At this time of year schools around the world might be thinking of hiring for the coming academic year. As well, teachers may already be starting to apply for teaching jobs.
But this year is different. As countries around the world react to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and teachers find themselves unsure of what’s coming next.
In many cases, schools are unable to predict what student enrollment will look like for the next academic year, and how many teachers they need.
Meanwhile, teachers are unsure whether they will be able to get visas for jobs overseas, and if it is safe to travel for work.
And yet, amidst this, everyone must still prepare for the future. Schools need teachers and teachers need jobs. So where can they begin to find them?
The answer is online teacher recruitment platforms.
Using an online teacher recruitment service can provide an easy option for both school recruiters and teachers. Helping them connect, provide the necessary information, interview and move through the hiring process at a flexible pace.
The truth is hiring teachers remotely and searching for jobs online doesn’t have to be a headache!
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of using an online recruitment platform in more detail:
- Save time and money.
- Search by location.
- Better visibility.
- Tailor the interview process.
- Increase your options.
- Move through the recruitment process at your own pace.
1. Save time and money
Recruiting online can help you simplify your teacher candidate search. Schools can quickly filter through qualified candidates and easily screen them for the next steps of the hiring process.
You’ll spend less time sorting through and reading resumes when you have all the information readily available on one platform.
Similarly, teachers can quickly apply for jobs they qualify for without having to navigate between the different job posting websites or school websites to fill out applications. They can also filter schools based on their preferred locations (more on that in the next section), types of teaching jobs and schools.
And, money-wise. Both parties can save money when the hiring process is done online. Job fairs and in-person interviews are a regular part of teacher recruitment. But since interviews and meetings are being conducted online you’ll reduce travel expenses.
Teacher candidates and their interviewers no longer need to leave home to finalize the hiring process.
2. Search by location.
Around the world borders are closed, flights are largely canceled and visa guidelines are unclear. We don’t know when travel, as we know it, will resume.
As such, many schools and teachers are focusing their recruitment searches where they already live. For example, a teacher that is already abroad teaching in China would be a great prospect for schools in China and vice versa.
For example, Teach Away’s recruitment platform is full of teachers looking for global opportunities, and schools around the world looking to hire them.
For teachers, once you have set up a Teach Away profile it’s easy to update your current location to let recruiters know where in the world you are right now. And, at the moment, doing so is a great way to make your job hunt more successful.
Schools can also easily update their vacancies through Teach Away’s platform to specifically call out to teachers in the same location looking to find opportunities where they live.
3. Better visibility.
In today’s climate, moving abroad to take a job or hiring a candidate from overseas might feel more challenging than before the pandemic.
One of the best ways to seek reassurance before accepting a candidate or a job is to have as much information as possible about the candidate or the school you’ll be working for in advance.
Teach Away’s recruitment platform makes this easy.
Schools using Teach Away can set up their own profile pages to let candidates know not only about vacancies, but also about the ethos of the school, and what life is like for teachers there. This is in addition to posting job ads, with details of roles on offer.
In turn, teachers who sign up to Teach Away add detailed information about their experience and qualifications to their profiles. These profiles are searchable, so schools can easily find great teachers, according to their own criteria.
Providing all this information upfront not only helps reassure those who find your profile, as a school or a teacher. It also increases your online visibility and helps you promote yourself in the way you want to be seen.
And, crucially, it helps schools and teachers make informed decisions. Before even moving to the interview, both parties have enough information to know they have found a potentially good match.
4. Increase your options.
The best way to find the right teacher or the right teaching job, is to make sure you’re searching in the right place.
Teach Away’s is a global recruitment network with a large, international talent pool of teachers, and an extensive database of schools.
And we make it simple to connect with the people you want to. Teachers can easily search for jobs according to their location, subject area, preferred age group. Then, they can register their interest in multiple jobs quickly and easily.
Schools then have a pool of interested candidates to choose from, which they can filter according to their own criteria.
We also organize and run online job fairs on a regular basis for schools to help speed up the hiring process and reduce travel costs for both the school and the teacher.
Hiring and job hunting through an online recruitment platform, like Teach Away, can help teachers and schools open up their search to a wider network, and help you find the best fit for them.
5. Move through the recruitment process at your own pace.
In our current circumstances, things are changing on a daily basis. New travel regulations are being introduced or relaxed. Health updates are coming in fast as day by day. And hiring windows are likely to be disrupted.
This might mean you’ve found the perfect recruitment match but aren’t sure when you can start working together.
Or it might mean as a teacher or a school you have a limited time to conduct your hiring process and need to get quick results.
Teach Away provides tools to help you coordinate your job search and control your hiring at your own pace.
Rather than working through a traditional recruiter, schools and teachers can contact each other directly on Teach Away’s platform.
Our user-friendly interface means teachers can search for and apply for jobs quickly. And schools can easily filter through applicants and quickly reach out to those that fit their profile.
This makes setting up the interview process fast, flexible and easy for both teachers and schools.
6. Tailor the interview process.
When you’ve found a teacher or a school that you want to connect with, it’s time to start interviewing.
Although many international schools and teachers already recruit virtually, going through the interview process remotely can be intimidating if you’re not used to it.
However, many schools have found some surprising benefits to moving their recruitment process online. In particular, the interview process.
First, video calls are inherently more relaxed than in-person interviews. This can allow the candidate and the recruiter to get a glimpse of each other’s real-life and personalities as video calls are conducted in their homes.
Video interviews are also easier to coordinate (tech-permitting!) This means you can invite a wider range of staff members to join an interview than you might normally. For example, you could easily schedule a call with an HR representative, a member of the senior leadership team, and another teacher.
Having a wider audience on the interview panel allows the teacher candidate to get a feel for the staff dynamic in the school. And it allows both sides to ask and answer a wider range of questions than normal.
A virtual solution for schools and teachers
Technology has helped teachers and schools carry on educating over the past few months. And it can also help them solve the unprecedented recruitment issues they are now facing.
With Teach Away, it is still possible for schools to hire great teachers this year.
And we are here to help teachers find the perfect teaching job.
Schools overseas and international teachers are facing many questions about the future, but connecting with each other doesn’t have to be one of them.
