Two interviews, two days of anxiously waiting and, finally, it was decided. I was their “Gal.” We shook hands on it as the director welcomed me onboard — “You’ll be receiving your contract by DHL in the next few weeks.” Well…it’s been more than a few weeks since the recruiting fair and still nothing, nada, no contract!
I understand people are busy and things come up for a busy international school. But a couple days ago I was on the school’s website poking around and discovered “my” position had been reposted. At least I think it was a repost. I remember the position had been removed from the school’s website in the days after I was offered the job, but maybe in my excitement I overlooked it? Who knows?
In any case, I’m feeling totally insecure now about my future and obsessing on whether or not I still have this job. I’m just not sure what to do…Could a simple oversight be why the position is still on the school’s site? Maybe there are two slots for the same position? Worst case scenario, maybe (argh!), they’ve changed their mind about me and haven’t let me know?
Anyone else been in this situation or anything similar? I could sure use some advice and don’t want to do something stupid to jinx this job offer.
Sincerely,
Anxious
ISR Discussion Boards 
I would contact the school and ask them politely what is going on.
Meanwhile I would continue to apply for other jobs: the school has not sent your contract. DHL are not slow even when you live in the Arctic Circle they meet their schedule. You may have been left out of the loop on purpose and someone decided to help a friend maybe even without the director knowing.
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I would contact the director to let them know the position is “still posted” on their website. It may be a clerical error. At my last school I received the letter of invitation. Then a few days later I received the rejection letter sent to all unsuccessful candidates. It was a simple clerical error. The school should be grateful you noticed it. Hopefully it will also speed up your receipt of the necessary paperwork.
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Unfortunately this happens quite a bit. I know of two teachers, a few schools ago, who were working at an International School, and they received a message from the International Educator. The message was a heads up to let them know positions in their area of expertise were available. When they checked, they discovered the positions being advertised were the ones they were currently in and they were only one year into a two year contract. When they confronted their respective Heads, they were given flimflam excuses. Neither teacher had received negative reviews, neither had been forewarned. They were so disgusted, they looked for jobs elsewhere and they bailed out.
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I was once in your situation. I then emailed the school saying that I was about to book my flight because there was a promotion, and asked if the planned arrival date would suit the school.
They then emailed me back saying to not book just yet, without any explanation.
That was al the info I needed and I found a job at a different and more trustworthy school two weeks later.
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I recently had this experience with Alexandria International Academy and a woman called Rania who was the CEO.. I interviewed was offered a job via email and never got a contract or another word… tacky place and had some negative reviews anyway so no loss.
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As a recruiter…during the fair ask for a letter of intention or better a contract. A hand shake is not enough.
Where I work, we leave the fair with contracts signed. It is good for the teacher and for us.
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I was sent a job offer recently as an editable word document (not PDF) that did not require a signature from either party. To my amazement the school soon after requested I send all my original documents by courier so that a visa could be applied for. I refused to send my original documents without the security of a binding contract requiring signatures. When I requested the contract as a pre-condition the HR team of the school suddenly turned a bit nasty. Needless to say I replied with a ‘thanks, but no thanks’. Be very careful, the entire circuit has transformed over the last 5 years – the good old days of a binding e-mail or hand shake are long gone. Go with a recruitment agency like Search in the future.
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This happened to me. A new school was opening and I interviewed,and got the job, and was promised the contract. A few weeks later I saw my job posted just like you. I am normally a patient, “don’t want to cause a riff” type of person. But it really bothered me. I wrote the guy and just asked how things were going, and if he knew when I would get my contract. He answered back that the school might not be ready and he was sorry but he had to take back the offer. I felt he was being honest so I said okay and looked for another job. As August rolled around I saw that the school had actually opened, and there was someone else who had gotten my job. I was a little bummed at first, but now glad that I didn’t get the job because I would not want to work for someone who wasn’t completely honest with me. Later I saw that he was no longer employed by the school. I am thinking that maybe all his interviews were canceled, and choices not upheld. Just know that there could be a number of reasons why things happen, and lots of stuff going on in the background that we aren’t aware of. Best bet is to make contact right away. Get the truth, and then move on to something even better. It is not too late as others have said. This might be a blessing in disguise!
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I’m sorry to hear that and I totally understand how you feel. Hang in there and just contact the school to check in.
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Not surprised. Having worked with a head who lied non stop and always looked for a better deal. I would call and demand a response. Good luck
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Terrible advice. The last thing she should do is “demand”. How about contacting the school to check in?
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Not normal at all. If you cannot reach the school, send a time limit response notification that you will assume there is no position being offered, and move on -don’t wait too long. Last minute jobs are often not that good as a good school does not wait until the last minute….And now is clearly the last minute already
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If this is making you anxious and you haven’t mustered up the courage to contact the school and ask then you’re in for a world of pain, anxiety, disappointment, and stress once you do join international teaching. The whole profession is built on lies and slight of hand between owners, directors, students, and staff. It’s what working in the white house must be like.
Contact the school and ask where your contract is. Be respectful and professional but also direct. If you can’t do that, stay home. Sorry to be a jerk but I’m being straight with your u.
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Exactly! Couldn’t have said it better myself.
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So spot on! The whole profession has turned into a mine field of self preservation. Never expect someone to stick up for you because they are just as likely to be on the chopping block
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If you did the interview in person then the contract should have been given to you immediately after the interview. The best advice that I can give you is, if you don’t have a contract them you can safely assume that you don’t have a job. Don’t waste time and energy on the negatives; do some more interviews necause some of the best hiring happens during the first months of the school year when hired people don’t show up and more students than anticipated show up. Don’t worry about the hiring season being done with; some of the best hiring happens during August to October when teachers renig on contracts and/or when schools have a heavy increase of students; In my opinion it’s the best time to get a job because they are desperate and they need to hire quickly because they don’t have time for thelong interview questions
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The laws of our country states that we MUST post all jobs held by foreigners even if they are presently filled, in case there are locals who hold the qualifications.
Stop worrying and contact the school and inquire about the status of your position and contract!
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My advice is to call them and says that the contract seems to have been lost in the post and could they email you a copy of the contract. You can print it out and post it to them.
If they say that they’ll post it again ask for an electronic copy for you records.
If it isn’t ready then ask for a date when it will be ready and call back the day after if you don’t get an electronic copy.
If they say “no” then run. They are lying since they don’t want people that are not employees to have a copy.
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For heaven’s sake, just ring the school and ask them.
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I’d start looking for another position. Worst case scenario this school is unethical. Best case scenario they’re just staggeringly incompetent. Either way, would you want to work there?
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Or there is a reasonable explanation like they have two identical positions open. Last year, my school was looking for three second grade teachers, one of which informed the school very late in the year. Thus the “same” position had to be posted.
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Same thing happened to me with a school in China. I contacted the, the director, who offered me the job, the HoP, the admin person who offered me the interview and the partner school in London, twice…and no one responded. If that’s how they treat staff, I decided I didn’t want to work there. You’re better off out of it. I know it’s annoying and upsetting, but learn from the interview experience. It’s nothing you did, it’s them. Something better will come up.
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I went through a similar situation with a school in South America. I called the director in South America and asked why I had not yet received a contract. He told me had interviewed another teaching couple after us and since they did not have a child they were more appealing to him. He told me to call back in a week and he would let me know. Like a fool I called back and was told to call back in another week. He then told me he had gone with the other couple. This, after we had a verbal agreement and shook hands on it. It looks like this BS about your word is your bond nonsense only applies to candidates and not the schools. From that experience on I decided to look out for number one, always. That’s the only way to approach teaching overseas.
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If you were hired through Search, ISS, UNI or AASSA, the Head of School would be in big trouble. The verbal agreement is golden for BOTH parties, and if that is violated, the agencies have to be informed. I have seen AASSA take action against schools that violate this.
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I would email the head of school and copy your recruitment agency. A friendly email along the lines of, “I am so looking forward to be joining your team in the capacity of state the position in August 2019 as we discussed in a face to face interview give date and name of fair. I have been on the look out for the contract mentioned to be arriving via DHL but it has not arrived yet. Can you kindly please update me as to when I will receive it?”
I would also immediately start looking for a job because no contract= no job. This crap that recruitment agencies say about “Your word is your bond.” is truly ridiculous. Yes schools back out all the time and for no good reason. I had a school hire me and then decide a less experienced candidate would suit their budget better. I only found this out by emailing them when the promised contract did not arrive. I also now ask heads of school to send me a scanned copy of contract within 72hours. If they balk, I turn down their offer because they aren’t serious enough about me. Try to shake this off and look at it as a game because you may have just dodged a big bullet as crap schools often have the hiring behaviour you described.
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…following up on Tom’s comment, there is also the possibility that the government has put up a stumbling block. If you are over 50 [it varies!] there is that risk. It is still unprofessional not to so state. Follow up, but start pursuing other options.
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Call the person who hired you immediately
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…following up on Jon’s post. I was hired at a job that required the High School teachers to have a degree in the subject they teach. I did not have that and if the school had caught it in time, I probably would have been cut loose. Luckily they didn’t catch it until I was already employed. Mind you, they approached me, I did not even apply for the job.
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All responses are great advice. One suggestion would be to contact the company that sponsored the recruitment fair you attended. They do have protocols for this and many aren’t in support of schools that don’t follow up on offers made at their fairs.
Call the school; speak with the HR dept, or director. If you don’t get any satisfaction from this, do you really want to work for a school that has such poor follow through?
It may be time to start looking for another position.
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Robyn is right – if you received this offer at a job fair and you notified your Associate then they should help you with the follow-up! All good job fairs have a exit expectation that you notify them if you’ve been hired. If they discover the school director offered you a job and then changed their mind, then the Associate should be able to get the school to recoup your lost money for the fair. Ethically, they are obliged, but I f your Associate is anything like mine, I might not count on that though! Good luck.
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Here is what experience and practice has taught me to do in such a situation:
1) Use your phone and call the DG or headmaster immediately. If their secretary says they are unavailable, ask to speak to the owner or at worst the HR director/manager. If they are ¨unavailable¨ then try step 2. If they do reply but don’t give a firm and clear answer, go to step 2. If they tell you the offer is off the table….you’ve saved yourself from a disreputable school.
2) Send a registered letter (not a lawyer’s letter) to the person who hired you, formally requesting a written response within a reasonable delay, outlining the preparations you must make and the deadlines you must meet, in order to be ready to start work in August/September. At the end, state that you expect a reply within your delay specified, failing which, you will interpret their lack of professionalism as a sign of disinterest.
Copy the above letter through an e-mail to their owner/Board, their HR department and, if there is your country’s embassy/consulate in their country, copy them as well. What David J. said above is true, you may have dodged a bullet if they don’t bother replying….and for a small cost, you have outed another unethical school. Make sure you post what you do on ISR so other potential hires can be warned.
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I am in the same exact position right now. Have a contract with a school to start in August and need to begin the paperwork for Visa, physical exam, etc… I HAVE E-mailed the school a few times (Have had the contract for MONTHS!!!), and have received no response. It may be considered a bad move, but as I do not want to be jobless come August, so just this week have started looking at recruiters and jobs available.
It is extremely unprofessional to leave us in limbo like this and these schools cannot complain if they lose us. This will be my 5th international position and I have never been ignored like his before.
Yes- I feel a need to protect myself. I would also like to add I had 3 SKYPE interviews before being offered a contract, so they are very aware of the caliber of employee and teacher I am.
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What a stressful situation.
I hope they contact you soon, and if not, then you should definitely reach out to them. I think there’s every chance that it’s a clerical error with a typo in your address or something like that.
Regarding the re-posting of the advert, again, it could be nothing. It could be that they had multiple openings and one of their other had candidates opted out.
I would be slightly worried – but not for the reasons you think. I don’t think a school that offers up a contract at recruitment fair and then doesn’t make any direct communication with you via phone or email subsequently is taking staffing very seriously. And it makes me wonder what other aspects of the school the management is not taking seriously. Maybe I’m wrong — I hope that I am.
If it works out, then great.
If it falls through and they’ve really shafted you, then you just dodged a terrible situation.
Keep us posted!
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Hello, this is normal. I’ve noticed that a lot of overseas administration is very disorganized. After that person accepted you there was probably another person that said they were not allowed to do that and it had to be reviewed by more people. The person who accepted you is probably embarrassed to tell you that they messed up and did not follow protocol. For all you know, one of the board members had already promised the job to a friend and didn’t communicate the information. I wouldn’t worry because there are always positions that open up close to the start day of school. I got hired in July for a job and still got two more offers after that. You’ll be fine.
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Actually, it is not ‘normal’. If a school wants you, they contract you quickly to avoid losing you! Lots of unprofessional schools out there. If no contract after an offer is given within a week, move on fast.
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