ITP - 46: ISS Job Fair Washington DC Special

Greg: I think you should start us off. We have fun talking. We haven't done a podcast like this.

Kent: You know what—we haven’t done this like a living room setup before. We're not on anything formal, we’re just talking straight into the heads of the ITP crowd. We're being straight with you.

Greg: I love it. Or do I get to start this time? You've been starting us off lately.

Kent: We get to talk firsthand with Greg, the single guy, about recruiting. He recently went to the ISS fair in Washington, D.C., and he's here in the cat guy’s living room telling us all about it. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to turn this over to Greg, the single guy.

Greg: First of all, Kent, it’s great to be here in your apartment. I’d like to share some of my experiences from the ISS fair—not the Search fair. My mistake there.

This is one of the big fairs in the States. I was in Washington, D.C., and it was the first time they’ve held it there. Usually, ISS rotates—Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco—but this was the first Washington, D.C. fair and, more importantly, the first face-to-face fair after COVID. They didn’t even run Bangkok in person this year.

Kent: Wow, that’s amazing. Did they do a West Coast fair?

Greg: No, they didn’t. I think there may have been an Atlanta fair, but I didn’t hear much about it. Some people said it happened, others said it didn’t.

Kent: So are fairs coming back, or will they stay virtual?

Greg: I think they’re coming back face-to-face, but with a hybrid element. Even at this fair, I was doing in-person and video interviews.

Also, this followed the UNI fair the weekend before, and there was an ISS leadership conference in between. So recruiters could attend UNI, stay for the conference, then roll straight into this fair.

Kent: For listeners who haven’t done this, what did you have to do to prepare?

Greg: Good question. The last fair I attended was seven years ago, so I had to get back into it. Back in October, I told my superintendent I was planning to attend. I wanted to be transparent, so I told all my supervisors—tech director, principal, head of school.

They actually gave me strong support and references. My tech director even joked they’d give me bad references to keep me.

Going into this fair, it was different. I have job security and love my current role, so I wasn’t desperate. I just wanted to explore options and see my value.

I had to rejoin ISS, update my profile, update my resume, and refresh my references. I made sure my current references were at the top and confirmed their availability before the fair.

Kent: Are references confidential?

Greg: Yes, but I usually ask for a copy since I have good relationships. I also made sure they were ready for calls—schools do call before the fair.

Kent: That’s important—people need to know that happens.

Greg: Absolutely. Schools call before and during the fair, so your references need to be ready.

Also, a lot of hiring happens before the fair now. The fair is often just the final step.

Kent: Did you bring a suit?

Greg: Of course. I got everything cleaned at the hotel—wrinkled suits after travel are part of the process. Veterans also steam clothes in the shower to save money.

Kent: So what did the fair look like this year?

Greg: Completely different. Normally you’d see 600 to 900 candidates. This time—maybe 200. It was shocking.

There were hundreds of unused name tags. People registered but didn’t show up.

Kent: That’s wild.

Greg: It really was. A small group of us bonded quickly—mostly teachers new to international teaching. They had lots of questions about how the fair works.

The biggest change? No paper. Everything is done through an app now. No mailboxes, no paper resumes, no notes. I didn’t hand out a single resume.

Kent: That’s a big shift.

Greg: Massive. It’s the future of job fairs.

Greg: On the school side, not all schools showed up either. Maybe 50 attended out of around 65 expected. Some likely filled positions beforehand.

That’s tough if it’s your top school—you’ve already invested time and money. You have to adapt quickly.

You also have to stay open-minded. I had to look up countries like Moldova. It forces you to expand your thinking.

Kent: Were jobs being offered?

Greg: Yes. One candidate I met, Aura, had already secured her job before the fair. She handled it perfectly—quietly celebrating without drawing attention.

That’s important. You don’t want to celebrate loudly when others are still waiting.

Greg: As for me, I had about 10 first interviews—Marrakesh, BASIS, QSI, and others. One interesting one was an ISS online school pilot.

I spoke with them multiple times, but it wasn’t a fit. It paid about $40K, taxed, no housing, no benefits. That’s not why I do international teaching.

Kent: That’s fair.

Greg: Another surprise—very few tech jobs. My resume is heavily tech-focused, but there just weren’t many positions.

It made me question things—am I too specialized? Too experienced? Or just bad timing?

Greg: Salary also came up. One recruiter immediately said they couldn’t match my current salary. I told them I wasn’t expecting that—I’m looking for balance.

Kent: What about age?

Greg: That’s another factor. Visa restrictions matter. Some countries cut off at 55 or 60. So even if you’re 53, schools may hesitate.

I met others in my age group. Some got offers, some didn’t. One teaching couple turned down offers because they weren’t right for them.

Greg: There were some great personalities too. One guy brought a puppet he uses in teaching. Total character.

Greg: In the end, I decided to stay where I am. I love my job, the package is strong, and I’ve built something meaningful.

I turned down offers but left on good terms. That’s important.

Greg: One standout was Marrakesh—the head of school was fantastic. We talked for over an hour even after I declined.

Greg: QSI also impressed me. They had a structured system—only interviewing candidates for specific openings. Very efficient.

Greg: One key takeaway—your world gets smaller at these fairs. Connections matter.

Greg: I’ll end with the online school story. I asked where I’d live, and they said anywhere. No housing, no support. That’s not the international experience I’m looking for.

Greg: So overall, it was a great fair. Not the right move for me, but a valuable experience.

Kent: Sounds like a win.

Greg: It was.

Kent: And I get to keep the single guy around.

Greg: It’s more of a bromance.

Kent: Let’s hear the customs story.

Greg: I flew into Dulles after a long trip—Dubai connection, then 14 hours. On the plane, BBC reported customs system failure.

We landed with multiple international flights. Only four agents were working out of around 50 stations.

We waited three hours after a 14-hour flight. When I got to the front, they just stamped my passport—no questions.

It was one of the worst customs experiences I’ve had.

Greg: This episode was more of a report than a typical interview, but I hope it was helpful.

If you’re thinking about a job fair—go. It’s still one of the best ways to get hired.

Next year should be back to normal numbers.

Kent: Maybe we’ll both be at a fair again someday.

Greg: Maybe—but for now, I’m staying put.

Kent: Thanks for sharing everything.

Greg: Thanks for having me.

Kent: We’ll see you next episode.

Greg: See you next episode.