The International Schools Review Forum

I’m an American secondary English teacher with an Indian wife who is completing her American licensure in Computer Science. We plan on recruiting next year and are looking for a 4-5 year school where we can solidify our careers, complete our graduate degrees, and save some money before considering starting a family.

Any ideas on how we can market ourselves? Since my wife is a new teacher, I feel like it will come down to how badly the school wants me. I figured she could apply on Search for both regular and intern teaching positions.

Briefly, here are my selling points:
– DP/MYP Cat 1 workshops with 3 years DP/1 year MYP experience in an international IB school in India
– Google Certified Educator Level 2
– IB examiner for coming year
– Teacher leadership: Leading PLC on PBL next year. Piloted programs, trained teachers on gamification and writing assessment with digital tools
– Initiated and coached school whitewater kayaking club

For detailed info, here's my LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=237318027

My wife's selling points:
- 6 years in corporate IT
- 1 year experience in assistant teacher and systems role in my current school. Extensive knowledge of Managebac implementation.
- Google Certified Educator L2

We're planning on aggressively targeting schools early online and, if all else fails, going to the Bangkok Search Fair. Our associate has advised us against January as it is so competitive, but I'm worried that everything good will be gone by the March fair. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated! *bows to masters*

The really big decision you need to make is how important is it for you to both be ITs?

Your IB experience and background is very marketable. The experiences you described are not "leadership" its training, its committee work. Leadership doesnt happen until you are an HOD or Coordinator. Everyone does ASPs, unless you have a recruiter who is really enthusiastic about whitewater kayaking, and wants a kayaking program its not marketable.

Recruiting as a couple is going to have two main issues to resolve: 1) You will have far fewer opportunities as a pair, you need an IS that has vacancies for ICT and Literature (Language). 2) Your spouse isnt marketable, they have no selling points. They have no teaching experience and no IS that isnt desperate is going to give a school leaving course to an IT with no experience.
If you approach recruiting yourself with a trailing spouse you will have a strong probability of a 2nd tier IB IS or better, but you will have only one comp package and be less marketable with a non western spouse. If you recruit as a couple, many ISs will pass on your spouse except for bottom tier ISs and while your resume has utility, literature/language ITs is not in high demand. A bottom tier IS will appoint an intern class IT but then you are at a bottom tier IS with a bottom tier comp package or you are in a hardship location. In addition your spouse doesnt fit the typically accepted demographic (which is white westerners).

My recommendation is that you approach recruiting as a single IT with a trailing spouse, and determine what your options and offers are. Once you accept an appointment you can then explore what opportunities are available in your location (which may include opportunities outside of IE). Your IS may be willing to create a vacancy or position within the IS once you are on site.

Peak recruiting starts in January and is finished by February. Top tier ISs start in October with early recruiting of preferential and superstar candidates. A lot of ISs are still recruiting in March, but they arent top tier unless its a last minute or emergency hire. The rule is you go to the most competitive fair you can get an invite too, the most vacancies are open earliest in the recruiting season, and as fairs and recruiting progresses vacancies are filled and gone. Being in India your travel costs and expenses will be less to Thailand than they will be to LON or BOS. If you pursue recruiting as a couple then BKK is likely to be disappointing and frustrating.