Three days in London has just changed a lot of lives of those in the international school community! This January 19-21, 400 candidates along with representatives from 151 overseas schools gathered for the Search London-January Fair at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel and Conference Centre. In discussion were 1,288 international teaching vacancies. Senior Associate and fair organizer Gez Hayden states,
We anticipate for 2024 exceeding the 2023 London January Job Fair placement rate of 45%, so the historical offer rate of 70% is fully expected to be repeated.
Search London is the perfect job fair for candidates with British and/or International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum experience—and for schools seeking that expertise. This year, recruiters from schools around the world, with 33% from Europe, made excellent appointments. Gez reports that candidates were very engaged in interviews, and several recruiters commented on the high quality of candidates present. His survey revealed that 90% of recruiters rated candidates attending in the range of Good to Excellent. One stated,
I value the face-to-face fairs as they help us gain a more authentic understanding of the candidate and what they can offer the school. Online interviews are good, but face to face interviews are better. It certainly helped us identify candidates that we likely would have screened out without meeting them directly.
To guarantee assistance for everyone at the fair, Search Associates (SEARCH) sent a candidate advisory team of eight Senior Associates; one former international school Head, Peter Round; an IT team; and a general support staff of eight. Fair organizer Gez Hayden said that the advisory team “drew very positive comments from candidates.” One said,
Gez, thank you very much for your support. My advisor, Peter Round has been so helpful. I think you have the best team and take really good care of the teachers. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the SEARCH community.
The Millennium Gloucester Hotel and Conference Centre in central London, easily accessible from public transport, is convenient for travelers from near and far. Fair participants make excellent use of its spacious facilities for conference functions, such as quiet rooms and lounges for candidates and recruiters; large spaces for interview booths; and refreshment areas.
Search London Fair was very excited to partner for the first time with Search Associates’ Consultancy Division (CSD). Senior Consultant Jeremy Lewis presented workshops called “Aspiring School Leaders” and “International School Governance. Jeremy also held both prescheduled and impromptu, individual meetings with recruiters and candidates interested to learn about Search CSD and the ways we can not only help schools to recruit and retain high quality international school leaders but also individuals who want career development coaching.
Another special presence this year was Pechersk School International (PSI) of Kyiv, represented by Principal David Tichgelaar and Director Trae Holland. Following evacuation from Kiev and the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the school was housed at American School or Warsaw until August 2023, when PSI returned to its Kyiv home. David and Trae shared their school’s courageous experience, speaking both to candidates and to recruiters about their strong stand for peace, mutual respect, and resilience, through international education for a better, more peaceful world.
Teaching couple Ernesto Gomez and Mariana Franco shared details about their “extraordinary experience” at the London Fair:
Being our first-ever International Teaching Job Fair, we secured 13 interviews with follow-ups, resulting in two offers and five other schools expressing strong interest in…us. We are delighted to share that our top choice, ISA Wuhan, is the one we have decided to join…We want to express our sincere gratitude for your guidance throughout this process; it has been an incredible success story for us as Latin American teachers participating in one of the most important job fairs in the circuit.
For more about Search Associates’ 13 job fairs held annually around the world, including the London-March fair, click here.
