Updates from Bangkok

[b12r]

Any updates so far? Anxious to hear how things went!

[twoteachers]

Depressing!!! Really bad recruiting year... Not many jobs... I'm not too encouraged going into sign ups tomorrow.

[fine dude]

Apparently, more schools, particularly the upper tier ones, are using Schrole and Skype to hire teachers. I'm not sure if this will be a common trend in the coming years, even by lower tier ones. My own school had very little turnover this year and people are thinking twice before risking their well-paid jobs.

[Thames Pirate]

I also wonder if the recruiting season isn't changing a bit--people waiting a bit later to give notice because of things like Schrole and Skype hiring. It used to be that you would decide to attend fair in the fall, so you would let your school know if you were considering moving on. But if you are considering it later in the game--as in, you decide over Christmas--you are still in the running because of things like Schrole and Skype.

Our school had far fewer vacancies, so instead of attending a bunch of fairs like last year, they are attending only London, which is far more accessible for a European school.

[shadowjack]

twoteachers - not many jobs in your area, or not many jobs at all?

Jobs tend to be cyclical - one year it can be feast and the next year famine. It all depends on who is deciding to make a move and who isn't.

[Thames Pirate]

I also wonder if there isn't a bit of a "hold out until London" thing going on. I know many say that BKK is the premier fair, but I think that is shifting. The top schools are typically attending both or, in some cases, only LON. LON is bigger in terms of both schools and candidates attending, and as I said, I wonder if the timeframe pendulum may be swinging back ever so slightly. Recruiters attending back to back fairs (or, if attending ISS BKK or CIS LON, more than two) might hold out at the first a bit more knowing the larger and possibly deeper pool is coming.

I could be wrong; my Search profile is inactive and I am not up to speed on what is and isn't being posted, either online or at the fair. I am basing that solely off of schools attending fairs, some conversations with our HR, and flat out speculation.

[Thames Pirate]

Any thoughts after the fair? Updates on offers, overall fair experience, quality of schools/candidates/jobs, or anything else?

[Nomads]

Just came back from Bangkok as a recruiter. There was 560 candidates and 120 schools. The Search folks said this was consistent with the past. Contracts were being offered. Search London is a week earlier this year, some recruiters were going straight to London from Bangkok, which may impact it but I doubt it.

In general, there is not that much overlap from schools that attend Bangkok and London. There were only a couple of European schools in Bangkok and they tend to be the majority in London.

Not sure about number of vacancies in other schools, too focused on mine, but I was pleased with the overall quality and quantity of candidates for the ones I had.

[Thames Pirate]

Thanks for the update! I hope you found what you needed to fill the spots you had.

[twoteachers]

One of the biggest issues we had as a couple were all the jobs/contracts that got handed out at the ISS fair the 4 days prior to Search...really put a dent in the hiring process for my partner and I. We got jobs, but it was a real anxiety ridden process this time.

[cms989]

@twoteachers beginning to think I should have signed up for ISS then. I live in a neighboring country but couldn't attend. Who are these 500 teachers that can take off 5 days at the beginning of term? I mean a certain chunk have extended breaks but that's typically the first week back from winter break. All of the Search scheduling is awful and I feel like I'm taking crazy pills for being the only one commenting on it (I did notice one other complainer here once).

[Thames Pirate]

Within IE it is common to get the time off for attending a recruiting fair. If you don't get the time, you have to think of alternatives. We ended up taking unpaid leave to do it one year. Yes, it's a pain to leave classes for that long, but the kids will live for a few days. It paid off in that we got our dream job, making all the stress of pre-planning for the cover teacher, the travel, the cost, the stresses of the fair, and the annoyance of getting classes back on track while jet lagged worthwhile.

[shadowjack]

cms most reputable international schools offer teachers paid days for recruiting. I have never taught at a school that didn't.

As to signing up at ISS, the ISS fair is smaller. More jobs get offered at Search than ISS. And yes, some jobs might disappear, but other jobs that aren't on the radar at ISS suddenly pop up at Search. Apparently this happened for a number of positions again this year.

[global_nomad]

shadowjack wrote:
> cms most reputable international schools offer teachers paid days for
> recruiting. I have never taught at a school that didn't.

I second ShadowJack on this. This has been my experience in the 5 international schools I have worked (mostly Tier 1s). It is a great example of another advantage of working at better schools versus Tier 3s (and their less work demands). You simply don't get the perks like this in most low quality schools.

[chilagringa]

Yes, my school also gives a week off for recruiting. My school is lower tier one or upper tier two, probably.