Where are all the January jobs?

Most international schools – over 90%- run on the Northern Hemisphere calendar, that is to say start in August/September and finish around June. International schools also require 1-3 year contracts, and most schools attempt to start the year with a full staff.

January vacancies happen for one of three main reasons:

1. It’s a school that runs on the Southern Hemisphere schedule. These are located in (big surprise) the Southern Hemisphere.
2. They didn’t fill the jobs in August, had a teacher drop out, resign unexpectedly or not pass probation and are willing to wait until January to fill the job. Note that most schools want the job filled ASAP, rather than waiting until January.
3. Expansion. The school needs to increase capacity.

So the bottom line is that there are almost never large numbers of January jobs. They will happen in expanding markets (expansion jobs), or in areas with longer visa lead times like China.

You may be lucky enough to land a January job, but you will have much more opportunity if you set your sights on an August start.