The International Schools Review Forum

@Thames Pirate

This one time at IE camp I met a recruiter who told me all the good ISs were at ISS.

And the data backed up the opposite conclusion.

Have to weigh in on "ISS reps the better schools". ISS reps ISS managed or run schools and any others that meet their criterion. They range from good to horrible, just like Search. Some schools are exclusively ISS. Other schools are exclusively Search. ISS markets its online job fairs and Skype. Search markets its face to face and its database.

Having had friends with both, going way back to when ISS was the undisputed top dog and Search was a baby in diapers, Search is now the preferred choice. I wonder if people at ISS fairs are at schools that are signed up to ISS and Search more people at Search schools?

For what it's worth, I favor Search over ISS. And I know of some clunker schools fronted by ISS, just as I know of some clunker schools fronted by Search. Caveat Emptor applies, as it does in any other type of transaction you engage in.

This fits my observations. I was told when we were first considering going abroad to go sign up with ISS by a teacher who had gone abroad for awhile a number of years before that. The only name in IE at the time she went abroad was ISS, so that's the advice she gave us. This was right as that transition was happening and Search was becoming the top dog--thus the comment I got from the recruiter whose school was at their last ISS fair. People who don't recognise the changing times still tout ISS as the top. You can get a good job or a crummy job through either agency, and there are good and bad teachers with both.

@Thames Pirate

My data supports my conclusion.

@SJ

Its true ISS expanded its IS portfolio and many of those ISs came from lower tier ISs. Yes ISs has some bad ISs, but there concentration of bad is much smaller and their bad isnt close to how bad SAs is.

We disagree, ISS markets its database just as strongly as SA, ISS has moved to more of a focus on virtual fairs, thats not a bad thing, while maintaining aggressively the value of their F2F recruiting events and their fairs address main markets, are mega fairs, whereas SA has so many fairs that most of them are dump fairs. There are 4 mega fairs (BKK, LON, BOS, SF) and ISS participates int he top and the bottom.

You provided no data, so of course it supports the nothing you are saying.

@Thames Pirate

I have my one recruiter I met at IE camp, which is no different than your one recruiter who told you 'blah'. The rest is experience and expertise, which Ive discussed at great length on prior contributions.
I cant reconcile the disparity of your data and my data.
Our disagreement is over priority focus, your position is that the fair is all that really matters, because all else is equal. I disagree that all else is equal, my focus is on objective outcome, ISS provides the better path and experience to those objectives. We disagree.

Your fictional recruiter is data?

And with that, I will let people draw their own conclusions about your claims.

@Thames Pirate

As real as your recruiter that told you 'blah'.

I can tell you exactly what he told me as he packed up his projector after his school presentation at ISS SFO. You made up iE camp. You are ridiculous.

@Thames Pirate

Of course if @Thames Pirate isnt invited to IE camp, it most not exist.
Im sure after your recruiter packed up their projector they then waved their leadership wand and made everything clear to you. All recruiters and leadership after all are connected to the great voice in the hall of portals, and know all.

You have gone round the bend, but it is amusing. Keep telling us about IE camp. Did you sing songs around the recruiter table?

@Thames Pirate

Well the first rule of IE camp is you dont talk about IE camp, but maybe your one all seeing recruiter will tell you.

Just to throw a wrench in it, PG, might ISS be better for candidates because it reps more desperate schools that suck more candidates up in a hurry before some other desperate school gets to them?

Not saying that's the case, but based on data, it could definitely be true and fit with your viewpoint...

I don't think this is the case as ISS reps some quality schools as well as some garbage, and I would assume the same is true of the teachers. However, schools want access to more than just a few teachers. If the agency only reps a small pool of teachers, schools are hard-pressed to fill those tough-to-fill jobs like maths--they want access to a bigger pool of candidates. Thus they move to Search, which has the bigger pool, and instead of vying for three teachers, they can take their pick of 15. Then when another top school gets their top pick, they still have another one or two waiting in the wings. Thus schools are moving to the bigger agency--and as they do, so do candidates. It's a cycle that has been going on for a number of years now.

A number of top schools are with both--this gives them top pick of teachers from both candidate pools. However, even that number is shrinking as more schools switch over to Search. This means that yes, the candidate pool is larger, but so is the pool of jobs.

Also, location is a factor. If you want Europe at any point, there is zero reason for using ISS.