I have a job!
Yesterday was the first day that I had looked at the blog since last July! I do have somewhat of an excuse as since the summer I have been working on searching for a new job. At the end of the school year last year the boys and I decided that we had to make a move towards a change. All three of us were simply tired of being in Uzbekistan. We have enjoyed our time here, but with the fact that there is so little modern here, and that every year seems to become predictably the same, after four years we were ready for a change.
I began with updating my resume, getting all of my references in order and signing up for an international teaching search service. When returning to school I had to do what all international teachers have to do - I had to resign before getting a job. No other teaching job demands this of you, but for international schools it is key so that they know who they have to begin searching for in the next year. Because unlike other schools they begin the search in October, and generally start hiring in November.
I began writing cover letters in October. Because I am certified K-12 I could apply for jobs in both Elmentary and Secondary, with a smattering of admin positions. I had about three interviews, but no job offers up to the time that I attended a job fair in London in January. In London I had 13 interviews within the course of two days, but no job offers. I returned home disheartened, and I continued to write cover letters and send out applications. At one point I counted how many applications I had sent out. At that point it was about 85. Soon I had another set of interviews in February with about 5 schools. One school offered me a job, but as it was in the Middle East, and did not have Emergency Evacuation for staff, I was not able to accept the position.
In March I had another smattering of interviews - another 3 schools. By then I figure I had sent out about 120 applications. Once again another set of schools stared expressing interest at the end of April - about 5. Suddenly in this first week of May I had two job offers. One offer was for a location with which I have emotional ties, and I had to seriously consider if I would accept it even though it was offering a lower salary than the second offer. The second offer was in Malaysia. All aspects to the offer were excellent, including salary and tuition for the boys. And who could say no to such a beautiful location!
The boys and I are very excited about the location, the school and the opportunities. Today I started rethinking the move, and resorting belongings. For instance we won't need our winter blankets, boots, jackets, and socks anymore. Lots to get rid of and even more to plan. A lot to do in the next 5 weeks before we leave for Riga. There it will continue with sorting, selling, packing, and moving everything out of the apartment that I want to sell prior to leaving.
It feels good to finally have everything moving forward and to know where we are going. And that our next stop will likely include a lot of interesting adventures!
From beautiful nature:
I began with updating my resume, getting all of my references in order and signing up for an international teaching search service. When returning to school I had to do what all international teachers have to do - I had to resign before getting a job. No other teaching job demands this of you, but for international schools it is key so that they know who they have to begin searching for in the next year. Because unlike other schools they begin the search in October, and generally start hiring in November.
I began writing cover letters in October. Because I am certified K-12 I could apply for jobs in both Elmentary and Secondary, with a smattering of admin positions. I had about three interviews, but no job offers up to the time that I attended a job fair in London in January. In London I had 13 interviews within the course of two days, but no job offers. I returned home disheartened, and I continued to write cover letters and send out applications. At one point I counted how many applications I had sent out. At that point it was about 85. Soon I had another set of interviews in February with about 5 schools. One school offered me a job, but as it was in the Middle East, and did not have Emergency Evacuation for staff, I was not able to accept the position.
In March I had another smattering of interviews - another 3 schools. By then I figure I had sent out about 120 applications. Once again another set of schools stared expressing interest at the end of April - about 5. Suddenly in this first week of May I had two job offers. One offer was for a location with which I have emotional ties, and I had to seriously consider if I would accept it even though it was offering a lower salary than the second offer. The second offer was in Malaysia. All aspects to the offer were excellent, including salary and tuition for the boys. And who could say no to such a beautiful location!
The boys and I are very excited about the location, the school and the opportunities. Today I started rethinking the move, and resorting belongings. For instance we won't need our winter blankets, boots, jackets, and socks anymore. Lots to get rid of and even more to plan. A lot to do in the next 5 weeks before we leave for Riga. There it will continue with sorting, selling, packing, and moving everything out of the apartment that I want to sell prior to leaving.
It feels good to finally have everything moving forward and to know where we are going. And that our next stop will likely include a lot of interesting adventures!
From beautiful nature:
To modern cities:
With lots of interesting locations to visit:
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