International schools come in many different shapes and sizes. There are American schools, British schools, IB schools, Department of Defence schools, privately run schools and non-profit schools, to name a few. One distinction teachers looking for a job overseas should be aware of is that of locally run versus foreign run schools. Being aware of this one difference can ensure that you sign an overseas teaching contract with your eyes wide-open. Locally run schools are more likely to be a cultural shock to teachers from abroad, depending on the culture of the incoming teacher... 

You need to teach overseas! Pick a country, any country, and there will be at least one international school there. International Schools offer private education for expatriate’s children worldwide. And, while most of the parents have to pay school fees, one of the conditions nearly always included in the contracts of international teachers is free education for the teachers’ children. There are over 4000 international schools worldwide, all requiring teachers to staff them, many of them offering excellent quality private education. Picking a school that suits both your... 

There are a number of factors to be considered when you are looking at taking a job at an international school, on the financial side there is: * salary * medical insurance * housing allowance * annual flights On the conditions side there is: * class size * facilities * contact hours * teaching days in a school year Most of these factors can be taken at face value. However, if you like to travel and want your work to pay well as I do, you may be turning down lucrative positions if you take a salary offer at face value and don’t take the cost of living into account. For example,... 

If you have read any of the articles I have written prior to this, you will know I’m a proponent of spreading yourself around in order to secure a teaching position in an international school. This is the approach that I have used successfully and I still believe it is an excellent strategy for kicking off your international teaching career. However, I thought I’d better write an article on strategies for educators who are looking for their second or third overseas teaching position. Those international educators with some overseas work experience under their wing may choose... 

When you consider that there may be 100 schools represented and 400 pre-screened candidates, your chances of securing a teaching position at an international school is high. Additionally, many of the top schools will only consider interviewing candidates who are pre-screened by a recruiting agency. Whether or not you decide to register with a job fair might depend on your ability to get to where one is being held. Job fairs are held at locations worldwide, with a particular concentration in North America and the United Kingdom. Some of the organisations hosting the job fairs... 

When you attend an international teaching job fair you are in a completely manufactured environment. The organisers have brought together a large number of recruiters from international schools and teachers desiring to teach overseas, into what is usually a confined indoor space like a hotel, and the participants’ sole objective is to fill teaching vacancies. In order to make the most of this pressure-cooker-like environment, you need to network. Networking is common place in the business world. Business people meet and exchange business cards, then either keep in touch or... 

There are as many contract conditions as there are international schools, almost. International schools are sometimes caught in a difficult situation. They need to comply with the regulations of the country they are operating in, ensure their conditions and salaries are competitive with other international schools and balance this all with the fact that they have to work within a salary budget. Here are some items to consider when you are thinking about contract conditions for you and your family. * tuition fee for dependent children * housing allowance * medical cover * pension... 

Ever since I wrote my book The Complete Guide to Securing a Job at an International School I’ve been inundated with questions about teaching overseas. I’ve selected the most frequently asked ones to answer for you here… Where can I teach in an international school? How can I find out? There are over 4000 international schools of varying sizes worldwide and all of them need teachers. So the answer to the first question is… just about anywhere! One way you can find out whether there’s an international school where you’d like to work is to ‘Google it’. I simply... 

The internet has one purpose, to share information with people, and it’s a very powerful tool. I’m going to focus on how you can use the information that is available on the internet to secure a teaching position abroad. Searching for Vacancies Firstly you need to identify where you would like to work, and the kind of school in which you want to work. For example, I teach economics and would like to teach in Europe. Once you’ve thought about the geographical area in which you want to work and have made a decision about that, you’ll need to go to a search engine and... 

Police clearance certificates are as important to international teachers as their passports. Why? Without a police clearance certificate many countries will not allow teachers to work with children. The clearance certificate goes by many different names; what you’re looking for is an official document that records any convictions on your criminal record. Regardless of whether you have any convictions or not, you will be required to produce official evidence that your record is clear. If you record is not clear you may still be able to teach abroad, but you will need to find...