Information for Members

ISC’s Job Vacancy Feature Update: Find the Job of your Dreams!

October 23, 2022

Our Job Vacancies feature (premium membership required) was launched just over two years ago, but its popularity already exceeds all our expectations. With our members submitting these job vacancies, each of their submissions helps another teacher find new and interesting positions at international schools worldwide. Every job vacancy submission helps schools around the globe reach new people who might just be the perfect fit for the position.

We would hereby like to thank the ISC Community for all of their 4900+ submissions (Oct 2022)

Check out this video from our Youtube Channel that highlights our job vacancy page.

Submit the job vacancies you know about today at your international school and earn free premium membership! You get one week of free premium membership for every job vacancy you submit.

Looking at all the submitted job vacancies so far, we would like to share a few statistics that we found.

So far 4916 job vacancies have been submitted in just over three years.

We have designed the job vacancies page to keep all of the submitted job vacancies on one page, even if they have expired.  We wanted our members to see which job positions have shown up for a school over time, and how many times a certain job position has shown up over time as well. For example, maybe if the school has just posted about the job position you are looking for last month, that position probably won’t show up the following month or the following year or two for that matter. Or if the position keeps showing up for a school, one might wonder why they are consistently having that job available each year. The expired job vacancy postings are clearly marked, so it is clear which ones are active or not.

There have been job postings submitted in a number of countries from around the world:

• Singapore
• India
• Indonesia
• China
• Spain
• Japan
• USA
• Hong Kong
• Italy
• UAE
• Turkey
• Uganda
• Thailand
• Malaysia

and many more…

There have also been job postings submitted for a number of school positions:

• EAL Teacher: Around 100
• Science: Around 380
• Maths: Around 400
• History: Around 60
• Classroom Teacher: Around 140
• PE: Around 90
• Business Teacher: Around 80
• Design Teacher: Around 110
• Art Teacher: Around 380
• Principal: Around 130

and many more…

We are so glad that we have added this feature to our website. If you have a good story of how our posted job vacancies led to you getting an interview and eventually an offer, let us know by writing to us via our Contact Us page.

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Information for Members

A Member Spotlights Summary: We have had 35 highlighted members so far!

March 26, 2017

Since we started our website back in February 2011, we have had a total of 35 member spotlight articles highlighted on our blog. Thanks to all 35 members who have participated so far!

Learning more about our fellow international school teachers can be very enlightening, inspiring and also quite interesting!

Who were the 35 members that have been our members spotlights so far you ask?  Well they haven’t all been teachers, some have held other positions either in a school setting or in a field of eduction with also a connection to international schools. Others had prior experience working in international schools. Here is the breakdown of what job titles they have:

International School Teachers: 25
Staff Development Coordinator: 1
International school directors: 4
Curriculum coordinator: 1
Principal: 1
Veteran international school teacher: 1
International School Consultant: 1
Members of an international school board of directors: 1

There are 6 parts to the questionnaire that all member spotlights fill out:

• Tell us about your background.  Where are you from?
• How did you get started in the international teaching community?
• Which international schools have you worked at?  Please share some aspects of the schools that made them unique and fun places in which to work.
• Describe your latest cultural encounter (or reverse cultural encounter) in your current placement, one that put a smile on your face.
• What are some important things that you look for when you are searching for a new position at an international school?
• In exactly five words, how would you describe the international school teaching experience?

It is pretty amazing the amount of experience and useful information that our member spotlights have provided in their answers to these six parts.

So, how did all of our members answer this part of the questionnaire: In exactly 5 words, how would you describe the international school teaching experience?

• Living life full of energy
• Culturally enriching, questioning true internationalism.
• Beautiful, soul satisfying, enriching, enlightening and delightful.
• Eye-opening, educational, humbling, challenging, fulfilling.
• Successfully making a positive difference!
• truly rewarding challenging and capability enhancing.
• Discovery. Rewarding. Engaging. Relationships. Awesome.
• Opportunity for growth, an eye opener.
• Exciting, inspiring, educating, challenging and fulfilling.
• Adventure, culture, education, difference, satisfaction.
• Open-minded, Professional, Dedicated, Discovery, Fun
• Transforming, Exciting, Challenging, Embracing, Engaging
• Make the best of it.
• Challenging, enriching, frustrating, reflective, confirming
• Exciting adventure of a lifetime!
• Fantastic Educational Humbling Expanding Gratifying
• The job of a lifetime.
• Challenging,  invigorating, demanding, breathtaking , fun!
• Hard work, but immensely rewarding.
• Stimulating,  unpredictable,  addictive,  inspiring, challenging.
• Fascinating, exciting, lucrative, wide-ranging and addictive!
• Eye opening, cultural, well paid, opportunity, life changing.
• Exciting, interesting, enlightening, educational and unique.
• 1. Rewarding 2. Different 3. Adventurous 4. Dynamic 5. Unpredictable
• Full of variety, rewarding, challenging.
• Rewarding, eye-opening, fun, flexible, and ADDICTIVE
• The opportunity of a lifetime.
• Lifelong learning at its finest!
• Rejuvenating, Creative, Innovative, Culturally Rich
• The novelty never wears off!
• Exhilarating, Challenging, Adventurous, Broadening, Inspiring
• Enriching, adventurous, challenging, rewarding, limitless.
• Exciting, fun, new friends, challenges!

These 35 members have a wealth of knowledge about working at a number of international schools. Maybe you have worked at an international school that they have worked at as well?!  Here are just a few of the schools that they either currently work at now or have worked at in the past:

• Cebu International School  – 7 Comments
• Xiamen International School (Xiamen, China) – 25 Comments
• Western International School of Shanghai (Shanghai, China) – 222 Comments
• Benjamin Franklin Int’l School (Barcelona, Spain) – 66 Comments
• Universal American School in Dubai (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) – 17 Comments
• Thai-Chinese Int’l School Bangkok – 21 Comments
• American International School in Egypt – 62 Comments
• International School of Tanganyika – 145 Comments
• Mahatma Gandhi International School – 3 Comments
• British Early Years Centre (Bangkok, Thailand) – 10 Comments
• American School Madrid (Madrid, Spain) – 54 Comments
• Frankfurt International School & Wiesbaden (Frankfurt, Germany) – 13 Comments
• Albanian International School (Tirana, Albania) – 19 Comments
• British International School Moscow (Moscow, Russia) – 11 Comments
• Stamford American International School (Singapore, Singapore) – 47 Comments

Thanks again to everyone who has participated in the Member Spotlight feature on our blog so far.

If you are a member of International School Community and would like to be our next member spotlight, contact us here at editor @ internationalschoolcommunity.com.  All highlighted members receive 1 free year of premium access to our website!

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Video Highlight

How to Get an International School Teaching Job (Youtube Video Highlight)

June 11, 2016

We recently ran into this guy who made a video series on how to get an international school teaching job; based on his experiences.

In the first video he talks about what type of qualifications that you need. He also discusses the different types of schools like non-profit and for-profit international schools.

The second video talks about how people go about finding these jobs. One way is to use one of the two big recruitment agencies: ISS and Search Associates.  He also refers to some review websites, though International School Community is unfortunately not mentioned!

In the last video, he discusses the timeline that people must follow to be the most prepared when recruiting. He mentions that the recruitment process really starts in September and can go all the way up to July.

Part 4 of his video series talks about the tips for getting an international school teaching job. One recommendation he mentions is to be flexible when job searching. Another recommendation is to keep an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all the information you are receiving from each school.

If you have a video that you would like highlighted on our blog. Email us here.

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Great Resource

The International School Recruitment Fair Toolkit

January 8, 2016

The recruitment fair season has started!

International School Community is the place to gather information and ease your mind.

Over the past five years, we have amassed a vast array of informative materials for everything to do with recruitment fairs.

The following is a list of all of our materials and statistics to help you stay well-informed:

Hate recruitment fairs, some say they are fun!
Top 10 reasons why attending an international school recruitment fair is super fun!

Think Search and ISS are your only options?
A New Kind of Recruitment Fair for International Schools in Asia

Got multiple job offers to consider?
• Comparing the Schools and Comments
• 12 Tips for Selecting an International School

Think living overseas is easy?
Ten Commandments of Relocating Overseas

Get a glimpse of what your new journey to work will be like.
The Journey to School

Want to stay one step ahead against the other candidates?
9 Lessons Learned Regarding International School Hiring Fairs

The survey says!
• On average, how many interviews do you go to at an international school recruitment fair?
• Which international school recruitment fair have you had the most success at?

Why not get firsthand information from veteran international school teacher blogs?
• Three Job Fairs, Three Jobs: An International Teacher Hiring Saga
• Which international school job fairs do you recommend and the job fair circus!
• Are you ready? The international school recruitment fair season is a few weeks away! (A Search Associates fair experience)

A director who thinks recruitment fairs are a thing of the past.
“From the Principal’s Office” (A principal working in Sudan)

Now if you didn’t get a job after attending an international school recruitment fair, take a look at the results of our recent survey of our members.

Almost 40% of people survey said that they got their last job via Skype interviewing; that is basically double the number of people who got hired at a recruitment fair.

Skype is truly the future of getting a job at international schools!

Good luck recruiting this year, everyone. May you get the job of your dreams! And may the schools find the best fit for the positions they have!

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Member Spotlights

International School Community Member Spotlight #33: Tchialian Hong (A former student at an international school in Greece)

September 1, 2015

Every so often International School Community will highlight one of our members in our Member Spotlight feature.  This month we interviewed Tchialian Hong:

Tell us about your background.  Where are you from?

I was born to a Greek mother and a Chinese father. Greece and China: Two cultures both with ancient civilizations dating back, since today, at least 2,000 years.    

Which international schools have you attended?  Please share some aspects of the schools that made them unique and fun places in which to attend.

As a boy, I went to a Chinese primary school-which was in Malaysia, and later an international school in Athens, Greece. By the age of 16, I was fluent in Mandarin (standard Chinese language: Also known as: pu tong hua), Greek, English and Bahasa Malaysian (which is the language that the natives of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia speak). After graduating from high school, I studied at London University. During that time, I spent a lot of time reading other subjects, aside from engineering: thus became well-grounded in Engineering, Medicine, English Literature and Common Law.

I returned to Malaysia after graduating from London University. I had found my time, when I was studying in Tasis Hellenic International School, very productive – much more so than even London University. The student to teacher ratio was very small: very few students per teacher – which means subjects were explained very clearly – compared to local schools in Asian countries such as Malaysia. I found that with such a learning environment, all I had to do was “put in the hours” or rather finish the homework for the day, every day; and would be certain to score high results in my examinations as well as the final grades.

On this note: Another plus for international schools was that the final grades were calculated; not only on examination results, but also on attendance, homework, coursework, and small tests. This means: EVERY ounce of my effort in my studies……COUNTED. It was really encouraging. I scored A’s for all subjects: including Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, History, English Language, English Literature, Mathematics and Computer Programming. Later, when I studied at London University, I used my studies-foundation at the international school to expand on my knowledge.

I also learnt how to teach: I was offered a camp counsellor’s position in Camp Vacamas, New Jersey, U.S.A. In the beginning, all the campers yawned at me, but not at other counsellors. I later learnt, in subsequent teaching stints, in Malaysia: where I taught Chinese children, Indian children AND the local native children from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar: that “yawning” was a sign that I was very explicit in explaining lessons, and very specific: The children were actually realizing concepts, learning material which I was teaching. Today, I chat with children more than teach-much like international school teachers did when I was a teenager. You see, aside from school material, children want to know politics, philosophy-especially philosophy. Philosophy shapes souls. Empowers it.

Describe your latest cultural encounter (or reverse cultural encounter) in your current placement, one that put a smile on your face.

Cultural shock: Asian kids do not behave like European kids. They can be very nasty, as in: disrespect, crude. If you admonish them, even verbally, their parents threaten you. Most of them leave school and get pregnant before they are of-age. The secret is: sometimes a teacher in Asia has to act like he is not smart. And say: God Bless-Asians are very superstitious.

What makes some international schools unique and special?

International Schools are special because of the philosophy and the politics: At least the one I went to – Tasis Hellenic International School. Ideas and principles are raised from “the four corners of the Earth.” There are students from the four corners of the Earth, that’s why it is called an international school. ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is discussed. Advice is sought, until, like a sword that is tempered by repeated hammering, heating and cooling, A FOUNDATION IS ESTABLISHED! 

In exactly 5 words, how would you describe the international school teaching experience?

Diverse, empowering, encouraging, defining, happy. (God bless everybody!)

Thanks Tchialian Hong!

If you are a member of International School Community and would like to be our next member spotlight, contact us here.  If we choose to highlight you, you will get a coupon code to receive 1 year free of premium access to our website!

Want to work for an international school and teach in Greece or Cyprus?  Currently, we have 8 international schools listed in both Greece and Cyprus on International School Community. Here are a few that have had comments and information submitted on their profiles:

• American International School of Cyprus (17 comments)
• International School of Paphos (51 comments)
• American Community Schools Athens (3 comments)

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