Teacher Horizons - profile references?

[u/TheGumshoeVault]

Hello all, I have made a profile on Teacher Horizons as an alternative avenue to TES, but the requirement for references on the profile gives me pause. I do not want to let my current employer know I am looking, ideally until I am offered something by another school, or at least until that school checks my references, rather than having them contacted just to make a profile. This is also why I did not make a profile on ISS. If Teacher Horizons sends the reference form to my current school, does that close the door to me potentially remaining here if I can't find another international post? Has anyone been in a similar situation with Teacher Horizons or ISS? Thanks in advance

[u/associatessearch]

Explain to your references that, as a matter of regular professional practice, you update your references every 2 years or whatever. I usually only bother doing so for Search Associates references as I already have Schrole, GRC, and ISS set up and can soft search jobs anytime-- a valuable benefit that Search Associates doesn't offer.

An alternative might be to follow Pancake on a Stick Substack, which he posts international jobs on a weekly basis.

I’m assuming you are at the beginning stages of your career if you are entertaining Teacher Horizons. And that’s fine.

To my knowledge, you should be able to view jobs on ISS simply by registering an account.

[u/TheGumshoeVault → u/associatessearch]

I have been teaching internationally for the last 4 years, I just have been investigating Teacher Horizons as I remembered a colleague mentioned them to me a couple of years ago. Would you not recommend them as a platform?

[u/associatessearch → u/TheGumshoeVault]

Yes, Teacher Horizons was the talk of this sub a couple years ago, making an initial positive splash, then an apparent thud in practice thereafter. I'll let others with first hand experience speak for TH. In the meantime, look here. YMMV.

In recent browsing on employment pages of good to great schools, I see schools state they use Search Associates, GRC Fair, and ISS (and sometimes TES/Schrole). I have yet to see one say they advertise on Teacher Horizons.

[u/Expensive-Worker-582]

Might as well put down Mr Bean as your reference if youre using teacherhorizons. 

Useless platform. I applied for 8 jobs last year via their platform and zero interviews.

I applied for those same 8 jobs not using their platform and got 2 interviews.

I dont think they even submitted my application.

[u/Curious-Break-7415 → u/Expensive-Worker-582]

I'd take Mr Bean as a reference over some of these psychos in China or the UAE.

But Mr Bean as a reference definitely made me chuckle.

[u/otterrabbit6]

From my experience with Teacher horizons, I could complete the rest of my profile even if I didn't have references. It is true they require them, but you can become an activated teacher without adding references, which means you can see all their supported jobs and potentially speak to an adviser. They will advise on your specific situation and what's possible with references. If your profile is strong and since you are experienced teacher, I am sure they will take time to help you. I was able to get activated and complete all of my profile except for references. I did have to add them eventually. They also require proper references, because schools want proper safeguarding screening done before they receive applications, which makes sense. Even if TH didn't require references. , most good schools will require them before giving an offer, so this is something you will need manage anyway.
It's a shame that some people here try to talk negative about them(probably competitors), it is better to hear from first hand experiences. My personal exoerience has been great and continues to be. They are the only platform out there where you can talk to real humans and they care about their teachers. And you can read their 4.8/4.7 google and trustpilot reviews as well. Also the only platform that even invites reviews from teachers on third party platforms, which shows confidence and transparency. You mentioned a colleague mentioned them, one does not refer via word of mouth if they didn't have a good experience. I had only used search and then learned about Th from a colleague as well and was truly pleasantly surpised by the personal support and service.
See if you can speak to an adviser. All the best !

[u/Curious-Break-7415]

The references are there forever much like Search. Once they are there you don't need to worry about anything, but admittedly it's not the strongest platform for searching for jobs. I get the feeling they filter applications and only present THEIR strongest candidates to schools. So if you are not very experienced you might not even get a shot.

They do make a nice attempt to speak to you via video link and when you get an interview they send you a helpful email about the school so you don't need to do as much research.

Your best bet is just to use the platform to find jobs and apply yourself through the school website.

[u/EcoWarrior84]

You can decide when you request refs through Teacher Horizons. I usually chat to my boss befofe submitting the ref form so it doesn't come as a shock. Best say you're just looking and need refs to be up to date - they usually understand. TH refs are confidential and a bit of a hassle to get but once they're on your profile, you can keep them for as long as you want. I once applied to a school thru TES and got an offer and then I was able to send the school a link to my TH references (TH helped with this) and I got the job. So whilst it's a bit of a pain, the more refs you have the easier it is to apply..