Am I a Good Candidate??
“Go to the front of the line ”
To be honest, this process is very much like grading beef: prime, choice, select, standard/commercial. In this post I’ll break down who ends up in which recruiting category of desirability.
But please note that even if you are not a prime candidate, there are always options and very few actual dead ends.
Non-Negotiable Requirements
“Nothing has more strength than dire necessity.
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You must meet the school’s work visa requirements, meaning different things in different countries. Sometimes partners must be married, there may be limits on age, teacher certification may be required, plus clean health and criminal background checks.
The school may also require legitimate and current teacher certification, two year’s successful teaching experience, even a Master’s Degree.
Candidates need to complete the application package correctly, meaning the CV needs to be clean and thorough, any transcripts or other paperwork supplied according to instructions and all deadlines met. One of my work visa forms contained a typo and was sent back, seriously messing up deadlines. Be accurate.
Positive recommendations must be supplied and do not even think about failing to obtain one from your principal; that’s a red flag.
Subjective Desirability Rankings
“There is always room at the top. ”
There is disagreement on this subject, but here are the broad outlines in order of desirability.
Personal Situation
1. Teaching couple/no dependents – Why? Because this configuration saves the school money in housing and transport (two-for-the-price-of-one.) A couple also cuts the recruiting load a bit and recruiters may feel a married couple is more stable.
Next in descending order:
2. Single teacher, no dependents.
3. Teaching couple, one dependent per contract.
4. Teacher with trailing (non-teaching) spouse.
Curriculum Experience
1. IB teaching experience (the gold standard.)
2. Specialty area in high demand – STEM, especially higher math, IT, or physics. Some specialists, like librarians, music teachers, and counselors, can also be hard to find.
3. Certified and able to teach several subjects or grade levels.
4. Experience and willingness to coach or organize extra-curricular activities.
Personal Traits and Intangibles
Recruiters need to believe that you are going to be two things:
1. A good teacher.
2. No trouble, meaning negative or disruptive to the community.
How can they feel confident they got it right, just from an online interaction or a stressful 15-minute interview in a hotel room?
You provided positive recommendations and well-thought out supporting materials, even a portfolio or video of your teaching. They may even ask for a short impromptu lesson on the spot.
Recruiters will then add any up additional factors that lead them to bet you will survive and thrive overseas. For instance, your application and persona demonstrate you are committed to teaching overseas, not just looking for a paid vacation. Maybe you’ve already lived overseas for an extended period or have otherwise proven adaptability. Your hobbies show a positive, social spirit.
All these factors balance the equation in favor of “will not be trouble.”
Serendipity, Gut Feeling, and Dumb Luck
Here is where random factors collect. Does the recruiter think the candidate will fit in? Does this teacher fill a need the principal wasn’t even exactly aware needed filling?
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell illuminates how humans make these decisions in just a few seconds.
I once overheard a recruiter say, “We have too many Americans in that department.” Some factors are out of your control. Do the two of you connect? Does the recruiter even like you?
Reputation and Networking
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth gets its pants on. ”
Everybody Knows Your Business
Meaning that news about you, true or false, can spread almost instantly. Your school may be large but the international school world is small and the spread of gossip has accelerated.
If you did not grow up in a small town, read this and pay particular attention to the section Everyone Really Does Know Everyone.
Reputation and networking – if you play this part of the game by protecting the former and cultivating the latter, you stand a chance of becoming an Alpha Dog when it comes to hiring at the best schools.
Non-quantifiable elements can make or break your overseas teaching career. By that I mean the old-school values like a good name, basic skills like networking, and character traits like adaptability. Why?
It’s Who You Know
Numerous studies and plain old common sense say “It’s who you know.” In the recruiting world this translates to networking and word of mouth. This is especially true once you have your foot on the first rung of the ladder.
I distinctly remember feeling stress at my second recruiting fair, then watching long-time international school teacher friends sail past, greeting old colleagues and possible employers from all over the world. They weren’t going to have trouble getting interviews. Their sterling reputations and numerous contacts broke trail; they were halfway to hired before they ever showed up at the fair.
The converse is also true, unfortunately. If you are a jerk, an incompetent teacher, troublesome staff member, or job-hopper, your reputation will precede you.
If you think recruiters do not talk to each other, you’ve missed a basic driver of human interaction. So use this trait to your advantage. Otherwise you will either not be hired at all or end up at a low-tier school.
Social Media and Gossip
A new twist on an old story (gossip) is the viral speed of information or misinformation. Be extremely leery of social media postings on any platform.
If you haven’t learned by now that Facebook and its ilk can bite you in the pinfeathers, you haven’t been paying attention. Recruiters will be checking, or you should at least assume they will. Be discreet; your doings are not likely to remain invisible.
And lastly, try really hard to be an adaptable, trouble-free, good sport kind of person. If you’re not, at least pretend. If these character traits do not come naturally to you, just fake it till you make it.
That’s all the advice I have about personality. Just remember that recruiters aren’t looking for problems; they’re looking for solutions.
Recruiters’ Perspective
“A Shot In the Dark. ”
Process Also Hard On Recruiters
Imagine the strain:
Hoping you’ve chosen a quality teacher who won’t flame out.
Competing for great teachers in a red-hot job market.
Reading dreadful CVs and sitting through painful interviews, whether virtual or in-person.
Eventually there may be in-person recruiting fairs again, and things will be even more painful:
Flying long distances and eating hotel food for weeks on end.
Being away from your school with all its duties, and your family.
Competing Goals For Recruiters and Candidates
In this recruiting-hiring dance, the goals of each party are sometimes contradictory. For instance, tourist teachers may just be in it for the travel and adventure, then move on every two years.
The recruiter/principal needs staff stability and is looking for teachers to stay 4-5 years. Tourist teachers just mean unsettling turnover and a lot more work for the recruiter.
Go down the list and see if you can work out what each party (recruiter vs. teacher) wants with #4 as an example:
1. Salary
2. Benefits and housing
3. Facilities
4. Workload - A teacher might want the smallest workload with no after school activities, while the principal wants someone who works late and is eager to coach, lead clubs and organize community events.
5. Time off to travel
The Rolling Stones got it right: you can’t always get what you want. But now the tussle starts, and through the back and forth, both recruiter and candidate can get what they need.
Four Years Minimum
Pay attention to this advice from a long-time school head before you start recruiting. Read this interview with care and take it to heart. To quote Dexter from TIEonline again,
4) Do NOT interview or apply to a place that you cannot envision yourself at for FOUR YEARS minimum.
This mindset may or may not be how things play out, but beginning with an honest commitment to a long-term stay seeps into your interview, like a pleasant smell. Otherwise, recruiters might grade you down as a tourist teacher.
Paperwork
“We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming.
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Your paperwork is an instant sorter for recruiters: okay candidate, better, best. Make sure it is complete, on-time, and without errors. Your online CV and supporting materials need to look 100% professional. Your social media presence might need a grooming as well.
Recruiters will inevitably make negative judgments if they see any of this:
A job-hopper, meaning a string of 2-3 year stints.
Apparently you did not read the school website and adjust the query to match.
CV boring, too general? Laden with jargon? Doesn’t tell a story?
Recruiters won’t be happy if they discover later that you have not been upfront with any potential problems: legal difficulties? a special needs child? unmarried or gay partner? bad relations with your supervisor? The issue may not always disqualify you, but don’t blindside the recruiter.
Zig-Zag Pathway
“There are many paths but only one journey.”
These were my various routes to five overseas stints. The lesson is plain, meaning that there are many paths. Any longtime international school teacher will probably have a similar tale. This is my story.
1. Government of American Samoa – Word of mouth from brother-in-law already on island. They meant to hire us but forgot until October. We quit our stateside jobs and took off for the South Pacific.
2. AIS (American International School) Vienna – Paged through the ISS school directory (a fat paperback) and directly wrote aerograms to the 40 schools we liked. AIS responded, flew husband over for an interview for principal, and we were hired.
3. AASM (Anglo-American School) Moscow – Attended Search fair in Cambridge. Bingo (they needed a librarian.)
4. DAA Dubai American Academy) Dubai – Attended Search fair again in Cambridge. Bingo (they needed a librarian.)
5. APIS (American Pacific International School) Chiang Mai – Word of mouth again. Friend already working there said, “I know a librarian.” No Skype, just paperwork and networking.
Who’s The Judge?
“There’s a lid for every pot. ”
By now you should have a firm idea of how desirable a candidate you are. However, you are not the one doing the hiring, which means you are not actually the judge of whether you are a good candidate. The recruiter is.
But good luck on the hunt; you will get hired if you persist.