Take a Step. Use a Recruiter. Secure the Teaching Adventure of a Lifetime!

Finding a happy, stable employment is hard enough in Canada.  In an economy where there is an abundance of teachers looking for work with the scarcity of a demand have many new graduates, and seasoned educators looking for a change.  It may seem a daunting task but it is not. 

Consider it an opportunity to meet new people. Seek advice and support from a recruiter who can mentor personal and professional goals.  These goals have to work together to find inner fulfillment be it  --- in Canadian boardroom, on a patio, around a pond, or a cruise across the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans.

Teachers willing to take the leap and work abroad have the benefits of travel, experience a new culture and save money.  There are many rewards for taking this chance to gain international education and teaching experience.  A recruitment agency is here to help -- every step of the way.

Tulip Canada will be with you every step as you embark on a new adventure.

It is to use our knowledge and leverage it! We will save time. Given our level of trust and respect among their education-working partners, they will open doors.  Tulip Canada can guide candidates who are considering to relocate for a year, few years or a decade. We help prepare for the teaching adventure in a new land both in work and play.

Our seasonality brings experience and experience brings judgment.  It is far better to have strong judgment when making a life decision to relocate to another continent.  You can rely on Tulip Canada. We take the time to know our candidates.  We also take the time to also know the environment, the market dynamics and even the business practices of their clients and potential employers.    

A good recruiter works for both the client and the candidate.  Knowing the recruitment goals of client and candidates brings greater success and stronger retention.  Tulip Canada works for both the candidate and the educational employer. Being happy is key to a balance life and it is critical in the settlement and integration both within a new country, and new classroom.

Tulip Canada will ensure your qualifications, certifications such as university degree (s); TEFL if applicable; criminal check; and passport well to ensure an seamless application process both to finalize a employment contract and visa requirements.  Coaching should be part of the equation, as should the negotiation of the best salary and benefit package.  Candidates are relocating across the world, they should demand a recruiter look out for their interests to help ease the settlement and ensure their value in the international education market.

Candidates are not alone. They have a team cheering them at the airport gates, and across the borders and in their classrooms. Resources will be making available to help with your transition while meeting  new friends. Tulip Canada will be with you every step as you embark on a new adventure.

Lori Ann Comeau is a career coach for the education profession, founder and president of Tulip Canada.  Follow her on twitter @tulipcanada or blog or join Tulip Canada on the teaching adventure of a lifetime!

May we continue to support your adventures in the New Year! May it be a wondrous year!

They Ask Me Why I Teach

They ask me why I teach,

And I reply,

"Where could I find more splendid company?

There sits a statesman,

Strong, unbiased, wise,

Another later Webster,

Silver-tongued,

And there a doctor

Whose quick, steady hand

Can mend a bone,

Or stem the lifeblood’s flow.

A builder sits beside him-

Upward rise

The arches of a church he builds, wherein

That minister will speak the word of God,

And lead a stumbling soul to touch the Christ.

And all about

A lesser gathering

Of farmer, merchants, teachers,

Labourers, men

Who work and vote and build

And plan and pray

Into a great tomorrow

And I say,

I may not see the church,

Or hear the word,

Or eat the food their hands will grow.

And yet – I may.

And later I may say,

“I knew the lad,

And he was strong,

Or weak, or kind, or proud,

Or bold, or gay.

I knew him once,

But then he was a boy.

They ask me why I teach, and I reply,

Where could I find more splendid company?"

Why do you teach?

Please share your inspiring stories with Tulip Canada. You inspire students from the days before today, and those in your classroom, gazing attentively as you teach, engage and share a bit of yourself, your knowledge and hope for tomorrow.

They Ask Me Why I Teach,” by poet Glennice L. Harmon, in National Education Association (NAE), Journal 37, no. 1 (September 1948). The image provided is the depiction of the teacher who inspired the poet was also provided by the NAE.

Lori Ann Comeau is a career coach for the education profession, founder and president of Tulip Canada, offering a boutique of recruitment services to support both the education community and the profession. Follow her on twitter at @tulipcanada or Facebook.

It's September! Welcome Back!

As the summer season draws to a close, the energy from play to work mode is in the air.   Some may be entering a classroom as a student or teacher, some may grab hold of a school door either as a parent or administrator. September represents a fresh start.  It may be a time of change, hope and new directions and even, new adventures.

Students of life, we are! This month, we can consider how our goals are on track, with the possibility of redefining them or refocusing our efforts to see results.   It’s time to bring balance to the carefree days of summer. Savour them and find a way to be in the moment while working hard to achieve those goals and dreams.

Mistakes are part of life,  Be in acceptance of these mistakes. Embrace these lessons and experiences! It helps gain insight, grow and courage personal development.   Stay true to yourself. Don’t give up and enjoy each day with its blessings, achievements and laughter!  Buckle down with peace in your heart. Embrace the beauty of each day, remembering:

No doubt.  Only dreams.

See the Potential Within.

Be Real.

Small Acts.  Daily Achievements.

Smile!

Work Hard!

Do Your Best.

Be Kind.

Appreciate Time!

Believe You Can Do It!

Love Yourself!

_________________________________________________________________________________

If you wish Tulip Canada to support your recruitment goals, join us.  We will work together to achieve a common goal to educate with dedication, compassion and respect.   If you wish Tulip Canada to help you find your next teaching adventure, we are here to help! We coach! We cheer!

Lori Ann Comeau is a career coach for the education profession, founder and president of Tulip Canada, offering a boutique of recruitment services to support both the education community and the profession. Follow her on twitter at @tulipcanada or Facebook.

Safe travels! Enjoy!

Looking to Teach Abroad? Don't Work Alone.

Find a Recruiter to Work for You & With You

Recruiters work for us and with us when we are exploring new career opportunities. Their role is no different in the international education arena. 

Their business depends on you.

Scan the international teaching advertisements on the Internet. Make note of the firm and the contact person. Avoid applying for job advertisements.   You want to stand out and first impressions come from a connection and not, through an application process.

Never be an applicant, but rather a person they will invest time to understand you, your goals and career plan.

Do your research and explore the rooster of international recruiters.  Email the recruiters and ask to speak to them via telephone, Skype, or another other social media channel, which brings the world into our backyard and make communication easier. There are no excuses for them not to reach out and make connection. They should set aside 15 to 30 minutes of their time to speak to you. If they cannot, move onto the next recruiter as it surely is a sign they are not willing to work for you.

Have a set of interview questions to ask them and evaluate their abilities to encourage and protect your interests as you explore options to teach abroad.  The recruiter needs to project confidence in their ability to safeguard a positive and transition as you consider an expat life. Be reflective on these questions, and the responses they provide as the decision you make as to who you will work with could be for only a few months, a school year, or the beginning of a positive working relationship build on trust and respect which last the next decade or your entire career.

Here’s a set of general questions to ask, which focuses on the recruiter’s ability to provide advice, mentor or coach and advocate as well as mediate, if needed. Give thought as to what is important to you – as the decision is yours to work with them as much as it is their decision to work with you.  Make the decision a good one. Your life depends on it.

Are they able to:

• provide insight on at least three of your country selections to work?
• provide feedback to your resume to refine it for greater marketability of your skills and experience?
• mentor you with encouragement, words of advice, or recommend next steps to help you reach your career goals? Have they asked you what your career goal for the next year, two or five years?
• coach you or give insight on the potential opportunity, the client, and the interview process?
• articulate your career goals?
• advocate to support your career goals?
• advocate to support you transition and relocation both in salary options, travel arrangements, settlement and transition support by employer?
• support you if wish to terminate the contract?
• support you to mediate with the employer for refine the support systems or address your issues?
• assist you both in coaching on settlement lessons, and help explore new opportunities?

It is not being an applicant from a job advertisement, it is about discussing your career goals, and how this recruiter is going to help you reach these goals. Keep in mind, if they are good, they will be honest, and advise you on your ability to attain these goals, and if you cannot, they should surely, offer some recommendation on how to build to your skill set for greater marketability. They should be realistic. They should be in contact with you with you regularly through the year, however, this working relationship is not one sided -- never think it is. The worth or value of the working relationship is based on a respect, time, a plan and communication.

Join us if you wish to discuss career goals. We are here to work with you, and for you.  If you wish Tulip Canada to support your recruitment goals, join us. We will work together to achieve a common goal to educate with dedication, compassion and respect.

Lori Ann Comeau is a career coach for the education profession, founder and president of Tulip Canada, offering a boutique of recruitment services to support both the education community and the profession. Follow her on twitter at @tulipcanada or Facebook.

First Impressions

Recruiters are the first step in the interview process. Offering a positive, welcoming and respectful presentation of ourselves makes it easier to evaluate both skills and personality. It’s the personality, which is the key indicator and selling feature to secure an international teaching position.   Of course, qualifications are important, however if you don’t have the right  personality (warm, flexible, respectful and open) to make a transition, it would be a poor investment choice for any employer. Make the impression last – and make it a good one.

Each of us should strive for higher standards and more specifically, a high level of service from the recruiters who we wish to work with as we explore new options in our career.    It is about loyalty.  Loyalty goes both ways in the working relationships between recruiter and applicant -- candidate or member if the firm takes the role that we are working together on the same team. When we go abroad on these adventures we surely want a recruiter to work for us. There should be some assessment on the safety of the environment, and most of all, they are able to evaluate our ability to thrive in our career development. As explorers of new teaching adventures, we should have expectations a recruiter is going to advocate for us be it – our rights as individuals, salary, benefits, housing, family needs and transition support.

Avoid applying for jobs for the sake of applying for jobs. Interview the recruiter and determine if they will be able to support you in your next career adventure.   If the reward for service is to sell you in the international education community, than be sure your career goals and needs are communicated, and the recruiter is working for you.

Candidates should never pay their travel expenses to attend an interview, nor should they wait over three hundred minutes pass their  scheduled interview time in a crowded room.   It’s disrespectful. Personally, if I am unwilling to accept such poor treatment in the interview process I would not recommend any of Tulip Canada’s members to accept such disrespect.   However, the advocacy struggle is, the empowerment of choice. We all have to decide our level of tolerance on the disrespect scale. 

There should be an expectation to protect our educators who wish to teach internationally. We may be working with clients who do not adhere to the labour standards and human rights in our homelands, however it does not excuse us from the responsibility to serve our candidates well nor help our clients adapt best practices to support the most valued resource – employees in satisfaction, retention and program delivery.  

Recruiters should be able to guide their clients both in selling themselves well and delivering a recruitment strategy, which is timely and fair, both in its accessibility, and evaluation. They are being interview by their candidates and if they are not being interviewed be assured they are being evaluated when the teacher lands, and begins their transition in their new work environment.   Again, make the impression last – and make it a good one.  

Tulip Canada is honoured to represent educators from across the global, and for us, it is the embrace of their strengths both in their qualifications and experience but also, their personality. They have the ability to manage life -- its challenges with humour and grace. They are committed educators, teachers and administrators. We are working together on their career adventure with encouragement and admiration.

 If you want to work with us, join us. If you wish Tulip Canada to support your recruitment goals, join us.  We will work together to achieve a common goal to educate with dedication, compassion and respect.

Lori Ann Comeau is a career coach for the education profession, founder and president of Tulip Canada, offering a boutique of recruitment services to support both the education community and the profession.  Follow her on twitter at @tulipcanada or Facebook.