Why don’t we talk about job applications…..??

So, I’ll put it out there. I applied for a job. Got an interview which went really well (I thought, I actually enjoyed it) but something wasn’t quite right…. I still haven’t put my finger on what. The job was in a different city and would have been a massive move for my family, which we were prepared to do (we had even looked at daycares and talked to the bank about loans so we could look at possible houses). But because it didn’t quite sit right, I withdrew my application 😦

Big call – I am still not quite sure of my decision. I am incredibly grateful for the support I received around making this decision from those that matter the most to me, and who it affected the most. I still pretty crappy about the whole deal though.

The whole process has given me a lot to think about though, the biggest being

“Why don’t we talk about applying for jobs?”

It seems to me it is a logical step in any teachers career to think about other roles – and there are lots of paths that teaching can lead you down. When I left my last school to come to this school, I was ready to learn from new people, experience co-ed, different decile, just different. It wasn’t that I was unhappy where I was, I just wanted something different. I applied for 2 jobs, got 2 interviews (I know, lucky but I do have a good CV) and got offered one job and turned down for the other.

People where really upset for me when I didn’t get the one role. I was a little disappointed myself, but can also understand that I wasn’t the best fit for what they were looking for. To be fair, the job I got (and still have) was probably a better fit for me in terms of how I could develop myself and my skills.

This time round it was that I was looking for a step up. I thought I was ready, in fact eager to be making the bigger calls and leading change from a more ‘recognised’ front line position. But it didn’t feel right.

Around this, I had some other friends and colleagues applying for jobs. I even helped with a CV… but they kept their applications on the quiet. Which I of course respected.

But it only added to my unease that I was openly talking to people about my applications, asking about interviews and questions, asking about managing departments, asking asking asking. Friends and colleagues would say ‘oh, I won’t tell anyone…’ like it was a secret. I didn’t want it to be a secret. I’m not planning a coup to oust my current school’s leaders. I just wanted to be able to talk about a big decision. Get ideas from people.

And now as people ask me how it went, I again want to talk about it. To try and figure out why it wasn’t quite right…. what training could I do to make it right? Should I choose another direction? Do I really want to be a HOD? Maybe a SCT would be better? Or e-learning? Maybe doing a paper or two would provide the challenge I am after? A friend has just become an RTLB…. Do I actually just want to stay as a lowly ‘classroom’ teacher and have fun setting fire to stuff? But again I can tell I am making people uncomfortable…. it is like if you are looking for a new job, you must not like the job you are in. Which, despite the frustrations that I think everyone feels at times, is not the truth. It was simply a case of a good opportunity at almost the perfect time. I am quite gutted it wasn’t quite right.

So, despite feeling slightly uncomfortable about publishing this blog, here it is. I think we should talk more about job applications and opportunities, so it is easier for everyone to think about what their next step might be