Newbie thoughts on London Fair

[CountingCarbons]

This is the first time I've had the opportunity to sit down and reflect on the weekend. Day four and it's a lot of sitting around and waiting or listening to happy people make decisions.

Day 1 - Got off the plane and had to go straight to the fair from the States. I was a bit disoriented and overwhelmed walking in, but glad it was a relatively easy day. I attended only a couple of sessions as I teach science and there weren't many openings this year. From what I gathered this was for all positions across the board. I went to a Tier 1 SEA school where the director knew my name when I walked in. It wasn't a school I had considered and is probably far out of my league, but it was a great confidence boost. After being so exhausted I didn't want to tend a huge amount of sessions. Instead, I chose to turn in resumes and my Ichiro to the mailboxes of the schools I had a strong interest in.

Day 2 - Jet lag killed me and 8 am came way too early. I didn't find long lines at any of the schools and everyone was willing to interview. A small WE school who expressed interest in me prior to the fair decided they didn't like my no IB experience and was the only school to outright refuse an interview. Otherwise, I was able to schedule them all in one day. I figured this would get all of the initial interviews out of the way and then I could leave the rest of the fair to follow ups or seeing friends. This was my smartest move.

I would say all of the meetings went well. One practically offered me the job, but said they could not promise anything until they had an official resignation from the current teacher. I had a long lull and then four in pretty fast succession. One school who seemed keen offered a job to the previous candidate, which I could easily hear through the open door. Yet she still interviewed me, but it was very half hearted. I felt like it would have been better to be more upfront about the current state. The others went well, but no promises of second interviews. My final interview is the last I'm waiting to hear about. Its a smaller WE school. In my haze of jet lag I forgot to send my digital portfolio to her yesterday. There was a mention of a Skype interview. At the moment, this is probably my top choice.

Day 3 - Slept in finally. I had two rejections via email and in my mailbox, but it was to be expected. I was not nearly as qualified as the rest of the people applying nor do I think they would have been the best fit. This was a great day to meet other teachers and discuss jobs and schools. I actually met someone leaving a really great position and he said he would put in a word for me. All weekend we discussed jobs and told each other of openings. I was really surprised with the number of candidates for my positions. And some really well rounded ones that were snapped right up.

Day 4 - Last day and the mood is either jubilant or a bit deflated. Many teachers I've heard had multiple offers at great schools, but there are many of us who still haven't heard back. At this point as a relative newbie, I think no news is good news. I know others who were outright rejected for both positions I'm waiting to hear back from. I also chose today to work on my digital portfolio.

Pros - Had the opportunity to interview schools and meet directors/principals/head of depts that will be good to have for later. Putting a personality to a piece of paper is vital when you're experience doesn't seem to compare to others'.
Being in London. I got to catch up with old friends.
Having others critique and give advice in person.
Connections with current teachers and hearing about other schools with a perspective that can't be gained online.
The ichiro - everyone seemed to really like it. Mine was notecard sized with a few bullet points and a couple of cute pictures. I think it helped me stand out.

Cons -
Was told not to have a digital portfolio and then in my last interview it was requested. I had to throw something together and it's not quite up to the standard that I would want it to be at. I wish it had been stressed to have one, especially for new teachers.
The weather haha
Very competitive fair. A lot of people are walking away today disappointed.

I would definitely go to another fair. I came in with no expectations considering my experience and I think that was the best attitude to have. Everyone has assured me that there are more positions that will open in the spring. I really just looked at it as an opportunity to maybe get a job and figure out the climate of IE.

[dublin92]

Finally have time to put my feet up after a long weekend and boy is it needed. I had been warned about the fair by friends about how it's very full on ect but I still went in with the typical newbie excitement. Needless to say that is not the attitude I will be taking next time IF there is a next time.
Had several interviews (not as many as I thought) with good schools and currently have one definite offer and 2 which I am waiting to hear back from; one of whom is my number one pick so I'm playing the waiting game.
I found the fair a mixed bag. I enjoyed chatting to people and comparing experiences but found the actual fair bit very uninspiring, some poor presentations from 'top schools' and only 1 or 2 that made me go wow!
Overall I'm happy to be heading back to normality and wait to hear from my first choices as Im not willing to compromise. Hopen others found it a bit more exciting and inspirational.

[Thames Pirate]

Sounds like you did a good job for a newbie. Great report!

We found when traveling a long distance, the one extra day can really help. The jet lag can really be a killer and can negatively impact interviews, etc. Plus, that extra day of networking with other teachers, scoping out schools, potentially pre-interviewing, and maybe even working on a digital portfolio or visiting your friends for a relaxing dinner can really make the whole thing more relaxed. It's not always possible, but we took the extra day of unpaid leave because it was worth it to us.

It also sounds like your strategy was good, your interviews went well, and your expectations were realistic. Our first fair, we went with the same intent--go to presentations, see the scene, get more insight into the process, hopefully have some interviews, and if the right job came along, go for it. We did exactly that, ended up not getting anything (precisely because we weren't willing to settle and knew we could up our game), and walking away satisfied all the same. The next year, we came out much stronger and got a good job at London. This time around, we came in confident and got our job during pre-hiring, giving us time to just enjoy London with our friends.

Thanks for the update, and good luck with the remainder of your recruiting. You are bound to find something either this year or next that will be perfect!

[joe30]

All that stress, all that work, all that expense...for something that could be just as easily accomplished with a 30 minute Skype interview.

These fairs are very outdated and I can't see them lasting much longer.

[expatscot]

CountingCarbons wrote:

> Cons -
> Was told not to have a digital portfolio and then in my last interview it
> was requested. I had to throw something together and it's not quite up to
> the standard that I would want it to be at. I wish it had been stressed to
> have one, especially for new teachers.

If schools are insisting on this then it's going to be a real problem for them with teachers coming from UK schools. It's forbidden through child protection legislation (you have to get individual permission from each parent of each child pictured or whose work is used, whether named or not making it incredibly difficult) and even for those of us abroad could threaten our continued registration.

That said, I hope something works out for you!

[expatscot]

joe30 wrote:
> All that stress, all that work, all that expense...for something that could
> be just as easily accomplished with a 30 minute Skype interview.
>
> These fairs are very outdated and I can't see them lasting much longer.

I get your point - but I still think that meeting face-to-face is better than Skype. You get a much better feel for someone's personality that way and how they look, present themselves, etc. And not everywhere has fantastic internet which can sustain Skype (even in places like the UK!)

[senator]

Here's a question that is off track: Did you really get that jet lagged just going from the states to London? West coast?

[Thames Pirate]

We did a few years ago. It is an 8 hour time difference, and we are experienced travelers who generally cope well with it. But those red-eyes are brutal, and being indoors a lot makes it worse. Last year we opted for an extra day on the front end. That allowed us the time we needed to be at our best, and we spent it walking around London and being outside before meeting friends.

One option is to fly IcelandAir. Arrive Keflavik early, then spend the day at the Blue Lagoon. Take the evening flight to London. This really helps with the jet lag.

[shadowjack]

joe30, skip the fairs, skip search or ISS, and just go Skype. Saves space for others who go the mainstream route. We get that you believe that Skype should be the way to go. However, the IT world isn't set up for the joes of teaching, its set up for the schools. They like to meet face to face - and quite honestly, having encountered my own fair share of 'different' people, if I had my own school I might screen through Skype, but would definitely want to meet F2F, which is what happens these days.

[joe30]

I'd wager the vast majority of IT's get hired through Skype, not through a fair.

[CountingCarbons]

The interview day was pretty terrible. I came from the east coast. It was partly my own fault as I chose to go out every night. I used to live on the U.K. And wanted to see friends I hadn't see in several years. Sitting down to a couple of the interviews, I actually thought I would fall asleep talking. By the end of the second day I was so exhausted trying to write thank you notes and wait for a late interview I fell asleep at a table.
Coming back west was so much easier, probably due to the fact that I went out and made my bed time more similar to my regular time zone. Sometimes I can deal with jet lag, sometimes not.

[carolina]

I think combating jet lag is also harder in the winter coming from anywhere in the U.S. to Europe. The sunrise wasn't until 8:20am-ish and sunset was around 4:30pm, which is about two hours less than what I'm used to right now. Sunlight definitely contributes to your ability to regulate and I found it to be a real struggle.

[PsyGuy]

@CountingCarbons

1) I agree with @Thames Pirate, arriving a day in advance greatly helps with the jet lag.
2) Recruiters schedule their highest priority interviews early, second day interviews are usually the backup and third day interviews are usually filler.
3) What they really meant is they couldnt offer you the job until they had exhausted the candidate pool.
4) A throw away interview is still interview practice.
5) You need to be very careful who you talk too, all candidates are your competition and sociopaths appear just like everyone else
6) Ichiros are typically well advised in most scenarios.
7) I advise having a portfolio, its one of those cases where if you need it you dont have it which is much worse than not needing it and having it.
8) Its BKK, its the most competitive fair there is.

@dublin92

Many of the presentations are uninspiring, and many ISs play the same presentation year after year. Some of them use their parent presentation.

@Thames Pirate

Confidene is not a substitute for competence, I dont see how you can conclude it was a good job, only offers matter.

@expatscot

Leadership and recruiters dont care, if you dont have a portfolio and the recruiter wants to see one then excuses dont matter. In addition there are more ways of creating a portfolio that dont involve any student privacy issues.

@Joe30

Concur with the forum contributors, whatever your thoughts on the matter the recruiters and leadership want their trips, if they didnt they wouldnt happen and fairs would vanish.

Yes the vast majority of ITs are hired virtually, but a lot of this is due to the vast size of the third tier and the ISs that cant compete at fairs.

[expatscot]

@psyguy - but to me (as someone looking primarily at British schools) that would ring alarm bells. It's such a basic thing for UK teachers that it would show that the head either was so out of touch with British teaching that he didn't understand why this was a problem, or that he was a little creepy.

[PsyGuy]

@expatscot

Understandable, there is a lot more though to a portfolio than just a teaching demonstration, and there are ways around that. You can do a lecture to a cold room and edit in a sound track. You can even green screen students into a video. Regardless you can have a portfolio for non UK recruiters, and have something else for UK recruiters, and if its not going to produce anything significant you can use the student privacy rational with those UK recruiters. An excuse and an empty sack is worth an empty sack.