The International Schools Review Forum

Good day everyone.

Is search that much better the TIE to warrant spending the extra money on? Does Search have that many more schools post vacancies than TIE? Any suggestions or maybe alternatives?

Thanks for the advice and time!

From what I saw, there was a fair bit of overlap between Search's job posting and TIE's postings for my area. However, in some cases there were postings for a job on one website or the other, but not both.
Search has more background information(salary, savings potential, retirement, hiring policies) on the school than Tie entries tend to have, but I assume what is posted on Search is what the school chooses to fill out.
For Search you are also paying for the chance to go to a hiring fair. If one knew they weren't going to go to a fair, then I think it would be a less attractive option. Also going through the hoops (the specific number of references, etc) to sign up for Search can be a hassle, so if someone wanted to avoid that then Tie might be more attractive.

Andyleblanc

We use(d) both Search and Tie in our job hunt this year. Search has a great database, gives more information of interest to a teacher than TIE does - student body breakdown by level, salary range, opportunities for trailing spouse, and (I think in many cases) a better description of the job being advertised than TIE does.

Quite a few Search schools also post on TIE - other Search schools make it a point to never post on TIE. A lot of second tier and lower schools only post on TIE - some schools only post on TIE when they get later in the recruiting season and the job needs to be filled.

Next time I go recruiting will I use Search and TIE in conjunction again? Yes - because that way I will cover almost all the available jobs in my area.

Just my two cents - others opinion might vary...

I don't have much experience with international job hunting, (I got my current position by responding to a newspaper ad while on vacation!) but I've signed up with Search, based almost entirely on recommendations from many IB teachers I've met at workshops over the past couple of years. Now that I'm actively looking, I also started scouting other sites/sources, but I've found that focusing on Search has really streamlined the process for me - it was getting quite stressful trying to keep up-to-date on several sources, and putting together applications with several different formats. The fact that all my info is accessible in one 'package' on Search really cuts down the work, I think. My strategy right now is to stick with Search, work the database and attend a fair, and see how that goes. If there's no fruit from them by a week or two after the fair, then I'll get back to putting more effort in with other sources, and TIE would likely be one of them.

SJ,

You have just reminded me of something. With reference to one of the points you made re. Search info., hasn't that 'opps for spouse' info. now disappeared from schools' databases? Seem to remember it had, though I could be wrong.

Can't check cos I can't bloody get into it anymore! Grrrrrrrr!! ^_^

how many references do you need for search? or why is it such a hassle?

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 7:04 am Post subject:
how many references do you need for search? or why is it such a hassle?

3 Academic and 1 parent.

Yantantether - nope. It was still there as of January Bangkok fair. Nice to know this when you have a trailing spouse (or a spouse who is not yet certified, so needs to do something until completing certification).

Calipro, while you only need 3 academic and 1 parent reference, I try to have more from different positions/places so that schools can see a consistent pattern. The nice thing is you can add references after you are inactive, for any of the categories.

Hope this helps!

It really depends what your looking for. Its inaccurate to say that with SA and TIE for example it would cover "all" the possible positions. SA has about 650 schools and on annual average "at any one time" TIE has about 100 schools actively hiring. This looks like the SA is a bigger and better option, but a significant number of SA schools are dormant and dont have vacancies at any particular time.

A candidate really has to do outside work if they want to do a through job search. For instance there are over 2000 IB schools outside the USA alone and if just looking at IB schools, SA only has a quarter of that. This isnt counting the AP, IGCSE, and other national curriculum schools. SA and any agency is certainly more convenient, and thats where the value is, but "complete" or all encompassing it is not.
That convenience though, in addition to the fair opportunities is where the value is though. once you set your preferences you get daily email updates and one click application process. It cuts down significantly on the time commitment, allowing you more time to go hunting for those hidden schools and positions.

Search can be a hassle in so far as getting your confidential references in, but once their everything to move a job forward is all in one place, which is REAL convenience.

You need three professional (preferabley supervisors) and one parent. Though you can use a coworker for the parent if you cant otherwise get a parent reference.