The International Schools Review Forum

It took too long to round up the funds and now Search Cambridge is closed. My associate is trying to send me to Search SF. I have heard many say that it is too late in the season for the SF fair.
What should my next choice be?
ISS Boston, UNI, Search SF...I am at a loss.
My credentials are below. Where would YOU suggest.
Also I can get a regular ed. licence in Social Studies and PE by the summer...but not in time for the fair...state education department laid off a lot of staff...approxmately 3 month to get new licence>
Suggestions?

MY Credentials: Thirteen years total teaching experience, of which two years were teaching regular education social studies (not certified, but considered "highly qualified", due to my BA being in History). I've taught United States and Word History, Economics, Civics/Government, two state histories.
Alternate Certification in Special Education, with eleven years experience. Certification in my home state was Mild/Moderate K-12, in my present state LD 1-12. I've taught on both the middle and high school levels, a little resource but mostly self-contained classes. As such, I've actually taught [i]every[/i] core class (English, Math, Science, Social Studies) for grades 7-12 (with the exception of AlgebraII, Geometry, Trig, and Calculus).

I also have Master Degrees in both Special Education and Educational Leadership. I would like to get into administration in the near future.

Cambridge and Bangkok are never "really" closed, theres always space (it would be made) for a really well qualified candidate. SF is way too late in the year for anything but scraps. All the hiring is really done at the end of Mass. (ISS & Search). Joining ISS would be expensive its $185 for membership, and then another $290 to attend any/all conferences. Thats $475, before you even count travel...

You could go to the conference rouge... Basically, the conference is just people and a hotel. So email the schools with positions in Learning Support/Resource Teacher, and tell them you cant get an invite to the cambridge fair, but you will be in town and staying at the hotel, and youd like to meet at the fair and discuss how you can be a great addition to their school. If they are really interested and you get enough bites, then you just go. Honestly, SPED is a pretty high demand area, and with your experience I wouldnt be surprised if you were picked up before hand. If its really an issue, id talk to your associate about possibly getting a refund, there are only 9 position vacancies posted for resource teacher, and if they cant get you into the Cambridge fair, then they cant really help you. Id be very strong on this point, and remind them your in a very HIGH needs and specialized area, and then suggest that maybe some room can be made. The reality is there are always people who are no shows.

Thanks PsyGuy. I haven't joined search yet, I had only spoken to an associate, as I didn't have the money at the time.
So with that said, they do not even know what my qualifications are...they simply told me this morning when I inquired, that the fair was closed to new applicants.
Thoughts?

I also was told there was no more room at the Cambridge fair. So I got a little pushy, touting my excellent qualifications and experience and they "found" and invitation for me. Don't give up. Search SF is just 2 weeks later. However it's the 5th of the 5 US fairs in February. So not the best but you won't have to wait until spring or summer.

I just received this message from my associate:


[i]I don't know how long the San Francisco fair will be available. When it fills up, like what happened in Cambridge, I will not be able to register additional candidates. My feeling is that it should continue to be available for a few more weeks, but I can never be certain.

About 40% of our candidates who accept positions are placed without attending a fair at all - everything is done over the Internet / telephone. Your first step will be to complete your file and have it be activated.[/i]

What do you think?

Being a newbie myself I don't have advice about whether to join Search or a different agency or apply on your own. But you if you decide to join Search you could always register for the SF fair but continue to push for an invite to the cambridge fair. They are definitely going to tell you the cambridge fair is full with a waitlist. However once they see your qualifications and they have your $$$, they MAY reconsider. I know people that have been very successful at the SF fair. If I were you I would probably consider the UNI fair, if you're interested in any of those schools. I've heard good things about it.

Not to put to fine a point on it, but if you cant go to Bangkok, Cambridge, or London fairs, unless you have a REALLy broad job search (youll go anywhere and are certified in everything), I dont know if the database alone is worth it. It would be for me, but your not me.

Sometimes you have to use your inner teacher voice to get what you want. SF may be only 2 weeks after Cambridge but its 2 weeks too late. Cambridge isnt just a fair its a super fair, its back to back with ISS and their fair. Thats one of the big draws for recruiters.

A lot of recruiting especially for high needs is done over email and Skype. I still think at $200 for 3 years of database access is a good deal, and the best deal of the 3 big agencies, and search having the most schools. If you didnt join Search what would your plan be to find international school with SPED positions available???

I actually agree with PsyGuy that 2 weeks later is somewhat of a big deal. The main reason I joined Search is because they have the first U.S. fair. And it's why when they told me Cambridge was full and I'd have to go to SF that I became the seriously squeaky wheel until I got an invitation to Cambridge! It seems reasonable to me that by the 5th fair, 2 weeks later, many jobs will be gone. I know UNI is running at the same time as the Cambridge Search fair. And some of the same schools are at both. Not sure how that happens unless they have multiple recruiters in more than one location. However UNI would be your next earliest option. However I'm also not sure how easy it is to attend a UNI fair - do you have to be invited, is there a limit on how many people they accept, etc?

I was in the same situation last year. I registered for San Francisco, made it known that I would like to be on the waiting list, and received an invitation to Cambridge about a week later. I was a newbie/Learning Resource (Spec Ed). I think it's worth it to register with Search anyway even if only to use the database. I would also use TIE Online.

I attended the most recent Search SF fair and got hired there. There were quite a few jobs still for the taking, and not too many candidates compared to the other fairs (about 200, I would guess). Many of the candidates there were newbie teachers, so with some experience you should be fine.

What does TIE offer that I can't get from Search? Is it worth it to join TIE at this (somewhat late) point in time?

Thanks to all that have veiwed/contributed so far.

PsyGuy- If I were not to join Search, I would probably attend ISS (my next choice but unfortunately more expensive, (but at least at the same time as Cambridge), OR attend UNI.

dreamgiver- UNI is cheaper...just register ($190.00 I believe, no cost to attend the fair). They have very minimal requirements to be "invited"...as little as a teaching licence I believe.

DCgirl- I am considering registering with Search and hoping to get invited to Cambridge. At this point I am leaning heavily toward attending a fair...either UNI or ISS Boston. I am not sure what to do about SF. It is so late that I would have already attended a fair.

Since I am leaning toward attending a fair, I don't think I would consider joining Search with some assurance that I would get an invite to Cambridge.

The head od the Cambridge fair is also the head man at Search. Should I consider "going over the head" of my associate and ask the head guy for an invite OR might this "poison the waters for me", so to speak? I have heard quite a lot of conflicting information about the amount of assistance that people receive form asociates at fairs...seemingly a lot of assistance or little to none...I do not believe I have ever heard of any middle ground.

What do you all think?

Have you contacted ISS about room at their fair in Boston?

Well when you sign up you can choose your recruiter, and you could choose the head if you wanted to (dont know if youd be assigned or hed accept you though). Honestly, if your going to go over your associates head, understand it will be burning a bridge. Your associate is likely to write you off, and wont do a thing for you accept collect your money. You need to realize that the associates are a small group and they are a lot tighter to each other then they are to anyone client. They are more like partners in a firm, whos success is tied to one another.

This is pretty academic anyway, personally it wouldnt work. The associates have a lot of autonomy to manage their clients, and it would set a very dangerous precedent for one, even senior associate to "meddle" in another associates business, because at the end of the day thats someone else messing with their money. The image that the associates work for you is an illusion, they dont they work for the schools. The schools are the ones that pay, and their the ones that offer the most repeat business. A school with 10 positions on average year after year is going to generate around $25K a year in fees. Figuring a new two year contract for you, averages at $1250 a year. Whos the more valuable client???

PsyGuy,
I felt that could be the case, that is why I asked...thank you again. There is stiil another month to get signed-up with ISS.

I guess I will have to bite the bullet and sign up for ISS...it seems to have the same clients (for the most part), with some additional schools that Search does not have...UNI, not so much (but several clients that are neither signed up with Search nor ISS).

I simply don't feel that I am willing to "leave to chance" that they will choose to let me attend Cambridge AFTER I have already paid them. I do not feel it is worth the gamble to "settle" for SF.

It's ironic that the reason that I am being effectively "shut out" of Cambridge is because I did not have the cash in hand at the time...so it will now cost me more money to have access to the same schools through ISS.

Live and learn...

-HM

You could always just contact your preferred associate at Search and write/say

"I'd like to sign with your recruiting agency, but we all recognize that the strongest option for me finding a position is if you can provide me an invitation to the Cambridge fair. Without one I'm afraid I wouldn't be maximizing my energy and productivity in obtaining a preferred placement. I'm a special education teacher with 11 years of experience working with moderate and sever LD/ED students at all age and grade levels. I would bring a highly specialized and in demand skill set to any schools learning support department. There is a strong likelihood I would be successful at the CAMBRIDGE fair. This would be a fast an easy placement for you as well as for me, with a minimum expenditure of energy and resources on both our parts. My attendance at the Cambridge fair is in both of our interests."

**Feel free to copy/paste/edit if you wish (I even wrote it in proper form and structure)***

I SERIOUSLY believe in my experience that if you approached Search with such a scenario and request a place and invite would be "found/made" for you. To that end Search is the better agency for you, because it doesnt matter what schools they represent, but if those schools have your vacancy available. SPED accounts for a small percentage of vacancies, and the more schools the larger the potential pool of vacancies.