📝Welcome to the International School Hiring Season

The international school hiring season is kicking into full gear. Are you ready?

Being prepared for a major undertaking like a job search is organizing each aspect of the recruitment process. Yet, to supercharge your success, whether as a candidate or a recruiter, you must also understand what the other side of the hiring process needs to hear and experience from you.

Therefore, I address this article to both parties involved in school hiring: the candidate and the recruitment leader. Whatever side we’re on, I believe that we have a comprehensive approach to the hiring cycle when each side recognizes what the other side needs and experiences during the international school hiring season.

I have written two books about both sides of the equation in my School Jobs Mastery Series.

• Teach or Lead Abroad:  Easily Find Your Dream Job in International Schools (2021)
• The GIFT Hiring Method:  You Can Confidently Recruit Quality School Staff (January 2025)

School Recruitment Leader

Success in recruitment depends on how its leaders organize the school’s hiring cycle, which involves many steps.

• Choosing the best recruitment resources to identify candidates
• Training the school’s recruitment leaders about your school’s recruiting processes
• Adopting standard communication procedures both among the hiring team and with candidates
• Regularly reviewing the school’s hiring processes to ensure each part is operating efficiently.

Effective practice also involves setting aside your recruiter hat for a moment to consider the candidate’s experience with your school. The main question is, what does the candidate need from you?

For example, does your school provide answers to essential questions in your hiring process about things you know that most candidates will want to know about?  One place to start is to think about the common questions candidates usually have for your school.  Do you have steps in your hiring process to address those questions, and do you train the hiring staff about a standardized response to those questions?

Are the steps of your hiring process organized and clear so that every member of the hiring team knows their role?  Does every candidate know where they are in your school’s hiring cycle?

Does your school’s hiring process identify vital questions that help you locate candidates who are the best fit for your school?  Have you identified how to address critical areas of concern that come up during the entire candidate review process?

My upcoming book (available in January 2025), The GIFT Hiring Method, addresses these processes.

Candidates

As a candidate, your success depends on organizing each stage of your hiring process.

Successful candidates prepare for each stage.

• Document collection
• Applying for positions and interviews
• Making the final decision

To supercharge the effectiveness of your efforts, you can think like a recruitment leader to recognize what they are looking for in candidates they want to hire.  When you see the hiring process from the recruiter’s eyes, it helps you adapt your resume, cover letter, and interview to ensure your candidacy meets their needs.  Three previous editions of this newsletter addressed that topic in September.  Each of those topics has helped prepare you for the peak months of the hiring cycle.

You should ask yourself, what does the recruiter need from me as the candidate?  Maybe a job description lists some clues, but there may be other signs as well.  For example, what does the school’s website say about the school’s core values?  What kind of promotional articles has the school produced, and what does that say about what the school holds most important in their work?  Are there clues in the school’s communication to you about what they expect?

In the interview, what does the recruiter look for?  What do they see when they look at your application materials?  If they are interviewing you online, how do you present yourself?  What background do they see in your camera image?

Something to Think About

Ultimately, when it comes down to making a final decision, your whole process should have been organized to lead you to this moment.  A short window is all you should need to say yes or no.  Have you asked the candidate/recruiter all you need to know?  Are you convinced?  They want you, but is it for the right reasons?  Are they looking for the best-fit candidate/job, or are they just filling a spot quickly?  Asking the question of why they are looking at you and what they are looking for can help determine if it’s a good fit.

True story.  I once had an interview where the recruiter offered me a job in the first five minutes of our conversation.  Really?  I was in the opening years of my career, but I couldn’t imagine what kind of school would hire someone based on 300 seconds of an interview.  I didn’t accept the offer to find out.

Remember that, ultimately, whether you are a candidate or a recruiter, the key is to prioritize finding the right fit rather than just filling a job.

You can do it!

How can I help you?

Copyright 2024 by Kelley Ridings

There are five ways I can help you prepare for your international school job search.

1. Contact me through LinkedIn for a FREE initial consultation to learn about the online classes and coaching I offer through EduNetPro Consulting about school job searches and designing school recruitment systems.
2. My book, Teach or Lead Abroad: Easily Find Your Dream Job in International Schools, is available on Amazon or Audible.
3. My new book, The GIFT Hiring Method: You Can Confidently Recruit Quality School Staff, will be released in January 2025 on Amazon and Audible.
4. Subscribe above to this FREE newsletter.
5. Follow my LinkedIn profile to learn more about international school job search insights and life as a global educator.