From what I can tell reading the forums, Search doesn't do much for individuals except hold the job fair. As I am part of a teaching couple, we would be looking at paying $400 so we can go to a fair that [b]they[/b] choose for us. This concerns me as, again from what I have read in the forum, the Boston job fair is the one worth going to. We really want to teach overseas but it bothers me to spend $ for something that I have no say in and no really service.
What is the feasibility of us finding a position going to either the Queens or Iowa job fair and/or purchasing a subscription to TIE online and applying directly to the schools we want?
We both have our Master's, 12 years of teaching experience, my husband has IB training and experience and I would love to teach in the MYP program but do not have my IB training.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Is it worth it to join Search Associates?
I and a former colleague had good experiences with Search; both our reps were very helpful. I could not decide on which fair to choose, and my rep not only helped me figure out which would best suit me, but had an invitation sent to me (even though it wasn't "his" fair).
It seems to be just a certain person-who-shall-not-be-named's opinion that Cambridge is "the" fair. My rep advised me to select the fair with the most openings I was interested in, not the one with the most schools I was interested in.
I got my first position at Iowa and it was also a good experience. I had a number of offers and accepted one on the spot; Search Cambridge, though much bigger, was not as productive, I guess because there was a much bigger pool of applicants to wade through. Iowa had a very collegiate atmosphere and everyone, from the fair staff to the school directors, were very helpful.
It seems to be just a certain person-who-shall-not-be-named's opinion that Cambridge is "the" fair. My rep advised me to select the fair with the most openings I was interested in, not the one with the most schools I was interested in.
I got my first position at Iowa and it was also a good experience. I had a number of offers and accepted one on the spot; Search Cambridge, though much bigger, was not as productive, I guess because there was a much bigger pool of applicants to wade through. Iowa had a very collegiate atmosphere and everyone, from the fair staff to the school directors, were very helpful.
What???
Are you guys kiddingme, seriously "he who shall not be named"???
For the record I have never, never advocated that Search is "all about the fair". In my opinion Search is all about "the database". What your paying for is really access to searches database of school profiles and job vacancies. Depending on your time commitment Search can simply and stream line your job search process. If you have a broad job search, then a recruitment service like ISS or Search really helps, if you have a very narrow focus or limited region then you can do the work easily on your own. You could bookmark those schools individual websites and check them periodically, and save yourself $400 (or just join for one of you, probably your husband) and just search for schools with vacancies for both of you. Many schools "save" primary positions for teaching couples.
Let's not kid ourselves though, LOTS of teachers get interviewed and hired at the fair, and if your not a member you can't go (well officially). I can get an invitation every year to the Bangkok, Cambridge, London fair. Search is in the business of placing teachers, many teachers want to go to the Bangkok (BK) fair or London fair because its "elite" but many of those teachers are either not couples, or not high demand teachers. All the experience in the world might make you a deity as a primary school teacher, but the reality is there are a lot of primary school teachers, and after a certain number of years additional years dont really add very much. Im sorry but Search Associates (the actual associates) have bills to pay to, and they really dont make their money until you have a job, and space at the fairs is limited (its only reasonable for principals and heads to see/meet/interview so many people). If you can get an invite you can always go unofficially.
That being said your husband (meaning you too) will very likely get an invite to whichever fair you want (maybe not London).
My Search rep, and others are worthless, it doesn't mean they all are, I've heard many say their rep was great, I just wish I was them.
@OP:
The fairs to go to are Cambridege, Bangkok, and to a lessor extent, London. The other fairs (Ohio, etc) will be a waste of time, and too late in the hiring process. Your husband is a competitive candidate and in a very high demand area, he will have no problem finding a position, andas a trailing spouse, you won't either. Eastern Europe is prett competitive though, so as long as your heart isn't set exclusively on that, I have little doubt you, will be successful. TIE and Joy are nice compliments to a job search strategy, and I highly recommend them for last minute positions. You need to take advantage of all your options and maximize your job search energies. Either go big, or go home.
Incidentally, IB training isn't nearly considered the same as IB experience, a lot of new and entering teachers think it is, and the IBO has done a great job marketing their IB teacher awards, but they don't mean very much.
For the record I have never, never advocated that Search is "all about the fair". In my opinion Search is all about "the database". What your paying for is really access to searches database of school profiles and job vacancies. Depending on your time commitment Search can simply and stream line your job search process. If you have a broad job search, then a recruitment service like ISS or Search really helps, if you have a very narrow focus or limited region then you can do the work easily on your own. You could bookmark those schools individual websites and check them periodically, and save yourself $400 (or just join for one of you, probably your husband) and just search for schools with vacancies for both of you. Many schools "save" primary positions for teaching couples.
Let's not kid ourselves though, LOTS of teachers get interviewed and hired at the fair, and if your not a member you can't go (well officially). I can get an invitation every year to the Bangkok, Cambridge, London fair. Search is in the business of placing teachers, many teachers want to go to the Bangkok (BK) fair or London fair because its "elite" but many of those teachers are either not couples, or not high demand teachers. All the experience in the world might make you a deity as a primary school teacher, but the reality is there are a lot of primary school teachers, and after a certain number of years additional years dont really add very much. Im sorry but Search Associates (the actual associates) have bills to pay to, and they really dont make their money until you have a job, and space at the fairs is limited (its only reasonable for principals and heads to see/meet/interview so many people). If you can get an invite you can always go unofficially.
That being said your husband (meaning you too) will very likely get an invite to whichever fair you want (maybe not London).
My Search rep, and others are worthless, it doesn't mean they all are, I've heard many say their rep was great, I just wish I was them.
@OP:
The fairs to go to are Cambridege, Bangkok, and to a lessor extent, London. The other fairs (Ohio, etc) will be a waste of time, and too late in the hiring process. Your husband is a competitive candidate and in a very high demand area, he will have no problem finding a position, andas a trailing spouse, you won't either. Eastern Europe is prett competitive though, so as long as your heart isn't set exclusively on that, I have little doubt you, will be successful. TIE and Joy are nice compliments to a job search strategy, and I highly recommend them for last minute positions. You need to take advantage of all your options and maximize your job search energies. Either go big, or go home.
Incidentally, IB training isn't nearly considered the same as IB experience, a lot of new and entering teachers think it is, and the IBO has done a great job marketing their IB teacher awards, but they don't mean very much.
I don't know about the US fairs, but the Bangkok one is good, got job offers every time I went.
About Search: yes, the data base helps, the secret questions and stuff make more "genuine info" for recruiters.
I am very happy with my associate/agent (Deelman) He and his team have always been very helpful, answering questions fast, contact with a personal touch in the fairs, and they helped me get some compensation when 2 schools broke my contracts (along with many other "signed at the fairs" contracts/other teachers). I would never had gotten anything if it wasn't for their "behind the scene" work.
Search is a safety net, and frankly, where would you get the school info if it wasn't there?
Go for it!
About Search: yes, the data base helps, the secret questions and stuff make more "genuine info" for recruiters.
I am very happy with my associate/agent (Deelman) He and his team have always been very helpful, answering questions fast, contact with a personal touch in the fairs, and they helped me get some compensation when 2 schools broke my contracts (along with many other "signed at the fairs" contracts/other teachers). I would never had gotten anything if it wasn't for their "behind the scene" work.
Search is a safety net, and frankly, where would you get the school info if it wasn't there?
Go for it!
I do think Search is worth joining, but also know that you can find a job without it. Before I had any international experience, or much knowledge of how it all worked, I attended the Queen's Fair and was hired by a great IB school where I received IB training and experience.
Now that I know more about how the international hiring scene works, I decided to join Search the second time around. (I don't think I even knew it existed the first time!). As mentioned above, it's the data base you pay for. I get updates every day and have even been contacted by schools who saw my profile and sent me an email. I think it helps and if you are eager to go, definitely worth joining. Also, try not to focus so much on what fair is best, but instead look up what schools are going and the positions available. If they match your interests and wants, then go for it. My associate is great and sent me invites to the fairs I want to attend.
I am sure you will both find a good match based on your experiences. Good-luck!
Now that I know more about how the international hiring scene works, I decided to join Search the second time around. (I don't think I even knew it existed the first time!). As mentioned above, it's the data base you pay for. I get updates every day and have even been contacted by schools who saw my profile and sent me an email. I think it helps and if you are eager to go, definitely worth joining. Also, try not to focus so much on what fair is best, but instead look up what schools are going and the positions available. If they match your interests and wants, then go for it. My associate is great and sent me invites to the fairs I want to attend.
I am sure you will both find a good match based on your experiences. Good-luck!
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dreamgiver
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2011 11:00 am
I am very happy with my Search associate, Michael Williams. Actually, it's his associate, Vince that I hear back from most. He replies very quickly, sometimes even on the weekend. They've both patiently answered my questions and managed to get me an invite to the fair I wanted even though there were supposedly no invitations left. It's still early and this is my first experience with Search, but so far so good!