Teaching Abroad: 6 Reasons to Attend a Job Fair
If you want to teach abroad, now is the perfect time to get started on your job search. Once you've joined a recruitment agency (check this blog post for more info), you can start contacting schools and registering for job fairs. You just need an active teaching certificate and a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field to be eligible to work at an international school. All job postings will include two years of teaching experience in their requirements, but I know many international teachers who were hired straight out of college (myself included).
At the time of this writing, we are just at the beginning of the international school hiring season. So before positions at the best schools start filling up, I have made a list of six reasons why attending a job fair will give you the best chance of landing your dream job.
1. You’ll make personal connections with recruiters and administrators.
Meeting with prospective employers face to face is still a vital part of any job search. This is your chance to get out from behind your candidate profile and in front of schools who are looking to hire qualified teachers just like you. In today’s job market, it’s tricky to make a truly great first impression with only your resume. The technology involved in job searches will never replace the connection that you can make by meeting your employers in person.
2. You get directly in front of schools that are ready to hire right now.
Top international schools will be at the job fair for one reason only: to fill their specific hiring needs. These fairs are the best opportunity for qualified teachers to receive immediate job offers. Due to all of the logistics involved in hiring international teachers (flights, visa, housing, etc.), recruiters try to fill open positions as fast as possible. Attending a job fair in the winter or early spring gives you a big advantage over candidates looking for jobs in the spring and summer. You can access the full list of schools attending each fair by visiting your specific agency’s job fair pages.
3. Job fairs are more efficient than traditional applications.
As there are only a handful of international job fairs every year, and recruiters know that they are the best way to hire candidates, nearly every school with an opening will be in attendance. You will get the chance to meet with up to dozens of international school heads and recruiters in one or two days. Rather than spending hours sending applications into the online void, you can instead spend your time meeting face-to-face with your prospective employers.
4. You can determine which schools are also a good fit for you.
These job fairs are a two-way street. It’s as much about you figuring out the school’s culture and values as it is about school recruiters meeting potential new hires. Know what you are looking for in your next job, and put effort into getting an offer from schools that meet your expectations.
5. You’ll make connections with other teachers.
Job fairs are typically 2-3 days long and include social events, interactive presentations, and professional development opportunities in addition to the interviews that will be ongoing. The international teaching community is smaller than you may realize. You never know what fellow teachers you’ll meet that could at the very least become another friend in a cool destination, and might also turn into a valuable professional connection down the road. You’ll also be able to get face-to-face guidance and advice from peers who can offer their perspective on teaching overseas.
6. It will force you to keep an open mind.
Things move fast at job fairs, and you may go into the fair dead-set on a certain position, school, or country only to see that position go to someone else. However, because so many schools attend these fairs from all over the world, you may hit it off with an administrator from a school that you didn’t know about previously. Or, maybe you will be offered your dream position in a location you never saw yourself in. A world of possibilities exists that you may not have known about or even considered before the job fair, and keeping an open mind is the best way to leave excited rather than disappointed.
Whether you are a new or experienced international teacher, job fairs are undoubtedly the best way to increase your chances of a job offer for the coming school year. Job fair registration is included in memberships for International Schools Services and Search Associates, making them also an economical way to land your dream job. You don’t want to miss one of these premiere events for interested international educators!
Below is a list of upcoming in person and virtual job fairs for both International Schools Services and Search Associates*.
Bangkok Oct 23-24, 2023
Virtual iFair Nov 18, 2023
Atlanta Dec 8-9, 2023
Virtual iFair Jan 13, 2024
New York Feb 8-11, 2024
Virtual iFair March 3, 2024
Dubai Nov 25-26, 2023
Melbourne Jan 6-8, 2024
Bangkok Jan 12-14, 2024
Hong Kong Jan 19-21, 2024
London Jan 19-21, 2024
Cambridge, USA Jan 26-29, 2024
San Francisco, USA Feb 3-4, 2024
Toronto Feb 10-11, 2024
Shanghai Mar 9-10, 2024
London Mar 16-17, 2024
Latin America (Virtual) Apr 6-7, 2024
Dubai Apr 27, 2024
*ISS hosts fewer in-person job fairs, so each one will have schools from all over the world. Their largest fair is in February every year in a city in the United States. Search Associates hosts 1-2 job fairs per region, so the schools attending these fairs will mostly be from each region. Be sure to check the fair details of whichever agency you are registered with.
If you are someone who isn’t a teacher, but still wants to travel internationally, check out my services to see how I can help you go on the best vacation of your life
