London Fair

[cdn]

My wife and I are attending the London fair. We have been researching and applying a lot of schools going to this fair (and many that are not, obviously), but I know that we are at a disadvantage. We have already told our current school that we would not be returning, so we are both pretty anxious...particularly Mrs. Cdn). What sort of a shot do we have? I've listed some of the pluses and minuses as I see them.

(+) We are a couple
(+) No children
(+) We have two years of experience in an international/western setting
(-) We ONLY have two years experience
(+) Both Ontario certified (her for KG - 10, and I am for 4-10 with 11-12 pending)
(?) Both have AQs in Special Ed
(-) No IB, American, or British experience (...but we want to learn and get into IB or American - it seems like a lot of American schools also have IB)
(-) Exp. is in MS/HS English and Lower Elementary (...if only because I feel these are not high priority positions)
(+) We are open to almost anyway


I read through Shadowjack's post, and I loved the detail. However, I can already feel the chest constriction that goes with not getting any interviews OR offers of any kind. Again...What sort of shot do we have?

[PsyGuy]

You forgot a very BIG negative, being a lack of EU passports.

Ill make it short, your going to end up being frustrated, and disappointed. Your just not competitive enough for an EU school. The only real plus for you is being a teaching couple with no kids. Its not going to compensate for the lack of IB, and the lack of significant experience. Your basically an entry level teaching couple which makes you a little better then average among entry level teachers. You really should have shot for the SA BOS fair.

I get the impression that your choice for the London fair was because you wanted to work in an EU school. Its just not that easy.
Your best approach is to identify canadian EU schools who teach a canadian curriculum, meaning these school NEED to hire canadian teachers for accreditation from the applicable Canadian provincial ministry.

[cdn]

Actually, we aren't more interested in an EU school. We are leaning towards Asia, and our Search Advisor told us to try our luck at London since Bangkok was closed at the time. There are quite a few Asian schools at the fair.

[durianfan]

I think you'd have better luck at the Cambridge Fair. There are more schools from Asia at that fair, I believe. The lack of IB experience will kill you at the London fair, although you could probably get something if you don't mind working in an undesirable location like the ME or Bangladesh. I went to a presentation at the BKK fair from a school in Azerbaijan and it looked like a great place to work (reviews are excellent too).

[PsyGuy]

My mistake, wrong assumptions, but same outcome advise. You'd be stronger relative candidates for the SA BOS fair. It was also be a much shorter and less expensive trip.

[cdn]

This is something I was worried about, but my advisor led me to believe London would be our best shot (we aren't in Canada, by the way). He did say that about 50% find jobs on the site and 50% find them through fairs (of those that get jobs)

We will see I guess. We have already had a few emails regarding interest from some decent-to-excellent schools (imo)

[shadowjack]

cdn - don't be scared off. There are 130 - 150 schools at Search London and most are not from Europe. So be confident that there is something there for you.

If you are getting contact from schools already, that is a good sign! Keep sending out your CV and info and don't give in to doubt...it will kill you.

I will be posting my final thoughts on Bangkok and what I could have done differently in another day or so...I think you might have some more insight then as to how to approach things.

Just keep in mind: a. you have value. b. you have skills that schools want. c. you MUST market yourself. Search doesn't do that for you, it is only the vehicle you use to get to that step.

Stay Strong and tell Mrs. cdn not to worry too much... :-)

[shadowjack]

Durianfan, if you were at Azerbaijan, then you likely saw me and Mrs. Shadowjack and vice versa!

[cdn]

Thanks Shawdowjack. Your thinking is in line with mine, and your insights have been significant. I look forward to your final piece on it.

[gus]

As mentioned by many people, do the research on the schools you are interested in. I think also as or more important is to sort out who you are as an educator and play to those strengths.
Very few people can separate themselves on paper but what makes YOU someone people should hire. Know what those strengths are and then decide how you are going to sell that to recruiters.

[cdn]

Out of curiosity - what is the interrnational school of Azerbaijan like? As far as the presentation, anyway. They will be at the London fair. I assume that's one you are talking about..

[durianfan]

I was impressed with them. The school has some good reviews and they seemed very professional. They invited me to interview but I didn't really want to live in Azerbaijan. They had a video that was less than impressive but the head seemed like a nice guy and professional. Answered everyone's questions and seemed to know what he was talking about. I talked to some teachers later who interviewed with them and they all had good things to say.

[inman]

In my opinion, target a second tier school that are happy to have a teaching couple come along, and are ready to give you some IB experience. If I remember rightly, the international school Azerbaijan might be such a place, though it's a while since I last looked at it. In reality, a British school would be hard as UK national curriculum experience is almost always expected, but the IB usually doesn't have such nationalistic preference. Being a couple is a big strength.

I was given the impression by my Search guy that London was a very international fair that had schools from all over the world. There are more schools from Europe at that fair than others, but there would be. There are still A LOT of other schools from outside Europe.

It is a reality of the job that most (and I mean a VERY high percentage) of people will have to give inform their school that they won't be returning before hey have another job. It goes far against the golden rule of "don't quit until you already have another job somewhere else" but that's the job. Don't let it get to you as most others will be in the same boat, unless of course they come from a European school that says they don't have to give notice until April or something. Be cool about it. Seriously.

Good luck to you

[cdn]

Thanks guys. We are oth anxious in large part because we haven't done a fair before. Thanks for all of the tips/guidance.

[shadowjack]

cdn - would love to hear your take on the London Fair - only a week away!