Roll up, Roll up: time for a job.

“The new year reviving old desires…”  The new calendar year is here, spring is almost upon us…

And the desire to teach starts to stir in the trainee, impatient, maybe, with the rigours of the training programme, or simply thinking “It’s time” or “I’m ready for this.” And it is time, so here are some thoughts, unofficial, off-the-cuff, but stemming from my own experience. You may have other experiences yourself, and they almost certainly differ from mine, but this may at least help you formulate your ideas.

So here is my Polonius-like advice, the bloggiest blog post ever, in some ways, I guess, growing out of experience interviewing people for school and other education jobs. And I’d like to think first about the ambiguities of the interactions before you find yourself sitting in the Head’s Office for the half-hour grilling of The Interview. That’s about thinking on your feet, listening to the questions and having examples ready to tell the story of when you… Or when they…

First things first: selection procedures are not straightforward. They are a very particular set of human interactions, and therefore will have so many variables from the  unconscious bias of interviewer or interviewee to whether it’s time for coffee soon. They also have a definite start and end but they are not where you think. They start from the scrappy info the school puts out or the over-shiny telephone system before you get to talk to someone. They might also include the person who answers the ‘phone to you – was that the Head? Will the School Business Manager be the person on the ‘phone, and will s/he set you at ease or be so officious it puts you off? Breathe, and smile, even when you’re on the ‘phone. The relationship games are already starting. No-one really intends them, but they are there. Similarly, at the every end of the interview after the excruciating “Do you have any questions?” (see below), you have to get up and walk out of the room still looking like you are all in one piece. And then the ‘phone call that evening “Hello, Nick: well, we had a very full day, as I’m sure you realise, and the governors have asked me to call and….”

The task of establishing relationships also seeps into the tour of the school. This was my advice to a Brookes student recently:

1. Be on time;
2. Remember that whatever Equal Opps say, this look-round is part of the process;
3. Listen to the hints: “This would be your class; Displays were Ms X’s strong point” is a hint;
4. Be you: don’t be a pretend you (it really shows – trust me!).

Let’s expand them a bit.

Be on time. Schools are busy places. It may be that there are other people being shown round, or the Deputy or the School Council may have set aside time to see you. This is the first courtesy. The look-round is part of the process. You are looking at them, they are looking at you. It may be that the person showing you round will be asked their opinion, even if only very informally.  This leads into being genuine: don’t be a fake version you think they want. I’m afraid I’ve seen them, and they are excruciatingly embarrassing. But remember to listen to the hints. “This would be your class; Displays were Ms X’s strong point” might also be the less guarded,  less professional “This would be your class; I’m sure Ms Y’s class have been having a lovely time here today, and she will get round to tidying it up before the morning.” Yes, I have heard both – and worse. If you’ve read their last OfSTED report you may have picked up some the nuances already. Just don’t barge in by saying “Yes, I see the last OfSTED said a,b, c…” especially if the abc were critical. And if you see something you really don’t like, consider: could I be happy working here? As I said, this is you looking at them as well as them looking at you. But be courteous.

What to wear for the tour? Well, not casual: if this isn’t a tour-teach-interview experience, save your interview clothes for the interview. And if it’s during the school day, dress like a teacher in case you need to get down to work with children at a table or help put a jigsaw/pile of maths equipment away.

Do you have any questions?  You will doubtless be asked that at the interview, and if you aren’t, then end on a bright note with “No, I think I’m fine for now: the information you have given me was very full, and this has been a very positive experience. Thank you again.”  Nervous giggles as “Not reeelly though” aren’t what you need. On a tour that isn’t attached to the interview, you might be more candid with your questions, but try not to sound like you are wary of hard work. I was once asked “How long to people stay in the evenings?” and while it was a very reasonable question, it did come over as “When can I leave?”  Questions on pedagogy, schemes of work, things you might be able to get involved in might work – but again: be yourself.

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Now, assuming you’ve done all this, and you still like the school and you think they like you, it’s application form (or letter or whatever) time. I’m sure you get some guidance on this as you come to the end of whatever ITT you’re doing, but here are just three things to remember.

Application forms are often read at the end of the day by tired people. Don’t waste their time or energy with

1. Misspellings and grammatical horrors. Come on: copy-edit ebfroe before pressing send. I’ve known good students lose out on an interview over this.
2. Formulaic stuff that staggers from catchphrase to catchphrase. I know you have a limited word count, but buzzwords won’t help.
3. Waffle that doesn’t show clearly how your experience and qualifications make you the person the job description is getting at.

“I know all this,” you say.

Good. Go for it.