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New Search Associates Toronto Fair Dates Allow Earlier Recruiting

By Meadow Hilley
20-May-15
New Search Associates Toronto Fair Dates Allow Earlier Recruiting


Traditionally, recruiting season among international schools has largely occurred over the months of January and February. A shifting trend in recent years has seen many employers launch their hiring process well before the first of the year, however, leaving a shallower pool of prospective jobs for those candidates attending subsequent recruiting fairs in the hope of securing a new position with an international school.
In light of this new trend, Search Associates has advanced the date of its annual recruitment fair held in Toronto, Canada to early December. The 20th edition of the Search Toronto Fair, which will additionally mark the company’s 25th year in operation, will take place December 11–13, 2015 at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in downtown Toronto.
A number of notable international school fairs are put on in the U.S. and Canada every year for worldwide recruitment by organizations such as International Schools Services (ISS), Queens University, and the University of Northern Iowa. In addition to these, the Association of American Schools of South America (AASSA) hosts an event in early December—the first to be held each recruiting season—to specifically address the needs of South American, Latin American, and Caribbean international schools.
Scheduled to take place the weekend following AASSA’s fair, Search Associates’ Toronto event will now be the first job fair for worldwide recruiting to take place in North America every year.
Moving the fair forward was the logical result of a number of factors, according to Ray Sparks, a senior associate at Search, who has been closely monitoring hiring practices among international schools.
“Many feel the need to begin recruiting earlier,” Sparks explained. “Rather than wait to meet in person, some employers now conduct their interviews via Skype, while others make hires based on previous contacts.”
Getting a jump on recruiting season should take some pressure off of schools and candidates by allowing them to get at least some of their recruitment done prior to the holidays, according to Sparks. Mid-December seems an ideal time to bring together recruiters and candidates already planning to spend the holidays in North America.
Because this period also corresponds to the start of summer break for South American schools, Sparks expects many of those institutions will attend. The early date should additionally prove convenient for candidates wishing to attend multiple fairs. Moreover, room rates are more affordable and the weather is traditionally better during this period than later in the winter.
“I’m the guinea pig to see what the response will be to an earlier fair,” states Sparks. “I’m willing to test the waters to see if this earlier fair is of any benefit to the schools.”




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Comments

05/21/2015 - Rene
Wonder when Search Associates will join the modern age and host internet/skype recruitment fairs??? I am thinking of switching agencies because Search does not have virtual recruitment fairs. Seriously why should candidates pay $2000 and up to attend a fair with no guarantee of leaving the fair with a job? Now there are so many teachers flooding the market. We are all competing for the same small job pool so virtual makes sense.

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