The International Schools Review Forum

Mrs. CDN and I arrived early yesterday and spent the day dealing with the ramifications of our red-eye flight. Today (Friday) was an encouraging and interesting experience. We had read all the negatives of the 'Fair Experience' (not getting one interview, mad house rush, being turned down point blank, etc) but our experience so far has been positive.

It was a long and busy day. There really wasn't any down time for either of us. From the morning meetings with advisors to the presentations to the interview sign up, we barely sat down.

Before arriving at the fair we were contacted by 3 schools, and 4 or five had interview invites in our mail folders when we arrived at the convention hall.

The interview sign-up session wasn't nearly as crazy as I thought it would be. There really wasn't much room for long queues, which may have helped with that. The longest waits I saw were for Discovery College and The British School of Bahrain.

During the sign-up we targeted schools that had contacted us and we were interested in interviewing (a few of the pre fair contacts were in undesirable locations for us). After going to those few, we focused on the schools that we would love to work at,but hadn't had a bite from yet. All in all we have 6.5 interviews lined up for tomorrow and Sunday. Some are with schools we would never have considered, but are intrigued by now, and some are with schools that are dream spots. One is with a school that we were initially excited by, but the director's way of speaking to us was off putting. He seemed annoyed that we wanted an interview, but decided to go ahead with it anyway. Odd.

6.5 interviews you say? Mrs. Cdn and I were having a beverage in the bar after the interview sign ups when we were approached by a recruiter from a very good school. They wanted to interview one of us, but they didn't have a position for the other. Good practice we thought, and they agreed. So...6.5. Nothing might come of it, but we will enjoy the experience nonetheless.

Time to brush up on our research. Have a good night.

Another fair posting to follow. Good luck as you begin your interview process later today. Crossing my fingers and toes for you!

Another day down. Today was the first official interview day, and Mrs. Cdn and I had a lot packed in. We met with five schools today, and the point five from yesterday actually became more of a one. They ended up interviewing us for quite a while and everyone seemed to leave happy. I don't believe an offer is forthcoming, because they didn't have positions for both of us. Still, they are a top school in Asia, so it was nice to meet them and get to know them.

We interviewed with a wide range of schools today. Three in South East Asia, one in Europe, and one in the ME. We had other offers for interviews, but most were in undesirable locations. At any rate, the European school turned out not to be a great fit for us, but they were very friendly and informative.

We are still waiting to hear from one of the South East Asian schools (our top choice). However, we have been offered positions at two schools. One in the Middle East and the other in SEA. We gave them a time frame for our deciosn, and all parties accepted that. So! We are very ecstatic. As I said, we are waiting n one school (and we have other interviews tomorrow), but overall this has been an incredibly positive experience.

I heard the odd grumble and saw the odd depressed face today, though. I talked with a couple of people that have had no interviews or nibbles at all, and I truly feel for them. In our case I think the fact that we are a teaching couple was a huge boon to our applications. We also went the route of the "ichiro" and I feel like they had a big impact. We made a double-sided graphical cover letter. One side for my wife and one side for me. We left these in several mail boxes, and when it came time for sign up yesterday many of the recruiters had us on top. We even had a few recruiters seek us out because of them, so I think that they are worth it for anyone considering going to a fair.

As far as the interviews themselves, they were pretty informal. We had quite a few questions to answer in each one, but they weren't especially difficult and they were often couched in friendly, natural conversation. As I said, a positive experience.

One last thing for tonight - My wife and I didn't stay in the fair hotel, and I don't think it was crucial for us to do so. In some cases I'm sure it is, but we managed to hang around and keep ourselves busy throughout the day and night (more so last night - we are back early tonight). We never felt the need to lie down or get away from the fair atmosphere, because we had a lot scheduled in (presentations, interviews, and research...oh and lunch at some point. Hah).

Anyway, I'll update this tomorrow when we get all of our ducks n a row.

Thanks CDN for your posts....I have just been loving the personal perspectives shared at the fairs....chocked full of information, perspective, suggestions, humor.....everything I always hoped for on this forum.

Best of luck to you and Mrs. CDN...keep us posted !!!

Thank you so much, CDN, for your personal and transparent account of the Fair. I'm sending good vibes and good luck your way. Keep us posted!

We got the offer from the top school today, and it was an amazing feeling. Having said that though, there was some turmoil regarding the ME school. It is a great school and the people seem like excellent coworkers. In the end we went with what was best for us right now, but anyone would be lucky to go with that school. Actually, we are recommended them to a few friends who are international teachers.

At the beginning of August we are off to SEA!

Congrats cdn and mrs. cdn.
I can only imagine the relief you must feel.

August will be here before you know it...a blink on an eye!!! Enjoy the journey.

thanks again for your posts-

Good work, cdn.

Thanks for all your insight.

Congratulations CDN! Very happy for you and Mr or Mrs. CDN!

Nice to have it over with, isn't it?

It is very nice to have it all over and done with, and now the trouble is getting back into the swing of semester two at our current school!

If you don't mind my asking, which school in the ME?

I don't want to get into too many specifics, but it is a compound school in Saudi. If your looking to apply or make contact - leave an email address.

Congrats! Thank you for posting your impressions. Very helpful.