Since we got married, we have discussed trying to move abroad together. We discussed options for each of us working and how we would even start down that road. Lindsay had applied to teach for the US Department of Defense in 2012, but we never heard back from them.
On 4 April 2013 Lindsay got an email on her recently updated profile page of LinkedIn. It was from Footprints Recruiting Agency, a company recruiting teachers for teaching in Abu Dhabi. At first she thought it was a scam and wondered what prompted them to reach out to her. We looked into it a bit and it didn't seem like there was anything to lose by sending in an application. They boasted high tax free salaries, relocation stipend, free housing, great medical insurance, paid annual flight home, and an otherwise attractive compensation package.
She submitted her application on 9 April 2013.
On 7 May 2013 she got an email from Footprints asking for more information about herself.
She responded on 9 May 2013 to those questions, and then on 10 May 2013 she got an email with a list of interview venues, asking her to choose one for an in-person interview. The Denver location was the smartest choice for us.
After replying to Footprints with this choice, they asked to have a phone interview, which got scheduled for 13 May 2013. The interview was really quick and easy. They asked about her classroom and her style of teaching and how she feels about student centered teaching and how she deals with discipline. The phone interviewer said Lindsay passed her interview, which meant she needed to plan on attending an in-person interview in Denver.
We booked her flights that night for 18 May 2013. Out and back in one day, the Interview in Denver went well.
On 22 May 2013 Lindsay got an email indicating that she would be moving forward in the hiring process.
On 25 May 2013 Footprints asked for a criminal background check, 2 professional letters of reference, a copy of the first page of her passport, 4 clear, color passport photos, as well as the attestation of her highest degree, teaching license, and marriage license. At this point we were getting more excited about this opportunity, but Lindsay hadn't officially been offered a position yet. We had only informed a small handful of people about it. The next few weeks were spent gathering and preparing the requested documents. It was expensive, especially for the uncertainty of officially being offered a position.
On 18 June 2013 Lindsay received her letter of offer of employment with Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC). It was finally official (even though Lindsay finally told everyone on the last day of school on 5 June 2013).
