The International Schools Review Forum

I just need a quick space to vent. It is so frustrating when schools have their own application system on their website. After spending hours carefully filling out ISS/SA/TIE/Other profiles and applications, to be petitioned to by half the schools to complete their own versions is endlessly irking. I understand this is for their connivence, and I do imagine the mass of emails from potential hires some HR departments collect must be enormous, but it takes so much time from an applicants point of view. I am also a little hesitant to leave my references' contact information, I hope these schools wait to contact them until they are ready to offer a position or else my referees will also be filling out pages and pages of unnecessary online forms. Anyone else out there share these same frustrations?

I would share the frustration. I am only using SA because it is free; I think the best schools have thier own application system and it seems that many of the posts on SA are 'likely' ; It's hard to know if there is a position or not. I use TES as my main source of vacancies now and hope that SA will be a back up when I attend the fair in January.

You do wonder why some schools actually bother paying for Search - it's not cheap, and if they're not going to use the facility of Search then I would question the school's financial management!

I agree with you, but its the trend and its going to grow.

@expatscot

1) Fairs
2) Technology Resources
3) Regulatory Requirements for everything from data security and privacy to labor relations.

I had a similar problem with applying to schools in Washington State. A lot of the school districts would use the exact same template, but I'd have to type everything in all over again. In some rare cases, they had options to import some information from previously submitted applications.

In Wisconsin, where I got my first certificate, they have a really useful site called WECAN that makes job application fairly seamless. Some specific districts might have additional questions, but it keeps everything else there for you--resume, certificates, references, the whole bit. I suppose some states are more organized than others when it comes to this kind of stuff.

Hope you find some better luck soon!

The playing field is sloped steeply in favor of the schools. Your time and convenience mean nothing.

If you always remember that, you will not be disappointed.

@senator

Well said, ISs and leadership truly see ITs as resources to use up.

I agree. They are a pain. I actually give a school a wide berth if their application process is too onerous!

Some are worse than government job applications, and that's saying a lot (do you hear me over-rated school in Colombia?).

The BSs are the worst, they all tend to use the same application in either an non-editable PDF or a MS word document, that is 6 pages long and is little more than a resume.

It's been my experience that the easiest places to apply to were also the best, most enlightened to work at. Just say no to the stupid, idiosyncratic forms. Behind them are often stupid, idiosyncratic people.

And I don't think many people ever filled out those "tomes" ever got a job.

@jschott

I disagree, a number of high tier BSs are great places to work and they use a standard 6-8 page application.