{"id":747,"date":"2012-05-27T20:31:21","date_gmt":"2012-05-27T20:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=747"},"modified":"2012-10-14T19:44:31","modified_gmt":"2012-10-14T19:44:31","slug":"the-wonderful-world-of-international-school-hiring-fairs-lesson-8-courtesy-is-cool-good-will-is-good-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/the-wonderful-world-of-international-school-hiring-fairs-lesson-8-courtesy-is-cool-good-will-is-good-stuff\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wonderful World of International School Hiring Fairs: Lesson #8 \u2013 \u201cCourtesy is cool, good will is good stuff.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cNine Lessons Learned\u201d taken from The Wonderful World of International School Hiring Fairs<\/a> article by Clay Burell\u2019s blog Beyond School<\/a>.<\/p>\n

8. \u201cCourtesy is cool, good will is good stuff.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhen it came down to thinking I\u2019d be choosing between two very attractive schools, I told one of them how I hoped that saying \u2018no\u2019 this time, if the decision went that way, wouldn\u2019t close the door to a \u2018yes\u2019 next time in years to come. The gentlemanly answer of the man I said this to was so winsome, I don\u2019t know what to say, other than that it made me want to work in this man\u2019s school even more. The answer was no less impressive for its simplicity, which was, simply, \u2018Your saying no to us will offend us no more than we\u2019d want to offend you if we said no to you. It\u2019s the nature of the beast, and we understand that, so no doors will close at all.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

As an international school teacher you definitely don\u2019t want to intentionally close any doors that might lead to other opportunities in the future.\u00a0 I guess what happens at a fair, especially as of late, most international school teachers aren\u2019t getting that many offers at a recruitment fair.\u00a0 The power is still in the hands of the international schools.\u00a0 Not like six years ago when the power was more in the hands of the international school teacher candidate (when we would get multiple offers at a fair).\u00a0 So, when there are few international schools giving you an offer at a recruitment fair, it hurts to do it, but one of the offers (or both offers in some cases) you might have to say \u2018no\u2019 to.\u00a0 It does feel a bit weird to do that.\u00a0 I mean you most likely spent 1-3 interviews with a certain international school at the fair; taking up their (and your) precious time.\u00a0 Certainly you were interested in that position, the benefits and the idea of possibly working at the school.\u00a0 You are told to be open minded at the fair and go to interviews at schools in countries that you thought you would never consider; \u2018they might be diamonds in the rough\u2019 as they say.\u00a0 But, ultimately it is all about timing.\u00a0 Maybe an international school that peaked your interest at the fair is not the right international school for you to work at, at this time in your life.<\/p>\n

I remember interviewing with one international school at a recruitment fair, a school in a country that I wasn\u2019t really considering (though I had heard some good things about it).\u00a0 I had the first interview and they peaked my interest.\u00a0 I actually was trying my hardest to \u2018prove\u2019 that I was the right person for the position vacancy; after all it is nice to be wanted at a recruitment fair\u2026even if it is for a position that might not be the best fit for you.\u00a0 Actually, I didn\u2019t have a second interview with this international school.\u00a0 They waited one day and the next day they put an offer of contract in my folder.\u00a0 I contacted them and set up a time to meet and discuss the contract details (and a little more discussion about the position).\u00a0 I honestly didn\u2019t know what my answer was going to be (though maybe deep down I did know).\u00a0 I literally had the pen in my hand and the contract in front of me, but I had to tell them \u2018no.\u2019\u00a0 I am pretty sure I used the words \u2018I just don\u2019t think it is the best fit for me at this point in my life.\u2019\u00a0 At this fair, I actually only had one offer too, so I was saying \u2018no\u2019 to all my opportunities to accept another job for the following school year at this fair.\u00a0 My plan was to just stay for another year in my current position.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I burned any bridges though with this school; no doors were closed.\u00a0 I actually interviewed with another international school later in May and took that job instead, a school that was a better fit for me at that time in my life.\u00a0 Later on after moving to my new city and country, I actually bought a ticket to go visit the city that I almost moved to.\u00a0 I wanted to go visit that city and country for the first time, but I also secretly wanted to see what my life could\u2019ve been like if I would have accepted that one job that was offered to me at the recruitment back in February.\u00a0 I actually really liked the city and the people there, also the architecture.\u00a0 It is possible that I would have very much enjoyed my life in that city, but I\u2019m glad that I decided to decline that offer to live there.\u00a0 I would have accepted that job, then I wouldn\u2019t be where I am now\u2026which is the city of my dreams to live in.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At recruitment fairs, you do need to think on the spot and make quick decisions.\u00a0 International schools also have to make rather quick decisions as well.\u00a0 I like when Clay Burrel wrote when he said that he also doesn\u2019t want to offend teachers that he has to say \u2018no\u2019 to.\u00a0 It is indeed a two-way street; we are both looking for the right fit at that specific moment in time.\u00a0 If they treat a candidate poorly, that candidate will for sure not want to interview with that school in the future.\u00a0 Additionally, that person will spread the word of that international school\u2019s behavior at recruitment fairs.\u00a0 When the word gets around, the other potential candidates might just might also pass on interviewing with that international school.<\/p>\n

I guess the key idea is that both international schools and yourself should just act with respect and cordiality at all times at the recruitment fairs and everything should be just fine with no doors being closed on anybody.<\/p>\n

There are over 4850 submitted information and comments about over 1209 international schools around the world on International School Community<\/a>. \u00a0Each international school has its own profile page, and on each school profile page there are four sections: School, Benefits, City and Travel. \u00a0Members of internationalschoolcommunity.com<\/a> are able to read about and submit their own comments and information in those four sections, all in a very easy to read and organized manner. \u00a0It is a great way to get a better glimpse into what could be your future life as you venture out into the world to work at your next international school! It is also a great resource at your disposal as you interview with different international schools when job hunting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNine Lessons Learned\u201d taken from The Wonderful World of International School Hiring Fairs article by Clay Burell\u2019s blog Beyond School. 8. \u201cCourtesy is cool, good will is good stuff.\u201d \u201cWhen it came down to thinking I\u2019d be choosing between two very attractive schools, I told one of them how I hoped that saying \u2018no\u2019 this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[61,236,457,1029,28,29,30,272,184,58,81,64,1030,151,65,60,1031,1032],"class_list":["post-747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-lessons-learned-regarding-intl-school-hiring-fairs","tag-benefits","tag-benefits-package","tag-comments-and-information","tag-flight-allowance","tag-information","tag-international-school","tag-international-school-community","tag-international-school-recruitment-fair","tag-international-school-teachers","tag-international-teachers","tag-internationalschoolcommunity-com","tag-interviewing","tag-life-at-international-schools","tag-recruiting","tag-recruitment-fair","tag-teaching-abroad","tag-teaching-at-international-school","tag-workload"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2flVT-c3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2566,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/iscommunity-blog-series-highlight-9-lessons-learned-regarding-international-school-hiring-fairs\/","url_meta":{"origin":747,"position":0},"title":"ISCommunity Blog Series Highlight: 9 Lessons Learned Regarding International School Hiring Fairs","author":"ISCommunity","date":"January 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"January: RECRUITMENT FAIR SEASON STARTS! \u2022 Stressing out about the upcoming international school recruitment fair that you are going to this year? 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