you can relax now!
Re: Hello Cambridge
Congrats Perig! Now go and get some rest!
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Peregrination
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2012 7:16 pm
Re: Hello Cambridge
Thanks newchapter! The WE school was in an amazing, dream location, but the package was much lower and the positions weren't as strong as the Africa school (only one IB position, not for both). In the end, it will be a much better fit for us down the line.
Haha, thanks Psychbean! I will (finally) sleep very well tonight!
Haha, thanks Psychbean! I will (finally) sleep very well tonight!
Re: Hello Cambridge
Yesterday was a blur- up at 6:30 for interviews and then finished fourteen hours later.
Yes, you read that correctly...FOURTEEN HOURS LATER.
So...a couple more interviews left for later today. I am ready to go home.
Reflecting on the whole fair experience at this point:
The good news is that every recruiter mentioned that my references were strong (thank you supervisors!) and having IB experience helped remove a lot of the sign up obstacles.
The bad news? Haven't locked anything down, despite going into second and third round interviews. I got to the fair and realised there was no country or school I really wanted to go to but this meant I was up for anything. One friend said to focus only on your top favourites otherwise it's just unnecessary expenditure of energy on posts you probably don't really want. However I am not a math/science teacher and do not have the luxury of being that picky. Should I ever be forced to marry to improve my chances at the international school lottery clearly the way to go is to pair up with someone in the math/science subject area, preferably someone who teaches both (and at the very least should have a double science, preference for candidates with chem and physics over bio) with DP and IGCSE experience. Hahaha! Just kidding. The sad thing is that lots of arts couples are having a very difficult time here. English-English is the kiss of death, as is the lack of DP experience for most. It's a little ridiculous for sure as there are so many amazing and experienced teachers getting scratched off the list for DP.
I had to tell some schools no when their positions changed from HS to MS positions. That was hard because the part of me that just wanted something secure to hold on to was going "What is wrong with you?!?! Take it!" But two years of middle school? Oh my word! Bless their hearts- middle school kids are adorable but just not my cup of tea!
I'm not sure how I feel right now. Part of me is anxious and frustrated, as attending a fair is expensive and emotionally/physically exhausting. Part of me remains hopeful that something might turn up post fair.
Yes, you read that correctly...FOURTEEN HOURS LATER.
So...a couple more interviews left for later today. I am ready to go home.
Reflecting on the whole fair experience at this point:
The good news is that every recruiter mentioned that my references were strong (thank you supervisors!) and having IB experience helped remove a lot of the sign up obstacles.
The bad news? Haven't locked anything down, despite going into second and third round interviews. I got to the fair and realised there was no country or school I really wanted to go to but this meant I was up for anything. One friend said to focus only on your top favourites otherwise it's just unnecessary expenditure of energy on posts you probably don't really want. However I am not a math/science teacher and do not have the luxury of being that picky. Should I ever be forced to marry to improve my chances at the international school lottery clearly the way to go is to pair up with someone in the math/science subject area, preferably someone who teaches both (and at the very least should have a double science, preference for candidates with chem and physics over bio) with DP and IGCSE experience. Hahaha! Just kidding. The sad thing is that lots of arts couples are having a very difficult time here. English-English is the kiss of death, as is the lack of DP experience for most. It's a little ridiculous for sure as there are so many amazing and experienced teachers getting scratched off the list for DP.
I had to tell some schools no when their positions changed from HS to MS positions. That was hard because the part of me that just wanted something secure to hold on to was going "What is wrong with you?!?! Take it!" But two years of middle school? Oh my word! Bless their hearts- middle school kids are adorable but just not my cup of tea!
I'm not sure how I feel right now. Part of me is anxious and frustrated, as attending a fair is expensive and emotionally/physically exhausting. Part of me remains hopeful that something might turn up post fair.
Re: Hello Cambridge
ALSO- CONGRATULATIONS TO THOSE OF YOU WHO LANDED JOBS AT CAMBRIDGE ALREADY!
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Peregrination
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2012 7:16 pm
Re: Hello Cambridge
Mac1030- It sounds like you at least made a number of connections at the fair and there is a strong likelihood that something will open up for you in the coming weeks. I'm a high school teacher who is moving to middle school, but I'm compromising because I'll finally have IB training and experience, and there are plenty of opportunities to move up to the DP level soon at my new school. If I had DP experience now, I definitely would not have compromised, and I agree with your decision.
Best of luck to you in the near future! If the posts on this forum are any indication, many (if not most) people receive positions after the fair.
Best of luck to you in the near future! If the posts on this forum are any indication, many (if not most) people receive positions after the fair.
Re: Hello Cambridge
And the interviews continue...
I want to say thank you to everyone for being supportive. I appreciate it. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
I want to say thank you to everyone for being supportive. I appreciate it. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Re: Hello Cambridge
Finally set up with a teaching position!
I initially thought the fair was a bust but everything worked out in the end. Rollercoaster ride for sure! I turned down a couple of offers at the fair (mostly due to a nagging feeling it would be a bad fit or not feeling right about the location). There is a lot of pressure to make a quick decision and a few times I wondered if I had been too hasty about moving on.
I ended up landing a job with a school I interviewed with at the Cambridge fair a couple of weeks later.
Funnily enough, I got a couple of other offers post fair from both schools I had met at the fair and schools that had looked up my profile.
Reflecting further on the whole Cambridge experience- it was a good time but I would rather not go to another fair in the future. I kept it together (some acquaintances suffered meltdowns at the fair) but found it both mentally and physically exhausting. I'm not sure it is worth the money. I was close to $3,000 USD out once I added up costs (plan ticket, hotel, meals, print costs, suit) and it felt absolutely nutty to take such a big risk.
One old boss of mine told me that although the fair experience is expensive (incredibly so if you end up hitting more than one) he felt it was worth it. Friends at a Tier 1 said I would be fine even if I didn't hit a fair because so many people land positions via Skype.
Another friend who attended the fair ( and promptly found a job there) decided to go when all the Skype interviews turned up nothing. She had done more than a dozen Skype interviews and sent out heaps of cold applications.
One of the recruiters I interviewed with said that although a lot of schools try to get their hiring done by October and November a lot of the European schools open up in Jan/Feb/March.
I actually thought Cambridge had a lot of candidates with no international experience. My friends who went to Bangkok said competition there was extremely tough but they landed good jobs despite having less than 4 years experience. A few friends who went to UNI (normally easier) came home empty handed.
Best bet is to start your job search super early = be ready to go by September/October and have a fair fund (and a rainy day fund if there is a big gap between leaving the old job and starting the new one). That is what I would do differently the next time around.
I initially thought the fair was a bust but everything worked out in the end. Rollercoaster ride for sure! I turned down a couple of offers at the fair (mostly due to a nagging feeling it would be a bad fit or not feeling right about the location). There is a lot of pressure to make a quick decision and a few times I wondered if I had been too hasty about moving on.
I ended up landing a job with a school I interviewed with at the Cambridge fair a couple of weeks later.
Funnily enough, I got a couple of other offers post fair from both schools I had met at the fair and schools that had looked up my profile.
Reflecting further on the whole Cambridge experience- it was a good time but I would rather not go to another fair in the future. I kept it together (some acquaintances suffered meltdowns at the fair) but found it both mentally and physically exhausting. I'm not sure it is worth the money. I was close to $3,000 USD out once I added up costs (plan ticket, hotel, meals, print costs, suit) and it felt absolutely nutty to take such a big risk.
One old boss of mine told me that although the fair experience is expensive (incredibly so if you end up hitting more than one) he felt it was worth it. Friends at a Tier 1 said I would be fine even if I didn't hit a fair because so many people land positions via Skype.
Another friend who attended the fair ( and promptly found a job there) decided to go when all the Skype interviews turned up nothing. She had done more than a dozen Skype interviews and sent out heaps of cold applications.
One of the recruiters I interviewed with said that although a lot of schools try to get their hiring done by October and November a lot of the European schools open up in Jan/Feb/March.
I actually thought Cambridge had a lot of candidates with no international experience. My friends who went to Bangkok said competition there was extremely tough but they landed good jobs despite having less than 4 years experience. A few friends who went to UNI (normally easier) came home empty handed.
Best bet is to start your job search super early = be ready to go by September/October and have a fair fund (and a rainy day fund if there is a big gap between leaving the old job and starting the new one). That is what I would do differently the next time around.
Re: Hello Cambridge
Congratulations, Mac1030, that's wonderful news!!! Thanks, too, for sharing your experiences in such detail.
Re: Hello Cambridge
It's interesting how much the game has changed. Six years ago with no prior international teaching experience, I went to Cambridge and landed a job a a top tier IASIS school in Southeast Asia. This year, two top tier teaching assignment later, I had to return to Cambridge, as I was unable to secure a position over Skype.
That same school that hired me six years ago was not even in attendance, nor were many of the others I recall from my first time at Cambridge. There were schools that attended that did not even have jobs available. They simply posted signs that said- taking applications for 2015- 2016- as if they knew people would walk away from this job fair without having secured a position for next year. I feel like Cambridge used to be the place to land a job and now it is far too late in the season to find something good there. I felt lucky to get anything at all and I have a spotless resume and credentials. I find this all very disheartening. I fear having to look for a job again in the future.
That same school that hired me six years ago was not even in attendance, nor were many of the others I recall from my first time at Cambridge. There were schools that attended that did not even have jobs available. They simply posted signs that said- taking applications for 2015- 2016- as if they knew people would walk away from this job fair without having secured a position for next year. I feel like Cambridge used to be the place to land a job and now it is far too late in the season to find something good there. I felt lucky to get anything at all and I have a spotless resume and credentials. I find this all very disheartening. I fear having to look for a job again in the future.
Re: Hello Cambridge
@indogal
Six years ago, there weren't as many teachers with IB experience as we do today. Naturally, even more asians are becoming teachers as they realized that international school teaching can be as lucrative as a mid-level corporate job. The OCC blogs of IBO can confirm this event.
Added to this phenomenon, more and more western-trained teachers are leaving their home bases and moving to Asia and Europe, not just as an adventure, but for genuine financial and job security reasons. Some international school jobs can be more stable than the public school ones in North America.
Also, teachers who move to elite / tier 1 schools are staying longer than before as plum jobs are a shortage these days. IS BKK, ISKL, NIST, UWCSEA, IS Brussels all had fewer openings than they did few years ago.
So, the solution would be to find that near-dream job and staying put for a few years until you network and develop some cutting edge pedagogical / leadership skills before you target your next job at another elite school.
Six years ago, there weren't as many teachers with IB experience as we do today. Naturally, even more asians are becoming teachers as they realized that international school teaching can be as lucrative as a mid-level corporate job. The OCC blogs of IBO can confirm this event.
Added to this phenomenon, more and more western-trained teachers are leaving their home bases and moving to Asia and Europe, not just as an adventure, but for genuine financial and job security reasons. Some international school jobs can be more stable than the public school ones in North America.
Also, teachers who move to elite / tier 1 schools are staying longer than before as plum jobs are a shortage these days. IS BKK, ISKL, NIST, UWCSEA, IS Brussels all had fewer openings than they did few years ago.
So, the solution would be to find that near-dream job and staying put for a few years until you network and develop some cutting edge pedagogical / leadership skills before you target your next job at another elite school.
Re: Hello Cambridge
"So, the solution would be to find that near-dream job and staying put for a few years until you network and develop some cutting edge pedagogical / leadership skills before you target your next job at another elite school."
I think Fine Dude nailed it. Treat every day like it's a job interview, and constantly work on building your resume.
I think Fine Dude nailed it. Treat every day like it's a job interview, and constantly work on building your resume.