Position Disappears

[shawanda]

Hi everyone,

First time writer, long time reader. Your insights have been invaluable to me as I set out on my first journey into teaching abroad. I have a question about a situation, which I ran into recently. Basically, a school that I am interested in, and which is going to the London fair, as am I, posted a Definite Opening in October for the position/role I am searching for both on SearchAssociates and its own website. I applied well before the deadline, which was in early November. I never heard back, but unlike the other schools that I have applied to before then and since then, the job listing disappeared both on SearchAssociates and the school's website about two days after the job application deadline. The job is one of about 15 I have applied to in the last sixty days on all habitable continents except for Australia. But it's the only one that has disappeared a day or two after the listed application deadline. I've also noticed that many SearchAssociates schools don't have deadlines like this one did. Do you think the school hired someone in two days, or hired someone in the period before the deadline? Or could they just be taking the listing down right after their deadline and getting their ducks in a row (deciding who to interview at the fairs) before the fairs in January (both of which they are schedule to attend as of today)? I am a very organized person, and I generally want to know the lay of the land before I head into the hornet's nest in London so I have a smart plan of attack. This disappearing position has thrown a bit of a question mark into my London outreach strategy. Thoughts my good colleagues? Thank you again for your great insight on this site. I look forward to meeting many of you in London in a few weeks, and I think if I can I will write a live play by play like one of this site's contributors did a few years ago for his/her experience in Bangkok.

[eion_padraig]

Sometimes they hire people fast. Sometimes a person changes their mind and they stay on. Sometimes another position that was being hired for had a trailing spouse who could fit in that spot. They may have gone after a very interesting candidate before their stated deadline.

There are a lot of maybe's. Things happen fast, then they happen slow.

Being prepared is good. Doing research on schools, countries, cities that you're interested in before the fair is good. You may also end up interviewing and being interested in something that wasn't on your radar before. Then being able to make decisions that you're happy with quickly is important if you attend a hiring fair.

This is a chaotic process. There is a lot of uncertainty. As the Chinese say, "Mei banfa", or "there's nothing that can be done".

Good luck.

[global_nomad]

Another thing to keep in mind is that many schools (in particular the very good Tier 1 schools) post jobs because of protocol when, in reality, they have someone in mind all along. It could be an internal shift or a recommendation of a current staff member or an ex-colleague or friend of one of the Administrators. I've been there many times. It's frustrating when a position opens up at an attractive school that seems "perfect" for your experience, training, and background and your application isn't even acknowledged and then it disappears or is filled within a couple of days. But you have to have thick skin in this international game.

[reisgio]

Schools do all sorts of strange things, I would not read too much into it. Once a school did not have my position listed at a fair, despite having it listed on Search for three months before the fair. I asked them point blank at the fair if that position was still available and they looked at me like I was crazy and as if they never heard it was available. Two days after the fair the same exact people emailed me to see if I would be interested in that very position. After two Skype interviews in two days they offered it to me! I said no.

[PsyGuy]

It could have easily disappeared because the application deadline had passed. ISs will do this so that they dont have to deal with additional applications.
Its not uncommon at all to not hear back from an IS that isnt interested in pursuing your application.
Many vacancies are available until filled. SA discourages deadlines because it allows an IS to remove a vacancy without it being filled making it more difficult to invoice for a valid placement. SA and other premium agencies are int he jobs filling business, you have a vacancy fine, you fill it, we want our cut. Its not the avenue to "explore" candidates.
All of the previous outcomes are also possible:
1) The IS filled the vacancy in two days. An IS can get a 100+ applications a day.
2) They had an internal hire or promotion.
3) They had a preferred candidate all along and the publication of the vacancy was a formality either required by policy, statute, or labor regulation.
4) The vacancy was an error.
5) The position was dissolved.

There are many other possibilities, I would write the senior leadership team and ask if you need the peace of mind.