Getting a Job at an International School: The Basics
Disclaimer: I am an American who applied for jobs in the year 2021-2022. Things change rapidly and everyones job searching experience is different. Please take my thoughts and ideas as advice, and like any advice, it is not right for everyone.
I know, the idea of packing up your apartment and hopping on a plane not knowing when you’ll be back can feel either freeing or daunting depending on who you are. But I did it and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m hoping I can share some of the things I learned that helped me get here.
I remember the exact moment I found out about international teaching. I was sitting in a music theory class in college. It was the first day of the course and the professor presented a slide with a bit of information about her life. She briefly mentioned that she taught in Germany for a couple of years and I hyper fixated on that idea for the rest of the lesson. I talked with her after class, asking tons of questions. I eventually met with her numerous times after that because I wanted to know exactly how she did it and how I could too. The thing about international teaching is you have to know someone to navigate the system because it’s not well advertised or explained. Well, now you know me. And hopefully, I can help!
I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, which was always met with skeptical and sometimes snarky replies like “but you could make so much more money doing something else.” I also loved to travel, but couldn’t figure out how to do both until my music theory professor presented me with the perfect solution.
In this article I’m going to cover some frequently asked questions including:
Why teach internationally?
I have so many reasons, I wrote an entire article about it. Overall, I have loved the benefits, the resources the school has, the schedule and the experiences.
Where to start?
There are three main job sites for international teaching:
International Schools Services (ISS) EDUrecruit / Schrole
Any of the above sites could land you a job abroad, but they each have different roles in the international world. You may also have different options depending on your teaching experience. There are tons of opportunities to teach in different countries without a formal teaching license. I have friends who got TESL certificates and taught English language instruction or adult classes and they loved their experiences. However, there are many differences between that path and the path I took, so I’m only going to share what I learned through my experience already having a teaching license in the states.
Which website do I sign up for?
For all of these routes you need to have a valid teaching license (with one notable exception being the Search Associates Intern Program).
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) holds a job fair every year and this is a common way for people to get into the world of international teaching. There are no requirements other than having a valid teaching license and this is the only option that is free. However, there is a smaller selection of schools at this fair and some of the schools at the fair are less vetted than those on other platforms.
International Schools Services (ISS) EDUrecruit and Schrole were one platform when I applied, so I don’t know the differences now that they have split up. This was more of a job search resource, but they also put on job fairs throughout the season. This platform required setting up a rather extensive profile and it also cost some money. It didn’t have all of the jobs available, but it did have a good number. This was helpful for my first year of applying, prior to getting on Search Associates because it does not have a minimum requirement of teaching experience. I went to a virtual job fair and interviewed at five schools. However, none of them were the right fit for me or I wasn’t the right fit for them, so I waited another school year before I could get on Search Associates.
Search Associates is the most competitive and most commonly used job search platform. They would not accept me onto their platform until I had two years of full time teaching experience (student teaching excluded). I had to fill out many portfolio questions and lay out my employment and educational history. Once I completed my profile, I had to do an online interview with my associate before I was accepted. Once accepted, I had to pay a rather large fee. Then, I had access to job postings and school contacts. Even with two years of teaching experience and a masters degree in education, I still felt underqualified and it wasn’t easy getting a job.
As mentioned above, Search Associates has an intern program. My friend got into international teaching this way because she had a teaching license, but no classroom experience. She was a teaching assistant in South Korea for two years, then she was hired as a full time homeroom teacher at my school. The benefits and salary of a teaching assistant are lower than a homeroom teacher, but it seems to be a great way to get into the international teaching world.
Who teaches abroad?
I’m currently 27 and moved alone, but my coworkers range from young and single, to being in their 40s and married to other teachers, to in their 30s with young children. When interviewing, ask about the teaching community because some schools recruit more families and others have more young people who are single.
When should I start looking for jobs?
Hiring starts to ramp up in November and fizzles out by the end of February.
Here is how the timeline worked out for me:
- October: I was accepted by Search Associates, but there weren’t a ton of jobs posted yet
- November: hiring started ramping up, especially by the end of the month.
- December: I went to an online fair. After the fair, I was offered a job that I verbally accepted, but I waited all month for a contract.
- January: After a lot of back and forth, they told me the job was no longer available. While I thought I had a position lined up, a good bulk of jobs were being posted and offered throughout the month. January is a big hiring month!
- February: I attended the in-person job fair in London. This fair happens at the very tail-end of the hiring season. By the end of the fair I had signed a contract. By the end of the month, there are limited jobs left.
- March-June: Very few jobs are still available. However, if you don’t have a job there are always unexpected and emergency positions that open up. Because I had a job, I used this time to start my visa process and packed my things.
- July: I moved to Latvia
What country should I go to?
You may have your heart set on a specific country or a specific continent, but keep an open mind. If this is your first time teaching abroad, it is unlikely that you will not get a job in London or Barcelona. There are so many parts of the world that are fun to explore and some areas are more likely to hire non-internationally experienced teachers.
Do some research on different parts of the world: Don’t believe all the things you see on the news. I know people who have taught in stereotypically “dangerous” countries in the Middle East and have loved it. They have shared how safe it is and how enjoyable it is for them. Western media is filled with bias and the United States is especially good at painting with a wide brush. One neighborhood might be unsafe, but the next might be perfectly safe. Trust the people currently living there and do your research.
Do some soul searching on what you really want out of this job: If you’re looking to make a ton of money, most schools in Asia have a low cost of living and a huge salary. Many countries in the Middle East may have a higher cost of living, but also have huge salaries. Some schools in Europe will pay you less than the cost of living, so you will be unable to save money. Do your research and know what you want.
For me, I applied everywhere except South America and China. I excluded South America because I wanted to be across the ocean. This would give me more opportunities to travel to parts of the world I have never been before. I excluded China because people in the international teaching world advised me to. I was told that there are a lot of schools in China and as a new teacher in this space, it can be hard to differentiate between them. Therefore, it’s harder to know you are accepting a contract that will meet your needs. I have colleagues now that worked in both South America and China and had wonderful experiences in both places. Those two locations just didn’t fit my needs and goals at the time.
What to do during an interview?
International school interviews are unique because you have to find out about the school, but unlike other schools, you also need to find out the vibe of the place where the school is located.
I did more than 30 interviews while going through this process so I wrote a whole article on interviewing and what the experience is like, but here are the basics to consider when interviewing.
- Take all the interviews you can! I think this is good practice for many reasons. The international teaching world is small, so this is a great way to network. Even if this school doesn’t give you the job, they could pass your name on to another school. Plus, one of the best ways to get good at interviewing is through practice.
- Don’t judge the school based on pictures online or their vision statement. I went into a lot of interviews feeling unsure, but loving the school post-interview and vise-versa. There is so much valuable information you can learn from the interview process.
- During the interview, ask questions about the school, but also about the country or city where you are interviewing. You will need to like both!
- Remember that the administrators are selling their schools, but they are incentivized to give you an honest assessment of their school because if you were misled and you don’t like it, they just put a lot of energy into someone who is not going to stick around.
- Many schools are not open to hiring first time abroad teachers because they are a liability. What if they move and immediately miss home? Be prepared to answer questions about this. Talk about your support system and why you think teaching abroad will be a good fit for you.
- If you get to a second interview and you are interested in the school, ask to speak to a teacher that is around your age. A non-administrator will give you more honest feedback about the school and what life is like living in the country. This is also the first connection with a teacher that could become a friend.
What’s the deal with job fairs?
I highly recommend attending a job fair. They are like condensed interview days. At the most you can get a job quickly and at the very least, you can network with a bunch of different schools. All three websites I mentioned host job fairs, so you have tons of options. Turns out, I have a lot to say, so I wrote an article about what to do before, during and after a job fair. Check that out if you’re interested!
You have a job offer. Now what?
Getting a job offer can be a huge decision, but unfortunately many schools don’t give you a lot of time to think about it. I wrote an article about what to think about and what to look for in a contract, but overall you should consider three big things:
- Does this school AND location fit your needs?
- Do you notice any red flags?
- What is your gut telling you?
If you see some red flags, walk away. You don’t want to be stuck in a country you’ve never been to at a school that is so disorganized it feels unsafe. On the other hand, not to immediately contradict myself, but, accept a job even if it’s not perfect. A lot of people take somewhat sketchy jobs to get into the international teaching space. Once you get a job and fulfill your first contract, you’re in. It immediately shows you’re up to the task of international school teaching and it will be exponentially easier to move to another international school. Like I said, the world is small and you will immediately make a network of connections once you start this journey.
Before you sign a contract know that once you commit, it is really hard to get out. If you break a contract, you can get blacklisted from the international teaching sites. That does not exclude you from ever getting another job, but it will be harder to do. I say this, not to scare you or put pressure on you, but to let you know all of the information up front, so you can make an informed decision when accepting a job.
Conclusion:
This whole thing can feel daunting, but what helped me the most in the beginning was two things: signing up and talking to people. I had some baseline knowledge of the sites, so I just picked one site and signed up. I started with ISS because I didn’t have enough experience for Search Associates (but if you have two years of teaching, I would recommend Search). Then, I just started familiarizing myself with it all. I looked at jobs and applied to some. Then, I started talking to people. My applications got me some interviews, which I probably bombed, but it gave me a chance to ask questions and learn more about the process. I started talking about what I was doing with friends and family. This led to people telling me about their friends who have taught internationally and I got their contact information. I started talking to those people and learning more. The international teaching world is small once you’re in, but from the outside it looks daunting and complicated. I promise once you get a glimpse of what this world is like, you’ll be hooked and you’ll never want to leave.
This was probably a lot of information, but I’m here to help whenever you need it, so let me know if you have any questions or need more guidance on how to do this. Although it may be complicated at first, to me, it’s worth it.