“I’m still waiting to hear back from them, it’s been 5 days now since the closing date though. Is there any chance I could hear back from them at this stage?” Does this sound familiar? For NQTs and those moving schools – they all face a similar fate when applying for jobs each year.
In this blog post, Orla Dempsey from Orla Dempsey Coaching outlines the top 10 biggest problems that NQTs face when applying for jobs.
1. Being unknown in the local area
NQTs choose their preferred location after qualification. Many choose to stay in their home county while others relocate to their nearest big city in search of work. As a new teacher to the area with no principals or teacher network to share your reputation – it can be hard to get your foot in the door in schools.
2. Living in a difficult county to get jobs in
The western counties are especially difficult to secure jobs in. Not impossible – but because the populations and schools tend to be smaller and networks are closer it can be challenging to get a job in those counties.
3. Being unsure how to fill in the SAF
This is a big one! New teachers lack experience and thus, confidence while filling in the SAF. They ask questions such as “What if I’ve no professional development courses to put in?” and “I don’t have extra-curricular activities to offer.. what should I do?”. They often rely on looking at examples from teacher friends who’ve secured jobs – to see what they have written in their form. It is very confusing indeed.
4. Fitting in work with interviews
Depending on the summer work that you’ve secured, it can be hard to get time off for interviews and sometimes it’s a worry in case two interviews happen on the same day. NQTs often ask if it’s ok to ask for an interview to be rescheduled. Balancing work, job applications and a personal life can be a challenge.
5. Simply 'being a number' in interviews
Because of regulations, there must be minimum number of teachers interviewed for a role. Often an interview happens, and there’s already a teacher working in the school who has impressed them. Candidates sometimes feel that the interview panel have already chosen the winning teacher and are disengaged with what they are saying. This can be annoying and frustrating – especially when teachers have put so much effort into preparing for interviews.
6. Making your experience seem transferable
Many teachers have work experience in retail, administration or hospitality and they struggle to show how their experience can be an asset to a school. How can I make my experience stacking shelves or using the till seem relevant? they ask.
Focusing on the things we do in school like communicating, solving problems, listening to others etc can be a great way to show transferrable experience.
7. Being paid for the Summer
July provision is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about working with children and parents and creating. BUT it’s not paid until November (correct as of December 2021). Many teachers need either to sign on, or work in a part-time job. It may be useful to think about a plan b for summer income.
8. Friends getting jobs first
As the summer ticks by, jobs are offered and it can be difficult being the last one securing a job. You are happy for friends of course, but it can be hard – waiting for a school to offer you a job. Fears and hurt creep in and NQTs tell me that they question the quality of their SAF, they wonder what others are doing (that they are not doing) and get disillusioned with the system.
Some schools require postal applications which means lots of photocopying. That can work out very expensive!
10. Not understanding the school.
Advertisements on the job websites all look the same but from my experience, each school is very different! Having a deeper understanding of the school you’re applying for – can help greatly when applying for jobs. Real life experience and reputation there is very valuable.
It can certainly be a challenge to get your name out there in those first few months and years as a job seeker.
HOWEVER…. It’s not all bad when you think of your job search like this…
- The average wait to secure a job is 3-6 months – That should help you put things in perspective. (Ref)
- You are not alone – across Ireland (and across the world!) there are teachers waiting to hear back from schools. Tap into that energy and gain reassurance that your time will come.
- What’s for you, won’t pass you. You’ve heard this before and I know that even from every opportunity that I found challenging – I learned something from it.
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