The International Schools Review Forum

@Glerky

Wanting the ME isnt the issue, the issue is attending a recruiting event with a very closed system of ISs, and not being able to explore the full options and opportunity available, within the ME.

SA doesnt suck, it's what the recruiters and ISs want it to be. SA has changed significantly over the years because its membership the ISs, leadership and recruiters have structured changes that are advantageous to them. What you mean is that SA sucks for ITs, it doesnt suck for ISs.

@psyguy...

I guess we have different ideas on things... a lot of the ME schools have had their signing deadlines. If you know what you want then why would you wait? Schools here move a lot faster then Europe... many of these have hired already. Waiting ' to explore the full options' will mean you are missing out on many of the top ME schools.

Why would I care if it works for an IS or a recruiter? As you wrote in a comment once something to the effect of 'I doubt you are a colleague to people on this board.' I doubt you are either... you seem like a lower level admin type...

I'm a teacher and I don't like it. I am paying for this service that is making me shake my head... I've been overseas a long time and had never used it before. This being said if I was new to the IS world this might be the perfect thing....as a veteran of many of these 'elite tier schools' I will just target individual schools next time.

@Glerky

Yeah your POV is egocentric. You arent the agency client, you are the commodity. Much like the blue ribbon winning bull at the state/county fair, youre still just X amount of meat.

The ME moves faster because its trying to get out ahead not of the EU, but the entirety of the IE recruiting cycle. They just dont like being the last one picked at dodge ball. You arent missing out on anything the ME, even the upper tier ISs recruit on the same recruiting cycle. Go to any of the SA fairs, and they are always standing around empty tables at signup.

@psyguy

Search is trying to provide a service to ITs and ISs. I disagree with your - as it really depends on the year. Some years the IT is the bull and other years it is the IS. My POV may be egocentric but I did pay for a service so I hope it would serve me in some way and since I have choice I think I will take my money elsewhere next time.

You are living in a western European world where things move slower. For the past 4 years, including this year, I have known people who have accepted offers in schools in the ME, SA, Asia, Africa and even Europe from mid October - December. Job fairs are great if you don't know where you want to go, if you are stuck or new to the biz they are fantastic. It might be the ME that is leading the charge to early hiring but it is happening. If you are a seasoned overseas teacher the vast majority of schools will try to hire you before the fairs (if you have a good rep). Western Europe has to abide by labour laws... they hire later. And going back to the original idea behind this thread I know people who were offered and accepted jobs at the GRC. Although the schools may not have been for everyone it worked for some... which makes it a normal job fair.

Your habit of having to have the last word on every post despite a real lack of knowledge of current IS practice is, if nothing else,... entertaining?

so how was the fair? any (non)success stories?

v.

Just came back from the fair as a recruiter. The candidate pool was very strong as they were all veteran overseas teachers who had worked at some good to great schools. Singapore American School, Zurich International School, International School of Beijing, American School of Dubai were the top schools represented. There were about 40 schools in total most from the Middle East, but many from Asia, some from Europe and Africa. 375 candidates were in attendance.

The timing of the fair worked well. There were a number of teachers who had a chance to interview before having to decide if they wanted to return to their current school. Although some schools could not offer contracts because they have not passed their budgets for next year so some positions were tentative. A number of schools at the fair indicated that their enrolments are declining and could reduce the number of positions available this year.

With luck I will close the deal with four teachers I met at the fair and other schools were hiring two to four people as well.

The plan is to make this an annual fair. The price is right as there is no fee to register or attend the fair. Also, the reference is very easy. You put in the email address of your director and they are sent an email, with a one question reference.

The database is still up and running, so candidates can still register.

Thanks for posting, Nomads! It's great to hear from someone who was there.

I am wondering then if signing up for the database was a waste of time. I liked the schools I saw on the list, but am currently located in Guatemala and could not attend the fair.

Was filling out the profile a waste of time as the schools do not seem to be responsive to those of us that could not attend.

To fill in the picture, I am a History Teacher with a masters degree and 5 years experience. I have taught both AP World History and IB DP History. I have taught two years of TOK, and was also the Faculty CAS Adviser at my previous school. On top of this I have built two successful MUN programs, a debate team and am the current faculty adviser for Students Council. (Maybe this isn't enough? Is there something else people might recommend being involved in?)

@Nomad

Oh great another admin patting themselves on the back, becuase they think just like SA and ISS that the recruiting event worked well for them.
No the candidate pool was not very strong, it was ME ITs.
Yes, all those ISs were well represented because all but one of them wasnt in the ME, which amounts for 4 or the 40 ISs.
Thats the plan, like everyone who thinks their idea is great has a plan.
Why bother registering the event is over, and again its just a collective of ME ISs that recruit year long because they have to.

@AnotherIT

Your fine, the number of ASPs your doing is more than average, and adding more isnt going to add any measurable utility.

We attended the GRC Fair. It was too early and many schools only had tentative positions and would not even interview candidates. There were a few great schools that took it seriously, ensuring they had 'open' positions. Other than that it was full of undesirable schools or 'American' schools who like to keep things 'American'.

@SadDave
“Oh great another admin patting themselves on the back, becuase they think just like SA and ISS that the recruiting event worked well for them.
No the candidate pool was not very strong, it was ME ITs.
Yes, all those ISs were well represented because all but one of them wasnt in the ME, which amounts for 4 or the 40 ISs.
Thats the plan, like everyone who thinks their idea is great has a plan.
Why bother registering the event is over, and again its just a collective of ME ISs that recruit year long because they have to.”

So scathing and disrespectful and contemptuous, Dave – about teacher candidates, about schools, about administrators. Anyone reading your comments might draw the conclusion that you yourself were gainfully employed in a high-profile school where your skillset and professionalism were admired by all and you could afford to look down on others in the world of international education.

Not quite sure that would be an accurate inference…

@Walter

Just ISs and leadership, any IT can look own on leadership its the difference between one group that adds value and one group that doesnt.

Dave, Dave, don’t try to rewrite History when your own words are on the same page. You said, “No the candidate pool was not very strong, it was ME ITs.” I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to conclude that that is insulting to international teachers in the Middle East.

As for your trite little crowd-pleaser, “IT can look own (sic) on leadership (sic) its (sic) the difference between one group that adds value and one group that doesnt (sic)” what makes this even more funny is that you’d sell your grandmother to get a post as an administrator at any school anywhere. Unfortunately for you, you have to keep a teaching job for rather longer than a year in order to take a step up the ladder.

Is there anyone that has found a job from this fair? What was the teacher success rate like?

Nomads wrote:
>
> With luck I will close the deal with four teachers I met at the fair and
> other schools were hiring two to four people as well.
>