The International Schools Review Forum

I am not new to teaching internationally, though I'm looking for an alternative to Search & ISS for finding my next teaching job. In the past I've been a member of TIE Online and I've had success with Footprints Recruiting. I'm looking for an alternative way to start recruiting in the fall without having to attend a job fair or pay unnecessarily high fees. I do expect to pay some sort of membership fees, but I just wanted to know the best alternative sites. I've heard good things about JoyJobs and have found some interesting leads on Teach Away and other sits. Just looking for some additional feedback. Thanks!

What curriculum do you teach? TES ( http://tes.com ) is fantastic, but it's almost entirely British/IGCSE/A-Level/IB schools, with a few random ones thrown in (New Zealand and Australian, for example). It's entirely free, too.

Id also add TES, and CIS, they have a similar system as SA in creating a profile, but its free, and you can attend their LON fair, which is the other half of the SA LON fair.

Don't forget that lots of good schools don't post on recruiting sites until they have finished recruiting through postings on their website. If you are targeting a specific school or set of schools, check their websites as well as local listings in those cities.

All the other commenters have mentioned some great places to get started. I would also add http://schroleconnect.com. More and more upper-tier Asian schools are using it. There is a paid and non-paid portion of the site. The free part is nothing more than a place to drop a resume, cover letter, and some letters of reference. If you pay, the site allows you to search for schools/positions that you are qualified for. The fee is much cheaper than either SA or ISS. From what I have read/heard, the site is growing and is becoming more and more a preferred website by top schools.

There's quite a few out there, some of higher quality than others. Leaving out SA and ISS I know of these:

https://www.tes.com/

https://www.teacherhorizons.com/

https://www.tieonline.com/

https://www.wishlistjobs.com/

http://www.seekteachers.com/

https://www.eteachinternational.com/

https://schroleconnect.com/

Of course there are school websites that sometimes lists job vacancies. Some larger recruiters will also have websites where they will list school positions and locations, if leaving out the name of the school.

Schrole is not a jobs database or a recruiter, its a application management service for ISs. There is no IS you cant apply too directly at no cost through the ISs individual recruiting portal.

At the top you have the premium agencies: 1) International School Services (ISS) and 2) Search Associates (Search or SA) Search Associates recruiters dont do very very much to actually find you a job. Mainly what your paying for is access to the school database, and the fairs (of which your first one is free).
ISS is smaller and repps the better ISs (even if all they are providing a school is Recruiting Services) ISS has the "better" schools, as they have a higher bar/standard on what schools they will represent.
Search has a much larger datatbase (almost a 1,000 schools compared to ISS's 400), as they accept pretty much all of the tier 1 and tier 2 schools (and many of the tier 3 schools), so they have more opportunities available (although you have to tolerate all the job vacancies coming out of schools in the ME, which never seem to end). ISS also has higher standards for what teachers they will accept, generally ISS doesnt accept teachers who arent currently employed. ISS works a lot more personally to help you find a job, assuming your worthy. They are a boutique experience, they either are very attentive or they ignore you. Search recruiters may or may not do anything for you. Cost is also an issue. Search is $200 for three years of database access, and one free fair (additional fairs are $50 each). ISS is $185 for two years (2 seasons, it use to be one year). I'm a member of ISS, The really elite schools list with both companies, and the big fairs for each agency run back to back of one another (the "Super" fairs for each are the Cambridge/Boston fair, and the Bangkok fair).
Both give you access to a vacancy database.

CIS is another organization that does teacher recruiting though they arent as international, they primarily cater to EU schools (and the brittish school curriculum). Their big fair is in London (twhich is a Super fair with Search).

UNI is an international job fair held by the University of Northern Iowa. For close to the cost of a premium agency you get one fair and access to the fair attendees future vacancies. Its mostly lower tier ISs in Asia and South America. Trinity College in the UK has a IT fair as does Queens University in Canada
AASSA is another fair that focuses on lower tier CSA.

In the smaller recruiting agencies (and cheaper) you have Joy Jobs and TIE-Online (The International Educator), they have small fees about $40 each. They get the smaller schools, and some last minute positions, but they have pretty small databases. I've subscribed to both of them and prefer TIE, and have heard mixed reviews about them. It is essentially a jobs database and thats it.

Below that you have all the "free" web sites, though these mostly are for ESL positions, sites like: Daves ESL cafe, Gaijinpot, Ajarn, , are free and occasionally have non ESL positions advertised.
TES is a free educator site that maintains an extensive job database, though the majority of vacancies are for BSs (British DSs/ISs)

Lastly you have all the service agencies such as Footprints, Compass, etc. They are either operating as an introduction service, meaning they collect resumes and profiles and when they get an IS client they "introduce" you or forward your application for what they perceive is a good match. The other type are the agencies that have large IS clients and they are just trying to fill classrooms as cheaply as possible with anyone who has a degree and a pulse.

@Dave
"ISS is smaller and repps the better ISs (even if all they are providing a school is Recruiting Services) ISS has the "better" schools, as they have a higher bar/standard on what schools they will represent.
...ISS also has higher standards for what teachers they will accept, generally ISS doesnt accept teachers who arent currently employed. ISS works a lot more personally to help you find a job, assuming your worthy. They are a boutique experience, they either are very attentive or they ignore you…I'm a member of ISS."

There is only one person in the world of international education who maintains this to be the case, but he takes every opportunity to repeat this tripe. (Could it have anything to do with the fact that SEARCH expelled him several years ago?) For all its faults, and they are many, if you wish to use an agency to help you get a job as a international teacher, then SEARCH is your best bet.

Agree with Walter. Only employees of ISS and PsyGuy believe that ISS is better.

@Thames Pirate

We disagree

Search is better than ISS. ISS used to be better than Search. One day they will reverse again, I am sure.

Schrole Connect has a jobboard now. You can see current jobs at http://schroleconnect.com/jobboard/

PsyGuy wrote:
> Schrole is not a jobs database or a recruiter, its a application management
> service for ISs. There is no IS you cant apply too directly at no cost
> through the ISs individual recruiting portal.


While I agree with you about what Schrole is, I have come across a few ISs that state that they only accept applications through Schrole (IS of Prague, for example)

@McTeacher

Yes, because Schrole is that ISs application management provider. Its no different than an IS outsourcing their email to Google, its still the ISs email. Whether the IS uses a Google Form and Google Drive to manage applications or Schrole, or some other system, the applicant still lands at the ISs HR/employment website and clicks on a link to an application web portal, there is no pay wall, no fee, and its still a direct application to the IS. Who manages that service is irrelevant and immaterial.

I can see how ISS may be better than Search. I base this on my experience with Search. First off, I sought out advice considering my situation and if it was worthwhile to join search. I was assured it was, yet it became clear the only bites I was getting were from terrible schools which should not be represented by anyone. I was also frustrated one would go through the whole process of filling out forms, references etc. and then schools would ask you to do it all over again on their website. I also noticed a lot of the schools on Search are also starting to use TIE.

So now I am planning ahead and contacted Search, asking what I needed to do to reactivate my account. Apparently I have to do everything over from scratch. I figure I will just contact schools directly in addition to using TES and TIE. Perhaps even try ISS, because I felt Search just told me what I wanted to hear so that I would sign up. I should be a lot more marketable this time around, but I would rather not employ Search.