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Finding the Right Job

    Hello, my name is Russ Page and I am a professional educator with 29 years of experience ? 14 years as a teacher (gr. 2 ? 8) and 15 years as an administrator (K ? 12).  About two years ago I decided I wanted to pursue a job overseas.  I would like to share with you how I have gone about searching for available positions.  There are several thinks you need to do to make the most of a job search.

First, register with a recruiting service that specializes in international education.  There are four that I recommend:

International School Services (ISS) ? This organization is very good for both teachers and administrators.  The only drawback that I found was that it focuses only on those schools who have contracted with them so you miss any openings from schools that are not part of ISS.  I found this to be most true in the administrative arena.  They have far fewer postings than other organizations.  ISS charges a fee, but it is worth it.  They manage your professional dossier and will forward complete copies to prospective employers if your candidacy is a good match for the position.  They also put on the largest recruiting fair of any other organization, at least in the U.S.

Search Associates (SEARCH) ? This organization also charges a fee and maintains an online resume for you.  They have a much larger list of openings, covering most schools worldwide.  SEARCH assigns all candidates to an associate who helps guide the candidate through their search ? nice touch, but the quality of service it depends on the associate.  Their job fairs are large, but focus mainly on teachers with a few administrative positions being supported at the fairs.  The fee is also worth it.

Quality Schools International (QSI) ? This organization is much smaller than ISS or SEARCH, but operate on a more personal level.  They do not charge a fee and rely on other search organizations to post their openings and hence draw from those postings to match candidates with openings.  Once they find a good match, they invite the prospective candidate to a small recruiting fair and meet with them personally to gauge the fit.  The schools run by QSI are quite small (15 ? 600 students) and are all managed under the same curriculum and management philosophies.  It all depends on whether candidates fit well into the philosophy and mission of QSI.  They?re worth checking out.

The International Educator (TIE) ? This is a very large clearing house for schools who have openings to post on the web.  It is inexpensive to join and they have a nice instant notification system ? emails sent whenever a job comes open that might fit your profile. I would recommend this organization as a ?must? for serious candidates.  However, for administrators, especially those seeking directorships/head of school positions, I would recommend joining TIE and one of the larger organizations (SEARCH or ISS) at a minimum.  That way a candidate can keep up on all the openings and have an online dossier management service. 

Then, once you have registered with the service(s) of your choice, begin the process of daily browsing opens.  Be sure that you take the time to think about and decide which type of position you are most interested in.  Sending hundreds of emails and resumes to schools in a ?shotgun? approach is hard to manage and is not respectful of school directors who are trying to weed out candidates.  It is much better to browse for openings, take good notes and then submit applications (emails, resumes, dossiers, etc.) to only those schools that have your targeted openings available.  Administrative opening begin in late October or early November with postings for directors/heads of school.  These come up first because school boards like to do worldwide searches for new directors prior to principals, curriculum directors and teachers so new directors can be involved in the staff searches is possible.  

Finally, unless a job is offered prior to the end of January, count on attending at least one recruiting fair in February.  There are many during that month, so browse the websites of ISS, SEARCH and TIE to find out where they are held and which schools will be attending to recruit staff.  They charge attendance fees and flights to them will cost you, but the investment may produce just the job you are looking for.

Thanks for taking the time to read my article and I wish you luck in your job search.