Notes from the General Manager

Bureaucracy by Diane Jacoutot

I've been dealing with government bureaucracies on both a personal and professional level this week, and it got me thinking about them. 

On a personal level, my son is applying for university funding in the UK and we've been caught up in the huge, swirling void between two bureaucracies - Student Finance England and the Job Centre.  My son has not yet been approved for funding because he doesn't have a national insurance number. I call the Job Centre  who says the number has to be requested by SFE, and SFE say it comes from the Job Centre... it's been 4 months of this Catch22 that's had my teeth permanently set on edge.

On a professional level, in one example, I've been trying to work with the Nigerian High Commission in London to get a visa for a teacher who was meant to be out there already. For some reason, High Commission in London require that the person who is getting the visa pay for it only with a Visa credit card. And she only has a Visa Debit card and a Mastercard so we've been fighting this battle for 4 weeks.   Seriously. 

I found a case where Teachanywhere became the bureaucracy this week - a really experienced Principal candidate was given the run-around by Teachanywhere. That was a wakeup call.  And I then was the victim of bureaucracy within my own parent company's advertising team as I tried to place some ads.  Perhaps that was karma.

On top of this we have had contract delays from the Middle East, flights cancelled by airline bureaucracies, and so much more. It's been a week of non-stop bureaucracy -wrestling on many levels for me. 

The funny thing is, the word bureaucracy used to mean a good thing about a hundred years ago - back when a privileged few held authoritarian power and could act on a whim. Bureaucracy was put in place to provide an unbiased system based on logic and rational decision making, to give everyone a fair chance and predictable outcome.  But as the above examples show, it can't always be considered rational and logical nowadays.

Now come closer and I'll let you in on a little secret. I have found the trick with beating a dysfunctional bureaucracy is to find the 'back door' which is always a person who has some power to influence behind the scenes.  Some people try using a battering ram of angry letters or hurling verbal abuse at the front line staff - trying to batter the front door down so to speak - but I've never found that helpful as a general rule. Because the thing about dysfunctional bureaucracies is that the people answering the front door are almost never given the power to do anything other than answer the front door.  They are powerless so it gets you and the front-door-answerer all worked up but makes no forward progress.

 I will admit that in well-functioning (good) bureaucracies the front line staff are often empowered which is probably what makes them well-functioning,  so simply pointing out the issue in a dispassionate way is enough to help the system right itself. Well-functioning bureaucracies have hiccups from time to time and sometimes you can't tell at first if it's a well-functioning or dysfunctional type when you are at the front gate with a problem on your hands.

If the direct but friendly approach doesn't work, then the trick with a typical dysfunctional bureaucracy is to find the back door and it's often quite well hidden. If it weren't, the unwashed masses would flood in and it would be another front door.  You usually have to use personal contacts and this might involve networking or even paying a company or consultant who has the contacts.  So just like Teachanywhere knows the back doors into schools and principals, there are other people who know where to brush away the branches and dead leaves to find the back door into other organisations. 

In the case of Nigeria, we are paying a visa company with connections (and a Visa card!), and in the case of Student Finance England I've both written to my Member of Parliament, who is on the case, and also looked for a company that claims to help get NI numbers for people (not sure if this is a scam but hey, for £40 it's worth it). And so on.

You do have to be patient with bureaucracies, even when you've found the back door. These are not fast moving, nimble organisations and if you walk in the back door making lots of noise, it can startle the wrong people causing it to slam the door in your face.  For goodness sake, don't shout about it. You have to be stealthy at the back door like any good burglar and hope your guide knows what they are doing. 

Ironically, I find that when people go abroad, the first time they run into bureaucracy in the new country they act shocked as if it's something they've never run into before, but I know this is not true. Bureaucracies of all types exist in every country and organisation I've ever dealt with or lived in. It doesn't matter where you go, you just have to know - or find out- how to play the game.

Notes from the General Manager

How quickly can you start? By Diane Jacoutot

Now that Ramadan is over, and schools in the Far East/SE Asia are back in session everyone is suddenly woken up and realised they need teachers.   Schools are getting more flexible and adaptable for teachers who can start now (within reason - they still have to house you, get a visa and get your CV past the ministry of education).

We've got some great jobs this week - Secondary Music in Switzerland, Bangkok and Oman, Primary in Spain, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi;  PYP teachers needed in Dubai,  and Science in Saudi and China and even a Primary Japanese teacher needed in China (this was a new one for me- never had anyone ask for it before). 

The question on all schools minds is 'how quickly can you start?'  If you have your bags packed and you are somewhat flexible on location, things have never looked better for teachers on the international market.  

That is not to say that we can meet every one of every teacher's preferences - if I had a pound for every North American who wants to go to Europe but can't because of visa restrictions; and every newly qualified British or Irish teacher wanting only Dubai I would be a rich woman indeed.  But if you want to be considered by a school that might not consider someone with your level of experience at any other time of year, now is your time.  Ask your consultant to find out more but remember jobs and teachers are getting snapped up at lightning speed. We have interviews and offers happening on the same day in some cases.

You snooze, you lose!  

Notes from the General Manager

Safe hands by Diane Jacoutot

This week has been punctuated by economic uncertainty and gloom in many of our home countries.

Europe, for instance, has been affected by the millstone that is the Greek economy dragging them under. Greece's credit rating has slipped to CCC - making it the lowest in the world, even behind Pakistan.  (The daily currency report I received today was humorously though ominously entitled "Deck chairs rearranged in Athens") The Greek citizens for their part, not liking the austerity measures being imposed on their bankrupt country, have taken to rioting in the streets.  Ireland's economy is still shrinking and the unemployment rate is up to a staggering 14% and the UK is facing public sector job losses and pension cuts ...and of course strikes. The US economy has received mixed reviews with the unemployment rate still above 9% with massive local public sector cuts making many teachers unemployed.  Even the previously solid Australian economy contracted in May, due to the natural disasters of floods and cyclones whilst poor New Zealand suffered another earthquake this week, adding insult to injury.  Not a good week at all for many of us in the western world.

And like the Greek rioters, teachers who are suffering job losses in public sector jobs feel outraged, but it should come as no surprise that cuts have to be made. Public sector jobs are reliant on tax roles, and tax revenue lags a year or so behind industry earnings.... so teachers are basically paying now for the sins of the past.  This is the very same pain felt by the private sector in 2009/10, just 1-2 years delayed.  So whilst public sector workers were warm and secure in their jobs during the economic crisis, it was only a matter of time before the chickens came home to roost.  I feel quite sad for the public sector workers affected, but also happy that Teachanywhere can offer teachers an alternative.

This is because in many parts of the world in which we place, the economic outlook is quite a contrast to our own. The UAE economy is still recovering and expected to grow by 4% in 2011 and just announced another 80million dirham investment in Information Technology research and startups, whilst nearby Qatar has been the fastest growing economy in the world at almost 20%, outpacing even Singapore.  And China, one of the huge engines pulling the world into economic recovery, remains very strong and getting stronger. India is solid and projected to grow at 8-10% and even Switzerland, where we have some interesting jobs this week, is stronger than its European neighbours - the Swiss franc has appreciated 15% against the euro in the past year.

It should come as no surprise then, that the international job outlook in many countries is robust. And it should come as no surprise that many teachers are looking with fresh eyes at the greener grass abroad.  Teachers looking for a safe port to weather the economic storms in their home countries could really not pick a safer time to go.  Yes, it means you will have to miss this or that family event, pack your life into a couple of suitcases and jump into the Great Unknown.

But I've not seen a safer pair of hands with which to catch you for quite a long time.

Notes from the General Manager

This week the General Manager of Teachanywhere, Diane Jacoutot discusses one of the big questions anyone will have when deciding to move overseas - Will I make friends.....?!

Friends by Diane Jacoutot

I had dinner out with some friends last night. It was 8 of us, all women of a certain age (don't go there) and we stayed out far too late on a school night because we just got talking and having a good time. As you do when you meet up with friends you havent seen in a while.
And it got me thinking. When moving abroad for the first time, one of the most common concerns, besides the Big Three of Safety (Is it safe?), Distance (what happens if a parent/someone gets ill at home/I dont like it) and Professional Confidence (can I teach this new curriculum?), the fear of not fitting in and making friends is a widespread one.

I think this fear stems from most of us having experienced some form of a 'Mean Girls' moment at some point in our past. A time when we were in that universally awkward situation of feeling friendless and insecure because we didn't fit in.    Walking into a new school in a new country means being The New Kid in a big way, and walking into a new social structure with its own culture and rules you wont quite comprehend.... Until you inadvertently break one, that is.  It's a logical fear because it will be new and different, and in the mind of a teacher weighing up the evil she knows versus the evil she does not, the fear can take on gargantuan proportions.  It's all to do with the kind of people who are in your new international school and there's no way to know until you get there.

Yet despite this potential minefield, we don't get reports back of Mean Girl issues. On the contrary, most teachers we place internationally love their time abroad and dont want to come back they want to try new schools again and again.

I have a theory about why;  which is that teachers who work in international assignments tend to be more confident, outgoing and culturally accepting than teachers that stay put, and this makes international schools and organisations more welcoming and accepting of The New Kids like you. Why? Because the expat teachers in your new school also made the leap to go abroad and you now know just how hard that is and it weeds out the small minded, the ignorant and the insecure.

In addition, the average staff turnover in an international assignment is about 20% a year, and the perpetual stream of new teachers coming through means the doors to different friendship groups are always open.  And it means that you are more likely to find people such as yourself people who are open minded, adaptable and adventurous of all ages in your new school.  And this interesting dynamic is not just applicable to international schools but also local international type schools and Licensed Teacher roles as well because even if there are a limited number of expatriate teachers at a school, the very fact that you are an expatriate means you don't get dragged into the dramas of the locally hired staff you can float above the fray with a 'get out of jail free' pass in your back pocket. And that's one of my favourite parts of being an expatriate because you can pick and choose when you want to assimilate into a culture -usually the positive things- and when you do not.

This is not to say that a typical international assignment is a Utopian paradise of softly focussed, rose-scented happiness where you run hand-in-hand with your new best friends through a field of daisies, but I do stand by my assertion that on average, teachers and leaders who take the leap abroad are a different breed.  I see it every day.

So whilst it is scary to be walking away from an established life in an established social circle into the great unknown, the very fact that you are considering it means something.  And as hard as it is to take this leap of faith, you can do so knowing that the school will be staffed with people you will, in the main, be very happy to meet... and they will be happy to meet you.

Notes from the General Manager

Diane Jacoutot, the General Manager for Teachanywhere will be sharing her "International Teaching" related thoughts with us all at the end of every week in her series "Notes from the General Manager".  First up this week she discusses the wedding on everyone's lips - just how does this relate to teaching overseas?  Read on and find out.....

Jumping by Diane Jacoutot

This week was a very short week in the UK. We had Monday off for Easter and now Friday off for the Royal Wedding of Wills and Kate.  Trying to cram what would have been 5 very busy days into 3 has been a bit of a nightmare but hey, what can you do?  Answer: sit back and enjoy the holiday.

The world and its dog have been talking nonstop about Wills and Kate, and I do hope it turns out well for them. Getting married, speaking from personal experience of course, is a bit like cliff diving in that you think you know what you are doing and from 100 feet up everything looks fine and dandy,  but you do realise that the reality you meet when you get to the bottom of the cliff might be a whole lot different than what you see from the top.  And you know that but if you think too hard about it you will never make the leap.

So what drives us to jump into the water from great heights? The thrill and personal challenge of it all that makes you jump off the cliff (or in my case the high dive at the local pool)  . If it were very easy you wouldn't feel that sense of accomplishment when you are done and it wouldn't be cause for celebration.  It would be the low board or the side of the pool and anyone can do that.

Well getting married is a bit like cliff diving. You are taking a huge risk by hitching your wagon to someone else who you can really only ever scratch the surface of knowing.  You cant ever know what they are truly thinking or predict what they will do 10 years down the line when the kids are crying and (the case of Wills and Kate aside) the mortgage needs paying and you don't have the cash.  But you hope for the best and take that dive anyway.  I did it and am very happy I did but I'm glad I didn't know how hard it would be before I started! 

Now is the time of year when many teachers are mulling over international teaching offers and getting that shaky- knees- cliff -diving- feeling. They think about how safe and secure it is at home versus this Great Unknown of the International World.  I have to laugh sometimes when teachers ring up asking our Teachanywhere team about the very minutiae of things - will the school provided apartment have cutlery? What airline am I flying? How many children will I have in my class exactly? What should I wear on the first day of school? I laugh because it's human nature to try to understand and control that which scares us. It's a very natural reaction that some people have - to try to understand and plot out exactly everything that will happen in their new job and location. But just like Kate trying to understand absolutely everything about Wills before they get married, or just like jumping off the cliff, you really can't.

You have to just close your eyes and jump......

Teachanywhere launches blog!

Watch this space!  Teachanywhere will shortly be launching it's new blog to further inform and share a wealth of valuable information, resources and advice for all qualified teachers who are considering teaching overseas or indeed for those who are already teaching abroad - we aim to help you all quite literally - teach anywhere! 

Teachanywhere is an agency specialising in the recruitment of teachers for international schools and organisations around the world. We work with qualified teachers to find them the perfect international teaching job whilst at the same time offering a bespoke tailor made service to a host of international schools looking for certified teachers around the globe.  With offices around the world and over 10 years of international teacher recruitment experience, we understand what it takes to live and teach abroad.

Our goal with this blog is to further enhance the service we offer and find another way to reach our audience and arm you with the tools to enjoy what to many is the experience of their lives!  Amongst other things we will be offering in depth location reports, interviews with the teachanywhere alumni who are already immersed in their international roles to give you the inside scoop and opinions and advice from our expert team at Teachanywhere. 

We will be welcoming your comments to our posts and look forward to creating opportunities to further inform so if there is any topic you would like to see covered in this blog - don't hesitate to post a question or suggestion.