After the Holiday, I Don’t Want to Go Back!

Dear ISR, I’m teaching abroad for the first time, after a few years in the US. I love my job, good admin, good peers, great classes. I like the city and the country. I’ve been out seeing the sights, found great dive bars and food. I’m navigating my new home turf. In short, it’s been a successful first semester.

Now, I’m back in the old hometown for Christmas and I realize just how incredibly homesick I’ve been. I was feeling homesick the last few weeks overseas, but had an extremely strong sense of how much I wanted to be back “home” as I was getting on the US bound plane. I’ll be in the States for the next two weeks and I’m not looking forward to going back overseas…

This would be a different discussion if I were subject to some of the abuse it seems is out there, but I live in a nice place. I’ve got a good job with good people. My wife and I took this job because we wanted to live in a different environment and explore. But I think we’ve just learned that where we left from to go overseas is where we wanted to be all along.

We’re one semester into a two-year contract. How much of this is part of the normal “first time living/working abroad” learning curve? How have you all dealt with homesickness? How much credence do you put in this after 6 months? And, if this is significant and/or meaningful, how do we manage it for the next 16 months?

Recruiting Fairs: A-Z Strategies that WORK!

Recruiting Fairs are pressure cookers. Educators currently teaching in schools around the world will have invested thousands of dollars to fly to, and attend recruiting fairs. These teachers have resigned their current positions, making them highly motivated with a proven track record. Does this make them the most desirable candidates?

For those new to recruiting fairs, you quickly learn that competition is intense. If you arrive unprepared, chances are you’ll be leaving empty-handed! Our Tips to Make Recruiting Season a Success is specifically designed to help you navigate your recruiting fair experience and potentially walk out with a contract in hand! Seasoned overseas educators will find plenty here to refresh the memory and some new ideas as well.

Ever wonder what Directors are looking for in a candidate? Wouldn’t it be nice to know in advance of finding yourself engaged in an interview? To keep you informed, ISR asked School Directors to tell us what they look for in an international teaching candidate and then posted the top 3 responses. The bar is much higher than you might suspect! What Directors Look for in International Teaching Candidates.

Do you have a personal favorite approach to the recruiting process we would all benefit from knowing about? Or, do you have a question about the recruiting process? This is the place!

“Do You Have Any Questions for Us?” asked the Recruiter.

You’ve nearly wrapped up the interview and things seem to have gone well. The recruiter reacted positively to all you had to say about yourself and it feels like you may have the job. Then, the recruiter asks that all-important question, “Do you have any questions for us?”

Certainly you’ve given the school’s web site a thorough read, and have clear insight into what the school thinks is important enough to share with the world. Your questions could focus on topics gleaned from the web site, but would the shallow depth of these questions really portray you as ‘the’ candidate to hire?

Are you wondering about a hot-button issue at this school? How in-depth should questions go regarding visas and health care, class sizes and holiday time off? Are there questions that are an absolute must, and others far too specific to be asked during initial interviews?

What questions can be asked that make a candidate shine with an innate understanding of kids and international schools? In other words, what are the questions that will help YOU land the job? We invite you to Share your Ideas on this topic.