This Year...

After last year's lack of success, I decided I was going to a job fair this year. The problem was figuring out which fair to attend. There are several major jobs fairs held in the U.S., and outside America, each year. As always, Mom and I did tons of research, trying to pick the one we thought would be the best fit. In order to attend a fair, you have to be part of an "association," which then limits the fairs you can attend. Fast forward past the hours of debating and and trying to decide.....I joined Search Associates and attended the San Francisco job fair.

I will talk about the actual job fair, but let me quickly talk about Search Associates and how that whole thing works. Before SA will accept you as a client, you have to supply them with proof that you're legit! They need basic info about your teaching history (transcripts, employment history, etc.), but they also require confidential references. I had to have at least 3 supervisors and 2 parents supply letters. People can have more references...I had 5 supervisors and 3 parents, just in case someone said something dumb! :-) After you prove who you are, you have to pay. Search Associates is $250 but that includes entrance into 1 of their job fairs (if you attend more than one, it's another $50). After they have your $$$, and you are accepted to Search Associates, they "invite" you to a job fair.

Once you're part of SA, you can see the hundreds of schools who are registered with the site. You get "fact sheet" info about the school: what positions they have open, what fair(s) they are attending, how much they pay, what benefits they offer, how many students (and nationalities), how many teachers (and nationalities), etc. They also list contact information for each school, so you can contact directors and principals ahead of time to tell them you're interested. And, while you can contact the school, they can also contact you.

Which is what happened with me. I actually had several schools contact me before the SF job fair. I cannot tell you how exciting and promising this was! After all the nothing from last year, I knew that I would get to San Fran and have at least 1 (probably 2) interviews. I was hopeful! I was even more hopeful when one of the schools called several of my references! I actually thought that I would be offered a job with this school (which shall remain nameless) and I thought that the interview was just a bit of a formality....I was wrong.