Resignation timeline

[mamava]

I wish Psy Guy and Thames Pirate would shut it and stop hijacking every other post. If you have something to contribute that is helpful, great. If you disagree with something, fine. Repeated bickering is so tiring.

[fine dude]

This is the after-effect of being recruited by one of the so-called elite schools. Some teachers go into overdrive and suddenly feel they have 'arrived' until they touchdown at their new destination and feel the full force of reality on ground, particularly high taxes, low savings, and work-to-death culture.

[PsyGuy]

@mamava
@fine dude
@dantespal

I concur

[shadowjack]

Dantespal - I guess it also all depends on how well you gauge whether your director is connected and whether they are all members of the same recruiting circle/agency.

If school X phones school Y and says, I understand you hired employee Z, but employee X indicated they are returning, there is a good possibility that school Y says to teacher Z, sorry we can't hire you. Shortly after that, but not immediately, school X drops employee Z and employee Z is out in the cold.

Bottom line is that schools start looking at the jigsaw puzzle of internal moves and external hiring in November these days. They rely on accurate information from their staff. A good school will offer two rounds of notifications - 1 earlier, in October, to express teachers' interest in returning, and 1 later, still in November, as a final commitment, where teachers have to make a final choice. By that time, teachers with their act together will have been signed up and exploring positions with Search, ISS, CIS, Tie, Joyjobs, Daves ESL Cafe, TeachAway, Teacher Horizons, Schrole, school websites and more. Teachers who don't will still be wondering where that bus is. LOL

[Thames Pirate]

Except in places where labor laws allow employees much more time to decide. While many teachers will still make their decisions and notify their schools before or shortly after the winter holidays, they may not be obligated to do so. Most schools prefer to have teachers decide by the holidays (just before or just after) and list that as their notification date. I know that we were able to defer our decision, but we were politely asked to let them know as early as possible so the school could take full advantage of the hiring fairs. We informed them as soon as we knew, which was after the holidays.

[PsyGuy]

I disagree with @SJ (in form, not practice), the key to that claim is "IF" there is no global red phone network or clearinghouse of ISs and leadership, they dont have some massive daily conference call of comparing each others hires.
The difficulty would be that the new IS has your resume with your current IS listed and its easy to look up the contact info and send an email or make a call, and since its your last IS even if not listed as a reference the new IS is going to call the HOS of the current IS for a 'chat'. So you either have to ghost the experience or make the work experience entry on your resume vague, or ensure that your current IS really (and cant stress the really enough) okay with you leaving, or that your prospective new IS doesnt care. There are some 'gentlemans' agreements in certain city regions such as BKK, HK, Tokyo, etc.. that essentially are handshake deals that they wont poach each other ITs, but everyone of them also had there fingers crossed with their other hand

My second disagreement with @SJ is the two rounds of notice, some great ISs really do that, a preliminary notice in October with a firm notice in November, a lot of ISs though dont do that they require one notice and from their perspective (and mostly a legal one) its binding. Superstar ITs are likely to have a new position by that November deadline during early recruiting, the vast majority of ITs will still be very stressed as fairs wont start for a couple months and most ISs will still be putting that jigsaw of scheduling, enrollment predictions and staffing needs together. An IS that is losing an IT doesnt always fill that position, sometimes enrollment changes and with some creative scheduling they can attrition a position entirely.

I agree with @Thames Pirate, its much more common in WE where labor laws or union regulations stipulate a certain time frame usually much closer to the contract expiration date to make any such notice of vacating a position binding. Usually 30-90 days depending on the region. Any earlier notice is non-binding or retractable.

[shadowjack]

And THAT'S what makes it a free world :-) There isn't a global red phone, but I gave a scenario where heads knew each other. At certain levels it is not a big wide open unknown the same people have known each other or known each other through mutual connections for awhile.

Second, some schools only do one round. Then again, some schools still give teachers until January to let them know. And everything in between. I like the two rounds of notification as it provides leeway for both sides.

And in WE or other places with strong worker legislation it is totally different again.

shad

[PsyGuy]

@SJ

Granted its your scenario, and its not an impossible one. That scenario is valid. My experience has been on both sides of the table that leadership has better things to do then play detective and quickly and hopelessly try to track down whats happening in recruiting.

But I defer, its a valid scenario.

[Thames Pirate]

I knew a teacher who took parental leave in one country (paid by law) and took a position as a cover half way around the world. The heads didn't know each other, but met at a job fair and quite by chance discovered it. There doesn't need to be a red phone.

[PsyGuy]

@Thames Pirate

That wasnt an organized task, that scenario involved a great deal of serendipity, its the proverbial "one in a million"?

[Thames Pirate]

Do you enjoy arguing just to argue? I said it was random--bad luck, but hardly 1 in a million. My point was that you don't need a red phone.