The International Schools Review Forum

Hello all! I will be starting my first hunt for an international position this hiring season. I have posted a few other times and have been actively reading through the forum. I have been advised to do tons of research of schools and countries/ cities, and have read many posts where others talk about creating excel docs full of info. My question is what do you think the most pertinent info to research would be? Is there anything you didn't look into that you wish you had prior to accepting a position/ location? Any suggestions of good places to start research?

I have a tendency to go overboard with things like this and want to be sure I am really looking into what matters and not the arbitrary details.
I am a member here and have been looking at reviews, though taking them with a grain of salt. I am also a member at TIE. I will be attending the UNI fair, but also want to be actively applying for desired jobs as they open up. Any advice would be helpful!
Thanks!

Decide where you're interested in and then ask questions related to those places.

I was one of those who made a spreadsheet of schools in the locations I was most interested in. I wanted to be able to compare what various schools/locations offered: the position (I'm certified in several areas), salary (which was not of utmost importance to me), housing (sharing an apt. would be a deal-breaker for me), medical/dental insurance--or the ease and cost of getting local medical care, whether they handled getting me a proper work visa, if they paid for a trip home each year, contact info, and which fairs they were attending. You really have to decide what's important to YOU if you go the spreadsheet route. It made things pretty easy, being able to see at a glance what was out there and who I'd applied to, and for what position, and how/if they responded. It helped me figure out which fair to go to.

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Hello,

I also made my own spreadsheet so I could easily compare the things that are important to me.

I have a 2/3 strategy: I must be happy with two out of the three areas in my life that I have deemed important to have a successful teaching placement- great school experience, fun outside of school, and a good love/family life at home.Some things that I look for are: 1) Overall benefit package; 2) If it is a small-medium school do I think I will get along well with admin and are there other single people my age to hang out with at school; 3) Are there plenty of activities to keep me busy outside of school; 4) Will I be able to find places to go salsa dancing (replace salsa with whatever your passion is)? :)

There are so many schools out there that I could probably find a place I would like to work in most countries in the world!

-Amanda at http://teachingwanderlust.com/

The vast majority of the info I included on the spreadsheet came from Search's database, not from the individual schools' Web sites. And I definitely give no credence to the whiny, hearsay-heavy reviews.