Senior Associate Gary MacPhie and Executive Assistant Barbara MacPhie kicked off the teacher recruiting season for 2018-19 school year with the Toronto Search Fair. Recruiters from 30 schools met with 50 candidates to discuss 291 vacancies at the intimate and professional event. Plenty of support was provided by Senior Associates Ray Sparks and Bob Barlas, along with their Executive Assistants, Mary Sparks and Nancy Barlas. One candidate, David Brian, commented:
“Barb and Gary were wonderful hosts and organizers with a very adequate team to support all of our needs. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending the fair to other North American-based teachers. This is a great opportunity to meet potential employers early in the recruiting season. A well-run, tightly-focused, yet friendly, recruitment fair in an exciting city!”
Gary and Barbara were thrilled with the mix of candidates: seasoned international educators, experienced teaching couples looking for their first overseas posting, and young fresh graduates looking to launch their international teaching careers. Candidate Joshua Culbreath reflected on his Search Toronto 2017 experience:
“The most important thing to me was that I felt like I received a crash course in interviewing that will carry me through the rest my life.”
Recruiters came from schools ranging in size from diverse geographic regions: South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Recruiters Bob Darwish from Alcanta International College, Guangzhou and Mark Lewis from the International School of Ho Chi Minh City American Academy, respectfully, were complimentary:
"A well-organized fair, a good range of candidates and awesome staff. I have never returned disappointed."
“The quality of the candidates attending this fair should be enough to put it on every Head of School's recruiting calendar.”
Candidates were invited to three beneficial workshops. “Why IB makes you more competitive in the international teaching community” was presented by Jocelyn Wiley, a Search Associates candidate and IB examiner/teacher, who just got hired by the Anglo-American School of Sofia for August 2018; “Canadian Taxes – what you need to know before you go overseas” was given by Sponsor Arun Nagratha of Trowbridge Professional Corporation; and “How to avoid the pension shortfall” was delivered by Sponsor Nick Chilver of Renaissance Medical Benefits. Satisfied candidates commented on Search Toronto’s exit survey:
“This was the first fair that I have attended, and I was highly impressed by the professionalism, the support, and the quality of the schools represented at Search Toronto.”
“As a person trying to break into the international school scene with a lot of education experience, the fair was very helpful and gave me a face-to-face opportunity to leverage my strengths that paper qualifications just can't match.”
While Gary and Barbara know the Toronto Search Fair’s intimate size allows for good personal connection and great networking opportunities, they plan to grow the fair year by year. Some of their marketing plans include attending numerous teacher workshops, connecting with various public and private school boards, and participating in university career days. Gary says,
“We hope that with a larger candidate base, we will also be able to attract more schools to participate in the Toronto Search Fair.”
For more about Search Associates’ 12 unique annual job fairs held around the world, click here.
