Today, I want to discuss the importance of finding the right “fit” with your new school. The person that is interviewing you will be looking to see if you “fit” his/her school, so you should be doing the same thing in your research for a position long before you get to the interview stage. In fact, one of the key reasons to research schools should be to find the ones that fit with you and save yourself a lot of unnecessary interviews.

One of the great things about the internet age is that you can do all your research online. Back when I first started teaching overseas, this wasn’t an option, and I sat through several interviews that showed that there was definitely not a fit for me or for the school. Today you can avoid that if you do your research.

Almost all international schools have websites – some of them are just incredible sources of information, while others are fairly minimal. One of the earliest signs about the school you’re researching is the website – is it updated, is it complete, does it feature student work?

Now that you’ve found the website, look around for information on the location of the school. These are some of the things that you should be asking yourself: Is the school in a city or a rural area? Do you like traffic? Solitude? How hard is it to get in and out of for vacations and leave? What kinds of entertainment or cultural activities are available? What is the culture of the country/city like? What about the climate? Too hot or too cold for you? Does a lot of rain depress you? Do you need to be able to shop a lot?

Here are a few examples of what a fit isn’t. While I was teaching in Pakistan, we had several teachers come to the school who immediately had problems adapting to local cultural customs in terms of dress and behavior and beliefs. They were miserable and they made everyone around them miserable by constantly whining and complaining. One teacher was unhappy enough that she decided after four months that she couldn’t complete the two year contract, and we had to get permission from the Board to let her leave after a year. In this case she wasted her time and money and the school’s time and money. Another example is the teacher who arrived in a remote school on the island of New Guinea. She spent the first few days barricaded in her house because the mining town where the school was located depressed her. The lesson here? Make sure that you are going to be comfortable with the physical and cultural characteristics of the school that you are considering.

OK, now that you know where you might be going, it’s time to take a look at the mission and goals of the school. Can you support them wholeheartedly? If you can’t, you’re better off looking somewhere else. Institutions are slow to change and if your idea is to move to a new school and try to mold it to your idea of what a superior school should be, you may be in for a lot of disappointment and frustration.

Teaching is changing (or should be) as our ideas about what constitutes knowledge and what the nature of the world is changes, i.e., The World if Flat. What’s your take on this? If you’re a teacher who is excited by 21st Century Literacy, Web 2.0, and integrating technology in to your teaching practices and mindset, then you need to make sure that your school is on the same track. Take a look at the IT curriculum and resources. Do they have a strategic plan? What do they say about where the school is or is planning to go?

Here’s another example. I’m reading David Warlick’s 2¢ Worth blog. He’s commenting on a keynote by Stephen Heppell at the Ontario Library Association, and Heppell had asked students what a technology literate teacher should be able to do and they listed these things:

* upload to YouTube

* edit a Wikipedia article

* choose a safe online payments site

* subscribe to a podcast and un subscribe

* turn on and off predictive text

* manage a groups Flickr photos (and spell Flickr!)

* look after a community in Facebook.

Do I think those abilities are important? Yes, definitely, and I’m excited by all the new directions of teaching and learning that some schools are exploring and implementing like the International School of Bangkok, Shanghai American School, and others.

Out of these seven actions mentioned above, four of them are impossible at our school because of the company’s filters. Being restricted by finances and policies from the direction that I want to move in, I decided to retire a year earlier than I had planned. Is this an example of not having a fit? Yes and no. Yes, because the school has been able to offer limited support for what I need to improve our technology program and meet my personal and professional development goals; so my philosophy and goals are only partially in sync with the schools. No, because when I came here, my goals were less encompassing and the school was going to be able to support them. That is, the school and I were going in the same direction. There was a fit. Five years later, the school is just coming around to where I think it should be, but I made my decision to leave last year when the frustrations were making me miserable which was most likely making my colleagues miserable. This is actually an example of a sign of when it’s time to move on.

So far I haven’t mentioned money or benefits. Are they important? Definitely! But, I’ve seen people take jobs mainly because of money, or stay in jobs longer than they should have because of money, and it’s always been a mistake. That said, one of the great things about international teaching is making some money and being able to save it. Some schools don’t like to put their salary schedule online; I’ve never been able to understand why although at my previous school, it was decided not to list our salaries even though they were quite good, and I felt that they would help recruit people. When I started international teaching I took a job for less money than I was making in the States. I did it because of the experience of living in a jungle. I’ve never regretted it. Check to see what currency you will be receiving your salary in. Being given local currency can significantly reduce your spending power when taking a vacation.

Don’t ignore those benefits and just focus on money. Here are some key benefits: What is the retirement pay like? Do they provide housing? What kind is it? Do you have to share? Is there a relocation allowance? What is the sick leave allowance like? You can cash it in in some schools. What about home leave? Is it at the end of the first or second year? Do you get additional travel money for one of your vacations? What about insurance? I’ve had some bad insurance benefits and some great ones. What about tuition for your children? Most schools provide it free, make sure yours does. What about professional development? Do you control it or does the PD committee? Some schools offer cars for free or low cost. Some offer interest free loans to buy one. Does the school offer leave to attend a recruitment fair?

OK. You’ve gone through all this. Hopefully, you have a fit. Relax and get ready for the interview.