Get a High Paying Teaching Job at an International School: The 6 Things you Need to do
It was the best career move I made, getting a job at an international school. It’s easy to be complacent after several years living the life that, not too long ago, I only dreamed of, so I try to remind myself of my own journey.
It wasn’t easy. It took months of working out the landscapes of the international school systems, applying for jobs, improving my qualifications, and making myself more employable. To make things worse I’d just come out of a long relationship, moved back in with my parents, and still didn’t have a permanent, full time teaching job.
Fast forward six years. I’m now writing from a comfortable position in middle leadership, teaching a 4-day work week, and sharing my experiences online. But how did I get here? It took a lot of trial and error, research, networking, and failed interviews, but I’ll get those gory details soon.
I wish I had someone to guide me along the way, or share at least some of these secrets to get a high paying teaching job at an international school. It took me a year to figure out all the tips and secrets in this article and land a job that I was excited to accept. I hope this finds and helps someone who, like me seven years ago, was desperate for a change and keen for adventure.
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re already looking to move your teaching career international or at least interested in the benefits of working away from home at an international school. They can pay very well, facilitate career advancement, and make travel a breeze.
Like anything, of course, there are some downsides, but for me at least, it has enhanced my career, allowed me to travel extensively, and has brought me together with my tribe of people. Not to mention, I’ve saved some money along the way!
Before we get started, I’d like to go make a couple of caveats before you read too much further:
These tips are geared more towards already, or soon to be, qualified school teachers. For more information on how to get a good job as an international TEFL or TESOL English teacher, please read my article on the subject.
Another is that most international schools (and I stress most here) want candidates to have at least two years experience in their home countries before they offer them a job teaching internationally. There are a few ways to get around this, and I know teachers who have been employed in international schools with less experience, but if you’re fresh out of college you will have more of a challenge, or a wait, ahead of you.
1. Be all about differentiation.
This will likely be a major focus of any job interview in your home country, but for international schools it’s even bigger. If you can’t cohesively explain what it means for you and provide examples of how you execute it, your interview may not go much further.
This is because international schools have a very disparate student cohort at all times. There will likely be equal mixes of students from a huge range of countries, all with greatly varying schooling experience, religious, and cultural values. Many families will have just moved to the country and still be trying to figure out at what level to place their children, and get used to the new system.
If your current employer doesn’t offer comprehensive professional development in differentiation, it would be worth taking a short course that will enhance your pedagogy. These not only make you a better teacher, but showing initiative for your own professional development is a very attractive quality to schools and recruiters.
2. Become a creator on LinkedIn.
And I don’t just mean fill out your bio, you need to get involved. Quality international schools are not just looking for someone with the qualifications, they want someone who is active in their field of expertise and could even play a role in raising the status of the school or adding to professional development.
This means writing, or at least sharing, the odd article to your peers on appropriate LinkedIn groups, actively participating in discussions, and actively reaching out to other educators to form a learning community. Turn on creator mode and write; you can write about something in your field that you’re passionate about, or simply share your experience teaching in certain conditions.
Going further, signing up with LinkedIn Learning courses will get you a month of free premium membership, in addition to the free month of courses. With this, your profile will be more visible, and you’ll have more tools to navigate the international school job landscape. You can cancel the subscription once you’ve found a job or, if you’re like me, continue to enjoy the benefits of being able to network and share more effectively.
These days LinedIn is a must have for aspirational international teachers, and potential employers will look at your profile. Within a couple of weeks of being more active on LinkedIn, I had recruiters and schools literally reaching out to me to interview.
Also, LinkedIn is where you’ll make contact with a lot of recruiters, bringing me to my next tip:
3. Talk to Recruiters.
As I just mentioned, this would be as easy as reaching out on Linked in, but there will likely be several companies based in your country that will specialize in teachers with your kind of background.
Keep in mind that, just as with the various international school systems, keeping an open mind will broaden your possibilities. Therefore, don’t limit yourself with a local recruiter. There are many out there that specialize in different regions and different types of curriculum, and your perfect job could be somewhere you had never considered. Recruiters will generally specialize in an region, for example, Asia or the Middle East, so it’s worth making contact with a few from different
4. Go to TES.com start applying
Start applying for jobs BUT be sure to do your research. Because international schools generally advertise internationally (duh), they receive a LOT of applications. From experience I can tell you that your resume won’t even make it to the desk of a head of school if you haven’t addressed the selection criteria.
I applied for approximately 70-80 positions before I found a good fit. Looking back, I could have saved myself the time I spent applying for jobs that I could now easily see were not a good fit.
There were a few positions offered to me that, when I started to look into the school more to find out if I wanted to work there, I discovered some aspects that didn’t really align with my expectations and I had to turn the job down. At the same time, I was applying for jobs that were way out of my reach in terms of where my career was a the time. While I’m all for aiming for the stars, I could have been focussing on applications for better suited roles.
5. Get familiar with the various curriculums.
British Curriculum, IB/MYP/EYP, GC, American, Australian. Chances are you already have experience in one of these systems/curriculums, but there could also be a perfect, or higher paying, job for you in another. Do your research on each, especially in relation to your specialty, and be ready to talk about it.
Most of the higher paying international schools are those which offer IB) International Baccalaureate Programs) or British Curriculum, but that’s not to say that you won’t get a better offer from a school of the lesser known systems, it happened to me!
Depending on the country in which you’re already a qualified teacher, you may be able to simply complete an online application to the UK government to receive your QTS that many British International Schools require. Many British schools will want you to have experience in the British National Curriculum, but this will be up to the discretion of the schools themselves. There are online courses available that, while not the same as experience, will demonstrate that you are more than familiar with the curriculum structure and standards
For IB curriculum schools (including MYP and PYP), the certification course is a bit more lengthy. Eight months in one of their recognised programs of study will earn you a certificate, which will enable you to apply with IBO directly to gain accreditation.
6. Get your qualifications in order and certified.
Because teachers at international schools recruit from a range of different countries it can be difficult for schools to verify qualifications and accreditations. Most schools will want your degrees, academic transcripts, accreditations, and background checks all verified before a contract is finalized.
This means that you’ll need to get official documents from your university/accreditation body and have them authenticated by a notary, or other equivalent signatory in your home country. It’s worth making several copies and having these authenticated as some schools will want a physical copy.
In my experience, this was one of the lengthiest and frustrating processes, having to bounce around between institutions, notaries, and police stations. If you’re having to do this while trying to pack up your life and move to another country, it will only add to the stress!
Bonus tip:
Get a TEFL/TESOL Certificate anyway. I say “anyway” here because the truth of the matter is that, if you’re a qualified school teacher and native English speaker, you do not need a TEFL qualification to work at an international school. However, many international schools (or ALL, depending on the location) will have a majority cohort of students who speak English as a second language and therefore require more structured instruction.
So, if, for example, you’re an art or math teacher, the fact that you have a TEFL qualification tells employers that you’re well-prepared to teach their English as second language students (and this could be close to 100% of the cohort, as is the case at my school). This could be particularly helpful if you are one of the newly qualified teachers with less than 2 years experience that many international schools require. It shows you have an idea of the challenges of international teaching.
A warning here, the online TEFL/TESOL world is littered with poor quality schools and straight up scams. Make sure you choose a course that is accredited, otherwise you might find yourself putting in more than hundred hours of study for nothing!
Be Consistent and don’t be disheartened
When I first started applying for teaching positions at International Schools it didn’t take long for me to get disheartened. Even after 20 applications, I didn’t even have a request for an interview. Part of that was the fact that I didn’t know then what I now know, and part of that was just the fact that sometimes it takes patience and persistence.
In my discussions with HR representatives since working internationally, I’ve found out just how many applications they receive for each position (hint: it’s a lot!) There is a reason why International School jobs are highly sought after; they pay well, they have good benefits, and the facilitate travel.
In this world of international business and easy travel international schools are only going to become more popular. Each year dozens of new schools are opening their doors and they are looking for quality teachers to help them with the process. Taking the leap can be daunting, but in my experience it is one that you’ll never regret.
For more tips, stories, and recommendations, please subscribe to our international teachers newsletter. If you’re an international teacher with a story to share, we’d love to hear from you!