ITP - 063: Recruiting Season and Landing Jobs

Greg: Welcome to the International Teacher Podcast with your host, Matt the Family Guy, Kent the Cat Guy, and me, Greg the Single Guy. We are recording episodes from around the globe to tell you about the best kept secret in education. That's right, it's teaching overseas. We're glad to have you join us.

Greg: Welcome to another episode of the International Teacher Podcast. Kent is right here with me. We're not sure where Matt is right now. Kent, how are you doing tonight?

Kent: I'm great. I'm still warming up my vocal cords. La la la la la la.

Greg: Please don't say me me me.

Kent: No, I'm still getting ready. I'm doing great. How are you doing tonight, the Single Guy?

Greg: I am doing fantastic. I'm having a fantastic time tonight. And guess what, Kent? Who's with us from Mexico?

Kent: You know what? I couldn't be more excited. Do I look excited? Because I am excited. Because on the air with us—do you know who's on the air with us?

Greg: On the air with us is none other than JP Mint. Everyone give it up for JP Mint.

JP: Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm super excited to be here tonight.

Kent: And you're not just our guest, are you, Greg? Is she just our guest tonight?

Greg: Well, I think this is the inaugural episode where she joins our team.

Kent: I accept. I accept joining the ITP family.

Greg: I would bend on anything I needed to to get you on the air with us, JP Mint. I'm so excited. Thank you for joining the team.

JP: I was really excited to hear the initial invitation on another podcast episode. I was walking the streets of my neighborhood in Mexico and listening to Greg being interviewed. Suddenly I heard, “We’re hoping to get another person as a co-host. I don’t know if she’s really interested. She’s quite busy. They’re in Mexico.” And I was thinking, somebody else in Mexico?

Then when he said Jacqueline, I was like, oh my gosh, he’s talking about me.

Greg: I'm so glad we took it to our audience before we took it to you.

JP: And then it was three months ago, so I thought, oh my gosh, I think they changed their mind.

Kent: So walk away.

JP: And it worked because I was listening and immediately reached out. First I posted it on Facebook. I was like, oh my god, I'm going to be on this show that I love to listen to. I hope your listeners enjoy the additional voice and the additional experiences and stories that I’ve collected over the last 20 years.

Greg: So JP, we don’t quite yet have a nickname for you on our show. Greg is the Single Guy, Kent is the Cat Guy, Matt is the Family Guy. But remind our listeners a little bit about JP Mint.

JP: The reason I’m JP Mint is because I’m an international teacher consultant. A year and a half ago I wanted to be JP International Consulting, but it was already taken somewhere in Texas. So I shortened international to Int, and then I thought, my favorite color is green, so mint works.

I’ve been living overseas for over 20 years. I started as a French teacher, and about seven years ago I moved into administration and worked my way up to a principalship here in Mexico.

I loved Mexico so much that I decided to stay and thought, how can I stay without actually teaching or working in a school?

I came up with this idea that teachers need a cheerleader. They need someone to turn to, to ask questions, someone with experience with CVs, cover letters, and interview skills. I couldn’t find anyone like that out there. There are plenty of recruiters. I’m not a recruiter. I’m the step before recruiting.

Greg: You’re the person who gets people ready for the recruiters.

JP: Exactly. You come to me, get everything ready, and then I guide you. You could try this recruiter, that recruiter. Some people even skip recruiters and just use my network.

Greg: I was going to say, having Jacqueline on our team is going to be amazing. She brings teaching experience, admin experience, and now she’s living the life in Mexico after following Andrew Hallam’s advice. We even had him on the show.

Kent: Let’s not forget she’s Canadian, so we get more globalization.

JP: I bring that too.

Greg: I think you’re the perfect choice to have on the show.

JP: I’ll also say I’ve got a number of ideas for guests to bring into the fold. I love the format of the show. I think we don’t want to do this without the three of us, and whenever Matt can join us, that would be a welcome addition. But the three of us being filled with laughter and our own ideas and points of view while interviewing someone, I think that’s the best idea right there.

Greg: I can’t wait to sit back and listen to you two interview somebody else and I’ll just edit it later.

Kent: That would be a great—no, you’re not stepping back. You are a mandatory part of this podcast now.

Greg: Now that you’re part of the team, I can step back. I’m going to go hang out with Matt a little bit and then come back.

JP: I can’t wait. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Greg: My goal is to get Matt on here in the next one or two episodes for sure.

JP: I definitely want Matt back. I miss him so much. Kent is so full of energy, but when you add Matt’s humor and point of view, his questions are even better. Kent’s are better than mine, and yours might be better than all of us. I can’t wait to see that.

Greg: And you’re Canadian, why not?

Kent: I will say this. JP Mint, if you’ve brought one thing to the show already, it’s this idea that we can incorporate video into aspects of our podcast. And the highlight for me is that Greg finally put on a shirt.

Greg: I wore one.

Kent: So thank you so much.

Greg: I’m going to call in all of my episodes from now on. I’m not doing any more of these video online things turned into audio. I’m just going to call in from now on.

JP: Can I just say, not only the shirt is being added, but also with Greg’s help, we have created a Facebook group.

So ITP Expats is now on Facebook. It’s [www.facebook.com/groups/itpexpats](http://www.facebook.com/groups/itpexpats).

The reason I proposed doing this is that I thought our listeners might like a place to ask questions about episodes. Personally, I sometimes wanted a place to share how excited I was about an episode or interview, and I felt like I was kind of alone as a listener.

This is a place for people to say, “Episode 36 was so cool,” or bring back past episodes. It’s a place for us to announce upcoming episodes. It’s also a place for new and veteran teachers to ask questions.

Greg: Kent, she sounds very serious, doesn’t she?

Kent: She does most of the work, and Greg and I—what do we bring to this project?

Greg: Absolutely nothing.

Kent: ITP Expats with an S. Check out the website [www.itpexpats.com](http://www.itpexpats.com).

Greg: If you want to interact with the Cat Guy, Kent will be on the Facebook page.

JP: We’ll happily make you an admin.

We do have a couple of questions to get into the group. The first one is: what continent have you lived on or visited? And the second question is: what is your favorite ITP episode?

Kent: I’m going to say Asia and North America.

Greg: The Americas.

Kent: All right, strike one. I’ll go with Asia for the Arabian Peninsula.

JP: Perfect.

Greg: I love that second question.

Kent: I think episode 60 might have been the back-from-summer episode.

Greg: Yes, I think so.

Kent: I also enjoyed the diversity collective episode, number 55.

Greg: I like all of our episodes.

Kent: I want to give a shout-out to a previous guest, Richard Byrne from Free Tech Tips. He just started law school.

Greg: That’s great.

Greg: But before we go any further, let’s turn to today’s topic. It is recruiting season.

Greg: But before we go any further, let’s turn to today’s topic. It is recruiting season.

Greg: We know that October is the big month for getting ready for job fairs that happen later on. Schools are already posting jobs and looking ahead.

JP: Actually, the season started in August this year. It was crazy. I was still trying to place a few teachers who were looking for positions this fall, and everything was already being listed.

We had to read the fine print carefully—was the position for 2023 or 2024? Typically, administration positions are listed in August and September, but this year I was seeing teaching positions already.

I’m not entirely sure why. It could be student population growth or schools expanding and knowing they’ll need more teachers.

Kent: At this rate, in ten years we’re going to have to start recruiting in sixth grade. If you want to teach at an international school, submit your CV now.

Greg: It’s crazy that it’s already starting in August. I always thought it was October.

JP: The peak season is still October to March. That’s when thousands of job postings go up and job fairs begin.

Greg: The international job fairs that I’m a big fan of.

Kent: I was on my way to my first job fair when I got my job. I canceled and just took it.

Greg: I’ve done that too. I signed up for one in Boston and got a job offer two days before. I didn’t go.

Kent: Let me ask you this. Is there a hot region right now? When I think about recruiting, I think about China, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas.

JP: The top three countries for international teaching are in Asia: China, UAE, and India. Japan is also in the top five. Then just outside Asia is Mexico, which surprised me.

This information comes from ISC Research. Mexico being that high was really interesting.

Greg: That’s good to know.

Kent: If you’re targeting different regions, do you need a different strategy?

JP: Your CV will likely stay the same. I believe in cover letter templates because you’re applying to many jobs. It’s like throwing darts until you hit the bullseye.

If you only apply to one or two schools, you might be disappointed. But if you apply broadly, you’ll get interviews, which lead to networking and eventually offers.

Whether you’re applying to Mexico or the UAE, the process is mostly the same because these are international schools with similar expectations.

Greg: This is the time to get your documents ready.

You need transcripts, recommendations, and everything organized. Some transcripts need to be sealed, and that takes time.

Make sure your CV is updated, your passport is valid, and all your documents are ready.

JP: Yes, passports are critical. In Canada, there was a six-month waiting period because so many people needed renewals after COVID.

Greg: That’s huge.

Kent: Let’s say someone is a newer teacher with only a couple of years of experience. Should they feel discouraged?

JP: Absolutely not. There are schools looking for teachers with all levels of experience.

I’ve had clients with less than two years of experience get hired. And I’ve had clients with 30 years of experience still teaching overseas.

Greg: Let’s play a game. What are the qualities of an ideal international teacher?

Kent: Adaptability.

JP: Correct.

Greg: Being collaborative and positive.

JP: Yes.

Greg: You have to be a certified teacher.

JP: That’s the number one requirement.

Kent: What about visas and requirements?

JP: Some countries require your degree to match your teaching field, like China and the UAE.

Greg: And experience matters too.

JP: Yes, typically two years, but there are exceptions.

Greg: Yes, typically two years, but there are exceptions.

Kent: What about references? How important are they?

JP: Very important. Schools want to hear from your current or recent administrators. Strong, detailed references can make a big difference.

Greg: And timing matters. You don’t want to wait until January to start everything.

JP: Exactly. The earlier you prepare, the better your chances. Have everything ready so when jobs open, you can apply immediately.

Kent: And be ready for interviews.

JP: Yes. Practice your answers, know your philosophy, and be ready to talk about your experience clearly.

Greg: That’s where someone like you comes in—helping people prepare for that step.

JP: That’s exactly what I do.

Greg: This has been awesome. Recruiting season is here, so listeners, get ready.

Kent: Get your CVs polished, your references lined up, and start applying.

Greg: And join the Facebook group if you haven’t already.

JP: Yes, we’d love to see you there.

Greg: Thanks for joining us for this episode of the International Teacher Podcast. We’ll see you next time.

Kent: Take care, everyone.

JP: Bye, everyone.

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