interesting

particularly interesting to me is the idea of being a certified married teaching team. and the fact that getting hired over 60 can be difficult. but not impossible i'm sure. very, very interesting. hmmm.

University of Northern Iowa Overseas Placement Service for Educators

UNI is one of the oldest of the organizations that hold international recruiting fairs. They held their first fair in 1976. UNI is one of the smaller organizations that recruit international teachers, but as they are university-based, they are an excellent resource for American teachers.

They have an extensive website that is filled with information including the history of overseas teaching (according to the website, it all began in 1888 with the establishment of an American school in Mexico).

In order to attend the Iowa fair you need to be a certified teacher. While their website notes that most schools want teachers with at least two years of experience, 65% of the new teachers who attended the last UNI fair received international teaching positions. One of the key traits that schools look for in new teachers is flexibility and a strong academic background. New teachers who hold teaching credentials in a high demand area such as high school math or science have a good chance of getting an overseas position.

UNI conducted a survey of recruiters about what qualities they looked for in teachers and this is what you should have if you want to succeed in the overseas teaching field:

• Flexibility
• Resilience
• Adaptability
• Sense of Humor
• Risk taker
• Creativity
• Team Player
• Love of teaching and young people
• A complete command of your subject area and teaching methodologies
• Strong organizational skills
• A commitment to professional development and communication skills

The University of Northern Iowa holds its recruitment fair each February and has served over 23,000 educators in the past thirty years. It is a non-profit, university-based organization. Each year over 120 schools attend the fair looking for teachers.

In order to attend a fair you need to register with UNI. This involves ordering a registration packet which you can do from UNI’s website. After you receive your packet, you can begin the registration process online. Once you have completed this step and received confirmation that you are registered you can access your personal portal, a list of schools registered for the fair, vacancies for the coming academic year, the UNI Overseas Placement Matters Newsletter, and additional resources.

Candidates who are single with no dependents or part of a certified married teaching team have the best chances of landing jobs at the fairs. Over 95% of UNI successful candidates met this profile. UNI also notes that due to visa restrictions, many schools cannot hire teachers over the age of 60. They request that if you are over 60, you contact them before begin the registration process.

Good luck with the job hunting.