So... We signed up for Search a month ago, but a confused admin is keeping us from getting approved, and our associate has ignored my email full of questions. I'm having a hard time being patient, and the longer I wait, the more questions I have. So I thought I'd post my string of newbie questions here, where other people could answer and/or add their own.
[Here are our details, if it matters: Mr Bookshelf has a BS in Biology and 4 years teaching Bio & Chemistry. I have a BA in English, MS in Library Science, 2 years teaching 5th grade, and 2.5 years as Assistant Librarian at public & school libraries. We've both lived overseas before.]
1. Search doesn't have an option for Middle School Generalist on their list of certificates. Do I add it in the "other" field, or do I choose all of the individual subjects that are covered by the cert?
2. How broadly should we apply for jobs? For the initial contact, do we just email any school that has appropriate openings, or should we be selective and only email schools that we would definitely want to work for?
3. I worked in a school library for a year as "Assistant Librarian" doing many of the same tasks as the head librarian, but my official position on my paycheck was Teacher's Aide. I also worked for 18 months part-time at a large, prestigious public library while I was getting my Masters. I have experience doing every aspect of library work except the budget. Should I list these things on my teaching experience section to show that I have relevant experience? Do they count? Or am I too under-qualified to get a library job anyway?
4. Adding a cert in our state costs $200. Mr Bookshelf could add a Math cert within two weeks. I could add 8-12 English, but it wouldn't come through until mid-December. Should we both do it?
5. I'm still a little unsure of what sort of schools will want to hire us. From what's been said in previous posts, I feel like we could get hired at a decent school in Asia. It seems like a lot of Asian schools are starting recruitment early. With no IB or IS experience, would we be fools to cross our fingers and hope to get something in Europe later in the season? Do you think there's any way we could get an invitation to the London fair, or should we shoot for Boston?
Last one...
6. I'm currently leading a team (and by "team," I mean myself and a first-year teacher) in rewriting all of the 5th-grade Social Studies lessons at our school, taking them from textbook-and-worksheet-style to more inquiry-driven and student-focused (and other hyphenated concepts). Is that the sort of thing I should play up in my resume/cover letter/interviews?
Thank you all so much. This forum has been marvelously helpful. If I could, I would send you all adorable teacher-themes paperweights.
Search Questions -or- Getting Twitchy
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
Hi Bookshelf and Amy,
To answer your questions.
1. I would put it in other. Some schools on Search post for generalists, most do not.
2. Target where you want to be. It is no use targeting a school in Xiamen if you really want to be at a school in Bangkok and know that, if Xiamen offers you a job, you would not take it. Turning down a bunch of schools where you have initiated contact and expressed interest only to say, "I don't want to go to your school" when receiving an offer, is bad form.
3. By all means, bullet point all your relevant library experience/teaching experience. One thing that schools might be looking for is developing content units/resources with teachers. Not sure on that as I have never applied as a librarian :-)
4. Add the math cert for Mr. B. I will be bluntly honest with you. Mr. B will be the one heavily recruited. You just hang on and go along for the ride. Take what they give you just to go where you want to go and then work your way to where you want to be once you are on the inside. However, it may work out that you get offered the librarian job anyways :-)
Let me ask you this though - would you turn down your dream school because they offer you grade 5 elementary instead of the library? Or...would you accept a job from a tier 3 school in an out of the way place because they offered you a library position and Mr. B a math/chem/bio position?
Also, do your English cert. For 200 bucks it can't hurt :-)
5. Boston will be a busy fair. London will be more European flavored. Are you after Europe or Asia or ? Remember, Search asks that you make yourself available for three geographical areas. All of the Search fairs are still open, so no worries. The Bangkok fair gets full around late October and the London one around late November. Boston and London are likely the two busiest, with Bangkok being a close third.
6. Bullet-point it, but understand that at many international schools the US curriculum is utilized, but it is not always the driving force, especially if you are at a PYP/MYP/IBP school.
Hope this helps!
To answer your questions.
1. I would put it in other. Some schools on Search post for generalists, most do not.
2. Target where you want to be. It is no use targeting a school in Xiamen if you really want to be at a school in Bangkok and know that, if Xiamen offers you a job, you would not take it. Turning down a bunch of schools where you have initiated contact and expressed interest only to say, "I don't want to go to your school" when receiving an offer, is bad form.
3. By all means, bullet point all your relevant library experience/teaching experience. One thing that schools might be looking for is developing content units/resources with teachers. Not sure on that as I have never applied as a librarian :-)
4. Add the math cert for Mr. B. I will be bluntly honest with you. Mr. B will be the one heavily recruited. You just hang on and go along for the ride. Take what they give you just to go where you want to go and then work your way to where you want to be once you are on the inside. However, it may work out that you get offered the librarian job anyways :-)
Let me ask you this though - would you turn down your dream school because they offer you grade 5 elementary instead of the library? Or...would you accept a job from a tier 3 school in an out of the way place because they offered you a library position and Mr. B a math/chem/bio position?
Also, do your English cert. For 200 bucks it can't hurt :-)
5. Boston will be a busy fair. London will be more European flavored. Are you after Europe or Asia or ? Remember, Search asks that you make yourself available for three geographical areas. All of the Search fairs are still open, so no worries. The Bangkok fair gets full around late October and the London one around late November. Boston and London are likely the two busiest, with Bangkok being a close third.
6. Bullet-point it, but understand that at many international schools the US curriculum is utilized, but it is not always the driving force, especially if you are at a PYP/MYP/IBP school.
Hope this helps!
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BookshelfAmy
- Posts: 120
- Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:21 pm
Thank you! It definitely helps. To address a few points:
2. I understand what you mean about bad form. I guess we're just not sure what kind of offers to expect, so we don't want to target too exclusively and then not get a job.
3. I have all the library stuff on my resume and my bio, but are you saying I should also put it in the "Teaching Experience" part of my Search profile, even though it's not strictly teaching?
4. I would love to continue teaching 5th grade. I know that I'm the weaker candidate; I'm very flexible on what I teach. We'll sign up to do the new certs ASAP.
5. We're open to anywhere but the Middle East, but we'd love to end up in Europe. I lived in Germany as a kid and my sister lives there now. But I don't speak another language fluently, don't have an EU passport, don't have IB experience, etc. Not sure that anyone would hire us.
I guess most of my concerns come back to this: I know we're the "ideal" teaching couple in many ways, but I'm not sure exactly where we fall on the spectrum of desirability. I'm just afraid that either we'll overshoot and waste everyone's time by applying for jobs we'll never get, or we'll undershoot and ending up accepting something early because we're afraid of missing the boat entirely. Does that make sense?
2. I understand what you mean about bad form. I guess we're just not sure what kind of offers to expect, so we don't want to target too exclusively and then not get a job.
3. I have all the library stuff on my resume and my bio, but are you saying I should also put it in the "Teaching Experience" part of my Search profile, even though it's not strictly teaching?
4. I would love to continue teaching 5th grade. I know that I'm the weaker candidate; I'm very flexible on what I teach. We'll sign up to do the new certs ASAP.
5. We're open to anywhere but the Middle East, but we'd love to end up in Europe. I lived in Germany as a kid and my sister lives there now. But I don't speak another language fluently, don't have an EU passport, don't have IB experience, etc. Not sure that anyone would hire us.
I guess most of my concerns come back to this: I know we're the "ideal" teaching couple in many ways, but I'm not sure exactly where we fall on the spectrum of desirability. I'm just afraid that either we'll overshoot and waste everyone's time by applying for jobs we'll never get, or we'll undershoot and ending up accepting something early because we're afraid of missing the boat entirely. Does that make sense?
Answers
In answer to your questions:
1) The certification buttons under education imply that you can teach those subjects at all levels and or all secondary/primary. A middle school only certificate doesnt cut it. Add your grades and "generalist" to the "other line".
This doesnt really matter though, what Search does have is a middle school generalist option under the seeking tab, for your top 4 preferred positions. This is what schools use find when searching for candidates.
2) How badly do you want "a" job? Applying for a school that you wouldnt accept an offer is a waste of your time and the schools time. Unless you just want to get some experience interviewing, its a lot of work and very little gain. You should FIRST, identify regions and cities that you would be comfortable living in (no matter how good the package is at a school say in the ME is, if you wouldnt accept the position because its in the ME then dont apply), and then identify the minimum expectations (impasse point) and ideal (target point), as well as deal breakers (things you have to have) as far as compensation package goes.
My advice in the beginning is to apply for whatever schools your qualified for, see what schools take a real interest in you, what schools put you on the back burner, and what schools arent interested. The reason is this: every newbie has a grand vision of working some where beautiful, and or making a lot of money. Usually these are top tier schools, and if only focus on them, your very likely to have no offers at the end of the year.
3) Are you certified as a librarian? Either way you should definitely include these experiences on your resume, you have a MLS, even without the certification that still makes you a professional librarian. They are recent, education related, and cant hurt you. Besides, how would you explain the gap in your resume if you didnt?
No one will see your pay stub, use "Assistant Librarian" on your resume.
Your not under-qualified at all, I know a number librarians with less experience then got offers for library positions.
4) Add the certifications assuming you have the money. December/January isnt too late at all, the big fairs are just starting, and youll have the certifications in hand.
I DONT agree with shadowjack that your husbands the front card, when you present yourself as a librarian. Your exactly what a 2nd tier school looks for in a librarian, and what a tier 1 school may settle for. Your husband with science and math is in more demand but hes competing against a bigger pool of candidates. Your competing in a much smaller pool, for a number of schools you may be the only candidates in the pile, in a niche field. Even though math and science are in demand, schools feel more comfortable waiting, sometimes very late to see who might become available. A big factor in this is that IB experience isnt really a factor for a librarian, which allows you to move up the tier ladder some, as your lack of IB experience wont so much be a barrier, and getting a math/science teacher in the mix would give your husband an opportunity to get IB experience.
5) Yes you would be fools to wait only for europe. Only about 15% of the schools with Search are european schools, and most of them are the top tier schools in their respective regions. They really dont need or use fairs, etc to recruit. They have very low turnover, and its not uncommon for them to have zero vacancies in a given year. There really just there for show.
The european schools at a fair always have long lines. People who arent qualified for their vacancies will wait in line to talk with them, and ask for an interview. They just want to interview for a potential future vacancy. Some of these schools dont even advertise there primary/elementary vacancies at the fair, because the line and interview requests becomes unmanageable.
You could ask for an invitation to London, but its likely to be unproductive, your more likely to be successful at Boston. I think you should ask and go to the London fair though (and ISS has a recruitment fair in France at the end of November), simply because you have euro fever, and honestly your going to sabotage yourself until you get that offer for europe. You didnt even mention the cost of the London fair as a factor. I see whats going to happen, your going to be at a fair, and hubby is going to wait in line at the asian schools, and your going to go to the euro schools, and your going to be like a kid in a candy shop. Your just like the teachers with Japan fetishes, who would take any job, even ESL just to be in Japan.
Again, I have to disagree with shadowjack. The BKK fair is by far the busiest, with London and Boston next (Boston wont have ISS running into it this year), London is a majority of european schools, and not having EU passports is going to be a barrier when looking at the tier 2 schools in europe and your not competitive for tier 1.
6) I wouldnt play it up too much. Its worth a bullet point on your resume, and a sentence in your cover letter. Its one subject and one grade. Schools do value those things, but given the scoop and depth of the project its just lesson planing. Its nice but its not going to get you a job.
Postal Script:
Can I get an adorable teacher themed coffee cup instead? Like one in the shape of a red apple, with the apples stem as the handle? I already have a paper weight, his name is "rock".
1) The certification buttons under education imply that you can teach those subjects at all levels and or all secondary/primary. A middle school only certificate doesnt cut it. Add your grades and "generalist" to the "other line".
This doesnt really matter though, what Search does have is a middle school generalist option under the seeking tab, for your top 4 preferred positions. This is what schools use find when searching for candidates.
2) How badly do you want "a" job? Applying for a school that you wouldnt accept an offer is a waste of your time and the schools time. Unless you just want to get some experience interviewing, its a lot of work and very little gain. You should FIRST, identify regions and cities that you would be comfortable living in (no matter how good the package is at a school say in the ME is, if you wouldnt accept the position because its in the ME then dont apply), and then identify the minimum expectations (impasse point) and ideal (target point), as well as deal breakers (things you have to have) as far as compensation package goes.
My advice in the beginning is to apply for whatever schools your qualified for, see what schools take a real interest in you, what schools put you on the back burner, and what schools arent interested. The reason is this: every newbie has a grand vision of working some where beautiful, and or making a lot of money. Usually these are top tier schools, and if only focus on them, your very likely to have no offers at the end of the year.
3) Are you certified as a librarian? Either way you should definitely include these experiences on your resume, you have a MLS, even without the certification that still makes you a professional librarian. They are recent, education related, and cant hurt you. Besides, how would you explain the gap in your resume if you didnt?
No one will see your pay stub, use "Assistant Librarian" on your resume.
Your not under-qualified at all, I know a number librarians with less experience then got offers for library positions.
4) Add the certifications assuming you have the money. December/January isnt too late at all, the big fairs are just starting, and youll have the certifications in hand.
I DONT agree with shadowjack that your husbands the front card, when you present yourself as a librarian. Your exactly what a 2nd tier school looks for in a librarian, and what a tier 1 school may settle for. Your husband with science and math is in more demand but hes competing against a bigger pool of candidates. Your competing in a much smaller pool, for a number of schools you may be the only candidates in the pile, in a niche field. Even though math and science are in demand, schools feel more comfortable waiting, sometimes very late to see who might become available. A big factor in this is that IB experience isnt really a factor for a librarian, which allows you to move up the tier ladder some, as your lack of IB experience wont so much be a barrier, and getting a math/science teacher in the mix would give your husband an opportunity to get IB experience.
5) Yes you would be fools to wait only for europe. Only about 15% of the schools with Search are european schools, and most of them are the top tier schools in their respective regions. They really dont need or use fairs, etc to recruit. They have very low turnover, and its not uncommon for them to have zero vacancies in a given year. There really just there for show.
The european schools at a fair always have long lines. People who arent qualified for their vacancies will wait in line to talk with them, and ask for an interview. They just want to interview for a potential future vacancy. Some of these schools dont even advertise there primary/elementary vacancies at the fair, because the line and interview requests becomes unmanageable.
You could ask for an invitation to London, but its likely to be unproductive, your more likely to be successful at Boston. I think you should ask and go to the London fair though (and ISS has a recruitment fair in France at the end of November), simply because you have euro fever, and honestly your going to sabotage yourself until you get that offer for europe. You didnt even mention the cost of the London fair as a factor. I see whats going to happen, your going to be at a fair, and hubby is going to wait in line at the asian schools, and your going to go to the euro schools, and your going to be like a kid in a candy shop. Your just like the teachers with Japan fetishes, who would take any job, even ESL just to be in Japan.
Again, I have to disagree with shadowjack. The BKK fair is by far the busiest, with London and Boston next (Boston wont have ISS running into it this year), London is a majority of european schools, and not having EU passports is going to be a barrier when looking at the tier 2 schools in europe and your not competitive for tier 1.
6) I wouldnt play it up too much. Its worth a bullet point on your resume, and a sentence in your cover letter. Its one subject and one grade. Schools do value those things, but given the scoop and depth of the project its just lesson planing. Its nice but its not going to get you a job.
Postal Script:
Can I get an adorable teacher themed coffee cup instead? Like one in the shape of a red apple, with the apples stem as the handle? I already have a paper weight, his name is "rock".
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BookshelfAmy
- Posts: 120
- Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:21 pm
" I see whats going to happen, your going to be at a fair, and hubby is going to wait in line at the asian schools, and your going to go to the euro schools, and your going to be like a kid in a candy shop. Your just like the teachers with Japan fetishes, who would take any job, even ESL just to be in Japan. "
Ouch. Just because I have some valid reasons to want to be in Europe doesn't mean I'm an irrational child. We were planning on going to Boston, but then I read this on the Search London website:
"This is a fair where recruiters seek candidates with experience of teaching the IB PYP, MYP and Diploma; IGCSE and International A Level; UK National Curriculum; IPC & IMYC. Exceptions: Teachers of shortage subjects/areas (Chemistry, Physics, Early Childhood and KG, Music, Elementary PE, Counselors, Librarians) are typically successful, even without programme experience."
Since both of us fall into the Exceptions category, I thought we might have a shot, which is why I asked.
Thank you for the rest of your advice, though. It's good to know you don't think we'd be competitive there. The adorable apple-shaped coffee mug is being bubble wrapped as we speak.
Ouch. Just because I have some valid reasons to want to be in Europe doesn't mean I'm an irrational child. We were planning on going to Boston, but then I read this on the Search London website:
"This is a fair where recruiters seek candidates with experience of teaching the IB PYP, MYP and Diploma; IGCSE and International A Level; UK National Curriculum; IPC & IMYC. Exceptions: Teachers of shortage subjects/areas (Chemistry, Physics, Early Childhood and KG, Music, Elementary PE, Counselors, Librarians) are typically successful, even without programme experience."
Since both of us fall into the Exceptions category, I thought we might have a shot, which is why I asked.
Thank you for the rest of your advice, though. It's good to know you don't think we'd be competitive there. The adorable apple-shaped coffee mug is being bubble wrapped as we speak.
Sorry
I apologize, I did not mean that to come off or imply that you were an irrational child. There is nothing wrong with wanting what you want, for whatever reason you want it. You shouldn't hide and bury in yourself those hopes that make you happy, just because someone, even me on this site tells you you can't have it, or you won't get it.
Here's the thing, those are exceptions, but they're not competitive exceptions. There will be plenty of candidates with the right experience in those fields as well. You should go though, because your not likely to meet many of those recruiters from the European schools at the BOS fair. Usually it's the Lycée school from France, Trieste and Genova from Italy, ISB (Brussels), IS Luxembourg, ASL (London) and 4-5 schools from Germany. A couple random European schools round it out. The focus of the BOS market is to bring new American teachers and the second tier (with some 1st tier) IS recruiters together. The bulk of the euro schools go to London, and the elite schools go to BKK. So going to the London fair will basically give you an opportunity to sit down and interview in person with those schools and recruiters, even if your not a top candidate, a personal impression is a far more lasting impression then a Skype interview or a piece of paper. Lastly, you do meet the exceptions and no one gets lucky without playing the game.
Here's the thing, those are exceptions, but they're not competitive exceptions. There will be plenty of candidates with the right experience in those fields as well. You should go though, because your not likely to meet many of those recruiters from the European schools at the BOS fair. Usually it's the Lycée school from France, Trieste and Genova from Italy, ISB (Brussels), IS Luxembourg, ASL (London) and 4-5 schools from Germany. A couple random European schools round it out. The focus of the BOS market is to bring new American teachers and the second tier (with some 1st tier) IS recruiters together. The bulk of the euro schools go to London, and the elite schools go to BKK. So going to the London fair will basically give you an opportunity to sit down and interview in person with those schools and recruiters, even if your not a top candidate, a personal impression is a far more lasting impression then a Skype interview or a piece of paper. Lastly, you do meet the exceptions and no one gets lucky without playing the game.
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antitravolta
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 10:35 am
- Location: United States
I have some of the same concerns about overreaching. This is my first time out (4 years US experience in math, single, no dependents, no IB or AP) so I'm trying to find the schools that I'm a serious contender for. When jobs are posted now, do schools generally get back to you this early or are they just collecting their candidates for later in the year? I've applied to a few jobs with no contact. They are all Tier 1 schools so I wouldn't be surprised if they're just not interested in me, but gotta try. Anybody know if the schools are interviewing this early for next year or if they're just finding out what their pool looks like? Thanks.
Reply
Yes schools are interviewing already, but unless your a prime candidate (generally meaning close to 10 years experience, IB/AP/IGCSE, prior IS experience, advance degree, cross certified, teaching couple and are coming from a tier 1 school or elite school) or are an admin candidate then they are just building a candidate pool. That's why you see the big elite school like ISB (Beijing) posting 20+ vacancies. The ISs don't really know this early what vacancies they will have. Usually teachers need to give intent letters in November, then you have the mid year/holiday vacancies aft the fairs, then the May/June resignations in Europe, along with the "last day" quitters.
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antitravolta
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 10:35 am
- Location: United States
Re: Reply
[quote="PsyGuy"]Yes schools are interviewing already, but unless your a prime candidate (generally meaning close to 10 years experience, IB/AP/IGCSE, prior IS experience, advance degree, cross certified, teaching couple and are coming from a tier 1 school or elite school) or are an admin candidate then they are just building a candidate pool. That's why you see the big elite school like ISB (Beijing) posting 20+ vacancies. The ISs don't really know this early what vacancies they will have. Usually teachers need to give intent letters in November, then you have the mid year/holiday vacancies aft the fairs, then the May/June resignations in Europe, along with the "last day" quitters.[/quote]
Okay, that's what I thought. Thanks again for your help.
Okay, that's what I thought. Thanks again for your help.
Ugh. Then what's the point of applying at all if they're only building a vague candidate pool? I feel like I'm wasting my time then. Where are all these schools willing to do the much touted skype interviews? Because if we can avoid going to a job fair at all, that would be great. I've been to Cambridge, and it wasn't fun.
Frustrated...
Frustrated...
Reply
Aside from being a prime candidate, schools will base there interview list (the "short list", or being "short listed" on the candidates in the applicant pool. So the purpose of applying to those applicant pools is to hopefully make the interview list.
Cutting the chase, if youre that cream of the crop IT you don't have to wait, schools will contact you within a day or two if they really want you. Otherwise it's jumping through hoops. Schools won't get to interviews until November, and they have at least a preliminary list of anticipated vacancies.
Cutting the chase, if youre that cream of the crop IT you don't have to wait, schools will contact you within a day or two if they really want you. Otherwise it's jumping through hoops. Schools won't get to interviews until November, and they have at least a preliminary list of anticipated vacancies.
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CASDreamer
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2012 8:45 am
Jobs at American International School of Bucharest
If you want to be in Europe, you and your husband might want to take a look at the librarian and MS generalist positions available at the American International School of Bucharest. Click on "Employment" on the school website: <www.aisb.ro>