Another Year of Success for the Cambridge Fair

Search Associates rang in the New Year on January 26th by bringing over 400 candidates to Cambridge, MA to meet recruiters representing 127 schools worldwide. On the table were some 900 international school positions to be explored by schools and candidates alike, looking for the perfect match. A large team of experts joined Host and President Jessica Magagna to facilitate the process: Founder John Magagna, Senior Associates Ralph Jahr, Sally Gordon, Bridget McNamer, and Julie Ryan, as well as Web Developer Rob Snyder, Chief Software Architect Ed Sunder, Project Manager Gavin Hawk, and Recruitment Coordinator Melinda Williams.

The longest running of Search Associates’ fairs, Search Cambridge is also the largest international job fair in North America sponsored by Search Associates. For 23 of its 26 years, Search Associates has hosted the event at the Hyatt Regency, a venue that understands well the needs of the Cambridge Fair and is highly committed to making it a success. Search Cambridge, historically, has one of the highest placement ratings, between 50-55%. Currently, over 40% of candidates who attended have accepted a job offer due to the connections they made during the fair, which will steadily rise in the coming weeks. President Jessica Magagna adds:

“The Cambridge Fair is unique in that it does not cater to schools from a certain region or offer a specific curriculum. This fair is very eclectic, with schools attending from all regions offering a variety of curriculum. It is also heavily attended by many highly-qualified U.S. teachers looking to get their first overseas experience.”

With so many candidates and recruiters present at Cambridge, Search Associates took the opportunity to offer a variety of invaluable workshops. Interview Tips and Living and Preparing to Go Overseas were both heavily attended by candidates. The Aspiring Heads Workshop for current administrators looking to move into head of school positions was conducted by Senior Associates Ralph Jahr, Bridget McNamer, and Julie Ryan, who have a great deal of experience in placing administrators. Also present at the fair were two international educators, Amanda and Mark Sunderman, who gave invaluable advice to many candidates at their Moving Overseas and Loving It workshop. Finally, for candidates applying for our paid internships, Search Associates offered the Intern Workshop, a wonderful opportunity for prospective interns to listen to experiences of other interns who have already been overseas. One in particular was President Jessica Magagna’s sister, Sarah Magagna, who spent two years overseas as an intern candidate in Morocco and Oman.

The Cambridge Fair offerings, in terms of international teaching opportunities, networking, and useful workshops, are hard to top. Satisfied candidates had this to say:

“Thank You! The job fair was an excellent and supportive experience!”

“I have already recommended Search to many of my teacher friends wanting to teach internationally. The fair was an amazing experience, and I got my dream job!”

“Thank you very much for your help through my job search. The job fair in Cambridge was an exceptional experience.”

In summary, the Cambridge Fair moved very smoothly and quickly each day, with many exciting events for recruiters and candidates, to include a gala reception for all candidates and schools sponsored by Clements Worldwide and a recruiter reception sponsored by The International Educator. We want to thank all of our sponsors and the candidates and schools who attended, making the 2017 Cambridge Fair another successful event!

For more about Search Associates’ 11 annual job fairs, please click here.