Dear Dr. Spilchuk,
I’m curious as to how long it normally takes to hear back from a school after interviewing for an international teaching position? I attended the ISS fair in San Francisco and am also a member of TIE online. Most recently I had Skype conversations with schools in China, Saudi, and Kuwait. The conversations went well but it’s two weeks later and I have heard nothing.
I am wondering how long it typically takes to hear back from schools? My dream is to teach in an international school but it is very frustrating to send emails resumes, etc and then hear nothing. Thoughts, advice appreciated.
With warm regards,
Looking to work abroad
Hello ‘Looking to work abroad’,
I understand that it is very frustrating when people you have interviewed with do not let you know within a reasonable time period whether or not they want you for a position. I would tend to think that after two weeks the school has decided to hire someone else. Perhaps you could follow up with each school by sending the following email to the person who interviewed you to ascertain their position regarding employing you:
“Thank you for the opportunity to interview for a position at your school via Skype on _______. I believe I would be a good fit for your school. However, I must make a decision to ensure international employment for next year and other opportunities have been presented to me that I must consider. Can you please confirm, in writing, whether I am still a candidate you are considering for a position next year? If I am, when might you offer me a contract?”
If the school is still ‘thinking’ of hiring you, they will respond. If they have already found a candidate, they most likely will not.
Good luck!
Barbara
ISR Discussion Boards 
It also depends when you apply for jobs- If you are free to start in January, you are pretty much in the driving seat, as most teachers never break contract and so schools are desperate to fill positions
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I agree that you should follow up. When I was looking for positions last school year I had probably a dozen or more interviews. Half of them got back to me soon and some took a while. The job I was really after didn’t respond for 2 weeks so I followed up with an email telling them thank you for the opportunity. The Director wrote me back immediately and said that they had hired someone for the position that I interviewed for, but they had another position that they thought would be good for me. So I ended up taking that one.
You have to remember that the director/principals may see thousands of people during the hiring season and it is absolutely exhausting. If you didn’t stand out during the interview, then maybe making another appearance would be helpful.
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I think there should be a discussion on the demand/supply situation for teachers world wide. In Ontario, suppy lists are closed, let alone getting a teaching position. Is this now spreading to a worldwide glut of teachers?
I am finding the same situation, and noticing a drop/stand still in salaries.
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