This winter, Senior Associate Xiaohang Sumner hosted two virtual fairs focused on the greater China region. Fifty-five schools participated in the Hong Kong Virtual Fair during January 14-15, and 33 schools took part in the Shanghai virtual event on February 25-26. In addition to schools in Hong Kong and mainland China, a few schools from Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Turkiye also participated. Xiaohang explains the strategic timing of these events:
As three years of strict Zero COVID-19 policy ended in China at the end of 2022, two fairs were tailored for the transition period out of COVID-19 back into pre-pandemic "normal" life, representing a low-cost, low-risk, and convenient option for candidates and schools alike.
For each virtual job fair, 3-4 schools per day hosted friendly, interactive presentation Q&A sessions in the week leading up to the job fair weekend. Fair candidates found these online sessions to be very helpful as they were much more personal than school recruiting videos.
With 300+ high-quality candidates from over 45 countries/regions participating, 1,700 interview requests were submitted online via Search Associates’ (SEARCH) innovative Virtual Fair Portal. During these short time spans, 300 interviews were conducted. Hiring activity continues as a result of those four fruitful days! Candidate Toni Ahonen from Sweden wrote to Xiaohang:
Thank you very much for your help, and I also want to thank Search Associates for being such a fantastic platform. Without SEARCH, I would never have been able to contact so many great schools and even be signed by one of them.
Daniel Legault, Head of Shen Wai International School, had this to say:
Search Associates is consistently the “go to” platform for recruiting high-quality, experienced international school teachers. They understand and are responsive to the changing needs of staffing international schools. This was clearly evident in how they responded to the challenges of recruiting for China based schools.
With COVID and its related travel restrictions ending in this part of the world, SEARCH will return to offer in-person job fairs in the next academic year.
For more information about Search Associates’ 15 unique fairs held worldwide and virtually, click here. To see the list of fairs on offer in 2023-24, please visit our website from June 2023.
