Recruitment Information
Qualifications for Teaching Abroad
Language requirements: The only language requirement international schools have is that you are fluent in English. All international schools teach their core subjects in English. They may offer other languages as electives; however, they always hire specialists to teach these courses. If you are interested in picking up new languages, being immersed in a culture whose primary language is different from your own is definitely the quickest way!
Education requirements: All international schools require you to have a teaching certificate as well as a bachelor's degree (in your teaching area, or education, or both). Not all schools require you to have a bachelor's of education, but almost all do. Many schools may require you to have AP or IB certification to fill the positions they are looking for.
Teaching experience: To attend job fairs hosted by Search Associates or International School Services, you must have two full years of teaching experience. This does not have to be full time teaching, but may be an accumulation of substitute teaching days or temporary contracts. That being said, you can be hired by international schools outside of these job fairs. Schools will always hire individuals they think will be a good fit for their school and may look past your lack of teaching experience if you can demonstrate that you will be an asset to their school.
Teaching philosophy: International schools are primarily seeking candidates who hold a similar purpose, vision, or mission with themselves. International schools are made up of a very tight group of teachers whose primary goal is to provide the best education possible to students. Teachers in these communities exemplify what it means to be lifelong learners implementing cutting edge strategies in their schools. As a result, teachers must hold the same philosophies as the school and be willing to work with their professional learning groups to create a unified professional learning community.
For more information on the qualifications required for teaching abroad, I suggest reading Cynthia Nagraths article called Teaching Overseas: Are you Qualified? You can find this article by clicking this link: Teaching Overseas: Are you Qualified?
Education requirements: All international schools require you to have a teaching certificate as well as a bachelor's degree (in your teaching area, or education, or both). Not all schools require you to have a bachelor's of education, but almost all do. Many schools may require you to have AP or IB certification to fill the positions they are looking for.
Teaching experience: To attend job fairs hosted by Search Associates or International School Services, you must have two full years of teaching experience. This does not have to be full time teaching, but may be an accumulation of substitute teaching days or temporary contracts. That being said, you can be hired by international schools outside of these job fairs. Schools will always hire individuals they think will be a good fit for their school and may look past your lack of teaching experience if you can demonstrate that you will be an asset to their school.
Teaching philosophy: International schools are primarily seeking candidates who hold a similar purpose, vision, or mission with themselves. International schools are made up of a very tight group of teachers whose primary goal is to provide the best education possible to students. Teachers in these communities exemplify what it means to be lifelong learners implementing cutting edge strategies in their schools. As a result, teachers must hold the same philosophies as the school and be willing to work with their professional learning groups to create a unified professional learning community.
For more information on the qualifications required for teaching abroad, I suggest reading Cynthia Nagraths article called Teaching Overseas: Are you Qualified? You can find this article by clicking this link: Teaching Overseas: Are you Qualified?
Recruitment Schedule
August-September: Few international schools start recruiting for the following school year this early; however, with that being said, the best do. World renowned international schools with the best recruitment packages start their recruitment season early, and finish their recruitment season early. Teacher candidates wanting to be recruited by these schools should be watching TieOnline, International School Services, and Search Associates for postings and contacting these schools personally through their respective websites.
Forrest Broman, the former head of the American School in Israel and Escuela Campo Alegre in Caracas, and founder of The International Educator, posted this announcement to teacher candidates about the upcoming recruitment season to remind them that the season starts now (August) in some schools! You can find this announcement here: The Recruitment Season for Leading International Schools in ON!
October: Most schools start their recruitment season in October. In October the heads of international schools will poll their staff to find out if teachers plan to definitely return, possibly return, or will not be returning for the following school year. At this point in time, the heads of international schools will know what positions will need to be filled, may need to be filled, or will not need to be filled. They will post this information on their websites for teacher candidates to find, as well as contact international organizations like TieOnline, International School Services, and Search Associates. Smart teacher candidates will frequently check these international organizations websites for job postings, look up the respective schools, and contact them directly if the position offered appeals to them. It has become common practice in international schools to conduct online interviews through Skype, and many teachers receive job offers for the following school year in October. Finding schools in this way is definitely the best way to ensure that you find a position in a high quality international school you will enjoy teaching in since you are the one contacting them after you have done your research.
December: In December, all teachers must make it clear whether they intend to stay at the school, or leave it. School websites and job postings in the organizations mentioned above will be updated and a new round of pre-job fair hiring will ensue. At this point, schools will also be planning which job fairs they plan to attend and post this information on their websites.
January-Feburary: The bulk of international school positions will be filled during this time frame at international job fairs.
The International School of Dakar posts their recruitment schedule on their website for all to see. You can find this information at this link: ISD Hiring Schedule. It will basically say what I said above in less words, but it is always nice to know that the information I'm sharing with you is what you can actually expect to happen.
Forrest Broman, the former head of the American School in Israel and Escuela Campo Alegre in Caracas, and founder of The International Educator, posted this announcement to teacher candidates about the upcoming recruitment season to remind them that the season starts now (August) in some schools! You can find this announcement here: The Recruitment Season for Leading International Schools in ON!
October: Most schools start their recruitment season in October. In October the heads of international schools will poll their staff to find out if teachers plan to definitely return, possibly return, or will not be returning for the following school year. At this point in time, the heads of international schools will know what positions will need to be filled, may need to be filled, or will not need to be filled. They will post this information on their websites for teacher candidates to find, as well as contact international organizations like TieOnline, International School Services, and Search Associates. Smart teacher candidates will frequently check these international organizations websites for job postings, look up the respective schools, and contact them directly if the position offered appeals to them. It has become common practice in international schools to conduct online interviews through Skype, and many teachers receive job offers for the following school year in October. Finding schools in this way is definitely the best way to ensure that you find a position in a high quality international school you will enjoy teaching in since you are the one contacting them after you have done your research.
December: In December, all teachers must make it clear whether they intend to stay at the school, or leave it. School websites and job postings in the organizations mentioned above will be updated and a new round of pre-job fair hiring will ensue. At this point, schools will also be planning which job fairs they plan to attend and post this information on their websites.
January-Feburary: The bulk of international school positions will be filled during this time frame at international job fairs.
The International School of Dakar posts their recruitment schedule on their website for all to see. You can find this information at this link: ISD Hiring Schedule. It will basically say what I said above in less words, but it is always nice to know that the information I'm sharing with you is what you can actually expect to happen.
What International Recruitment Agencies Do For You
"There are a number of recruitment agencies and organizations that specialize in assisting International schools and teaching candidates with finding a match for an international teaching position. The two major international teacher recruitment agencies are International School Services (ISS) and Search Associates. Queens University in Kingston, Ontario and the University of Northern IOWA, also hold overseas recruitment fairs. Teachers interested in applying for international teaching positions usually register with one of these agencies and plan on attending a recruiting fair. Recruiting fairs are held in locations throughout the world. It is also possible for teaching candidates to register with TieOnline at http://www.tieonline.com/ or to contact international
schools directly."
Deanna Emond
Elementary Principal, American International School of Abuja
ISS provides teacher candidates with resources to help them find the school that is right for them. Many international schools recruit through ISS, and as a member of ISS, they have direct and immediate access to your portfolios which ISS helps you develop. ISS is well known in the international community for the international job fairs it hosts to connect international schools with teacher candidates around the world. They host one job fair per month and these events are attending by hundreds of international schools seeking teacher candidates. You can find a link to their website here: International School Services. |
ISS Recruitment Ad
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This year, the ISS job fair schedule looked like this: Atlanta IRC 2012 Atlanta, GA, USA When: Dec. 2-4, 2012 Bangkok 2013 Bangkok, Thailand When: Jan. 4-7, 2013 San Francisco 2013 San Francisco, CA, USA When: Feb. 10-14, 2013 |
ISS General Informaiton Video
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Search Associates is the largest teacher candidate recruitment agency out there. In 2011, they helped almost 2200 teacher candidates find positions in international schools around the world. They host 13 job fairs around the world from November - June. Their recruitment schedule is depicted in the image on the right; however, locations and dates change from year to year. More than 600 international schools are registered with Search Associates and attend their job fairs to fill teaching positions every year. You can find a link to their website here: Search Associates. |
The International Educator (TIE)TIE is a great resource for teacher candidates around the world. Not only do they provide a venue for schools to advertise their available positions, but it also provides great resources for teachers to use in the classrooms, news on what is happening in the international community, counsel for international teachers and administrators, and tons of information for teacher candidates.
You can find a link to their website here: The International Educator. |
Interview with TIE President Forrest Broman |
Preparing For the Interview
There is a good chance if you work with one of these agencies you will be invited to take part in Skype interviews or attend a Job Fair where you will be interviewed face to face. The president of TIE has posted two great articles which can help you stand out among the crowd and get a job offer in the international school of your choice.
The link to the first article is provided here: 5 Key Strategies for Landing the Best International School Positions.
The link to the second article is provided here: 8 Top Tips: Preparing for and Conducting a Successful Job Interview.