Information for Candidates Wishing To Register with the British Branch of Search Associates
The British branch works principally - but not exclusively - with British and Irish teachers and with teachers of all nationalities who have had some experience of the UK curriculum, whether gained in the UK or in an international school overseas. The branch has no geographical specialisation as far as placements are concerned, placing teachers in a wide variety of international schools of different kinds throughout the world.
David Cope organises the Dubai and London-May fairs, so candidates hoping to attend either or both of these fairs should normally register with the British branch. If, however, they have International Baccalaureate (IB) teaching experience and also have a definite preference for working in schools offering the IB, they should normally register with Harry Deelman (). David Cope also assists at the London-February fair, though this is primarily for IB-experienced candidates who are normally advised to register with the Harry Deelman branch of Search Associates.
Registering with the British branch
Whether you are a new or returning candidate you will need to complete the following steps in order to register with the British branch of Search Associates:
Step 1 - Online Application
Complete the Search Associates online application form by following the links in the right-hand column of this page. Please acquaint yourself with the Candidate Conditions and Costs and the Terminology used in the online application form BEFORE starting this registration process.
Step 2 - Submit supplementary documentation
- Add a passport size photograph (120 pixels wide x 155 pixels tall at 72dpi, JPEG format) to your Search Associates online application. This should always be a good-quality close-up head-and-shoulders picture. A light background provides more contrast and duplicates best and it helps if your face is cheerful and smiling. You can access your application to upload your photo by using the Candidate's Login form in the right-hand column of this page. If you are at all uncertain about doing this yourself and would prefer David Cope to upload the photo for you, he will be happy to do so, and entirely free of charge - please just send him one in JPEG format by e-mail.
- Send David Cope by e-mail a summary Curriculum Vitae / Résumé (preferably one page, definitely no longer than 2 pages).*
- Send David Cope by e-mail a photocopy of the personal details page of your passport.*
- Send David Cope by post (by airmail if from outside the UK) a signed copy of the candidate Agreement, the terms of which you will have agreed to accept at the end of the online application process (step 1 above).
| * | The CV and passport photocopy should if possible be sent together at the same time, and always as e-mail attachments. |
Step 3 - Arrange for your referees to provide confidential Evaluation Forms**
- Ask at least three and preferably four of your Supervisors (eg: Head, Principal, Deputy Head, Head of Department, Year Coordinator, etc.) to complete online a Search Associates Supervisor's Evaluation Form for either a Teaching Candidate or an Administrative Candidate as appropriate (or just possibly an Intern Evaluation Form, but please note that the Intern Form is only meant for very young new graduates looking for a one-year "Gap Student" type of placement at an international school).
- (ENTIRELY OPTIONAL) Ask, if you so wish, up to three parents of pupils / students you have recently taught to complete online a Search Associates Parent Evaluation Form.***
| ** | Candidates who are renewing their registration may need 2-4 new references only, to add to the older references we will have on file for them. |
| *** | Please note that parent references are entirely optional. If obtaining parent references is impossible, or if you simply prefer not to ask parents, then please ensure that at least FOUR confidential Supervisor references reach David Cope. |
For information on the simple procedure for completing our evaluation forms online, please click here.
If you would prefer David Cope to approach your referees to request references, rather than asking them yourself, you should simply e-mail him to let him know. You should ensure that: (1) you have warned your referees that they can expect to receive a reference request from him; and (2) that you have given him the names and current e-mail addresses of all your chosen referees.
The documents listed above together form the basis of each candidate's dossier. This is the information we hold for every registered candidate, so that we can quickly and easily supply CV / résumés and references to schools that contact us throughout the year when they are looking for teachers and/or senior management candidates, as well as to the school recruiters who attend our recruitment fairs.
We do not give candidates access to the Search Associates Schools database nor do we enable them to receive the new vacancies daily update e-mail messages until they have completed at least Steps 1 and 3(a) above.