UNI
Iowa Nice
The UNI fair was my introduction to international recruiting fairs 25 yrs. ago and, after sampling them all, a recent being Iowa again - it's my favorite. The staff is terrific - as helpful or unobtrusive as you'd like them - the cost is reasonable, they've improved the timing so it's no longer the latest fair - if only they could do something about that climate!
There must be a certain amoung of vetting that takes place on the candidates' behalfs, as we have always had plenty of interviews and offers at this fair even from schools we had never previously considered. A niece attended this year as a brand new teacher and had three offers - what excitement!
To anyone new to the process, this is a terrific fair to attend as it is organized so well, building time into the schedule for candidates to gather themselves and reflect. To anyone a bit jaded from the meat market atmosphere at the large ISS or Search fairs - go back to Iowa and remember what it's all about.
There must be a certain amoung of vetting that takes place on the candidates' behalfs, as we have always had plenty of interviews and offers at this fair even from schools we had never previously considered. A niece attended this year as a brand new teacher and had three offers - what excitement!
To anyone new to the process, this is a terrific fair to attend as it is organized so well, building time into the schedule for candidates to gather themselves and reflect. To anyone a bit jaded from the meat market atmosphere at the large ISS or Search fairs - go back to Iowa and remember what it's all about.
job fairs
My wife and I have been to UNI twice and come away both times with positions despite having three children. We have also been successful at an ISS Bangkok fair and I would have to say they are very similar. I like UNI because it is inexpensive but UNI is in Iowa in early February and we wanted to hit the circuit early so we went to ISS Bangkok in early January. I don't think it is necessarily fair to compare them solely on price because UNI is getting heavily subsidized by the university and I am sure the cost of the arena they use in Cedar Falls doesn't compare to the cost of the Shangri-la Bangkok. We found the staff at each fair equally as helpful and would recommend either fair to anyone looking for a teaching job overseas. In the end what fair you attend depends on where you want to be employed, the odds of a particular job opening being available when the fair you choose rolls around, and the amount you are willing to pay.
Re: job fairs
Beenthere: Can you comment on the schools that were at Bangkok versus UNI? Is Bangkok more of a SE Asia fair. Were SAS, JIS, ISKL etc more visible in Bangkok? I've always wondered why SE Asian schools wouldn't primarily recruit locally. The smaller, more regional fairs might seem to be more geographically specific.beenthere wrote:My wife and I have been to UNI twice and come away both times with positions despite having three children. We have also been successful at an ISS Bangkok fair and I would have to say they are very similar. I like UNI because it is inexpensive but UNI is in Iowa in early February and we wanted to hit the circuit early so we went to ISS Bangkok in early January. I don't think it is necessarily fair to compare them solely on price because UNI is getting heavily subsidized by the university and I am sure the cost of the arena they use in Cedar Falls doesn't compare to the cost of the Shangri-la Bangkok. We found the staff at each fair equally as helpful and would recommend either fair to anyone looking for a teaching job overseas. In the end what fair you attend depends on where you want to be employed, the odds of a particular job opening being available when the fair you choose rolls around, and the amount you are willing to pay.
Thanks!
The year we attended it was definitely more focused on SE Asia which is why we chose that particular fair. There were schools from other continents there but not in great numbers. UNI has a wider geographic representation, which might be a reason to attend if you are not focused on one particular area, though I seem to remember a high proportion of South and Central American schools. As I mentioned before, both are fine fairs with some obvious differences as well as similarities.
ISS Bangkok
The ISS fair in Bangkok has a distinct advantage of being early; however, it no longer has the advantage of being small and intimate. Our school head went last year when there were 250 applicants - I believe he said this year there were over 400. (Number of schools recruiting increasing also.) Several singles at our school who are moving on got attractive offers there and our head hired singles as well, so it wasn't all couples being hired. It's a good fair if you already live in Asia and want to stay there.
I cannot help but note the irony in the ISS and Search groups hosting fairs for people looking for jobs and holding them at such expensive hotels, but of course the school heads' rooms are paid. Obviously these services primarily serve the heads, not the teachers. At Iowa you can stay at any area hotel and the fair takes place at a convention center - it seems much more teacher focused while still keeping administrators happy.
For newcomers, registration at ISS and a fair is at least $600, then there is the five star hotel fee (you can try to stay elsewhere - but it's not worth it - you need to be on site to make all your appointments and have conversations with people during the off time). The Shangri-la is about $150 per night. Eating there is super expensive, but you can walk out onto the street and be adventurous and get good, cheap street food. Airfare to Bangkok depends upon where you're coming from.
Iowa charges around $100-150 for photocopying and mailing services, that's it. You can find rooms for anywhere from $40-$140, depending upon how close you want to be. Airfare to Waterloo probably isn't cheap - we go into Minneapolis as we're from there and can bum a car and visit people at same time.
Search operates more like an employment agency, with a fee once the job is obtained - at least that's the way it was when we went there a long time ago. It ends up being similar in cost to ISS.
I cannot help but note the irony in the ISS and Search groups hosting fairs for people looking for jobs and holding them at such expensive hotels, but of course the school heads' rooms are paid. Obviously these services primarily serve the heads, not the teachers. At Iowa you can stay at any area hotel and the fair takes place at a convention center - it seems much more teacher focused while still keeping administrators happy.
For newcomers, registration at ISS and a fair is at least $600, then there is the five star hotel fee (you can try to stay elsewhere - but it's not worth it - you need to be on site to make all your appointments and have conversations with people during the off time). The Shangri-la is about $150 per night. Eating there is super expensive, but you can walk out onto the street and be adventurous and get good, cheap street food. Airfare to Bangkok depends upon where you're coming from.
Iowa charges around $100-150 for photocopying and mailing services, that's it. You can find rooms for anywhere from $40-$140, depending upon how close you want to be. Airfare to Waterloo probably isn't cheap - we go into Minneapolis as we're from there and can bum a car and visit people at same time.
Search operates more like an employment agency, with a fee once the job is obtained - at least that's the way it was when we went there a long time ago. It ends up being similar in cost to ISS.
ISS Bangkok
I know singles who were hired at the ISS Bangkok fair as well. If you are currently teaching at an ISS school, the registration fee and fees to attend a fair are waived.
Re: ISS Bangkok
I guess I'm in a "reverse" situation as I'd assume many UNI applicants are coming from overseas. I'm in the US- and would like to move back to SE Asia, having had a great experience at SAS. Rather than go to the UNI fair, where there may be a greater diversity of schools, I'd rather go somewhere that has schools from a specific geographic area. The costs from the US to Bangkok will be high though.scribe wrote:It's a good fair if you already live in Asia and want to stay there.
That 'irony' has always been. Why are fairs held in Cambridge, Monterey, CA, London etc? Why not in Orlando or Atlanta or Vegas or somewhere most can get a cheap flight to? Someplace where hotel rooms are affordable?scribe wrote: I cannot help but note the irony in the ISS and Search groups hosting fairs for people looking for jobs and holding them at such expensive hotels, but of course the school heads' rooms are paid. Obviously these services primarily serve the heads, not the teachers.
IRC Bangkok 2007-330 teachers, 94 schools and 990 jobs, $180 to register with ISS and $275 or so to attend the fair, hotelroom down the street from the Shangri-la-$50 and food is dirt cheap if you enjoy Thai.
I have never stayed in the fair hotel of choice and the only time it was a bit painful was during a Iowa Blizzard.
I have never stayed in the fair hotel of choice and the only time it was a bit painful was during a Iowa Blizzard.