Applying for Jobs

Applying for Jobs

22 March, 2016

Applying for and acquiring jobs seems to be increasingly difficult for teachers in Victoria. Kristen explores what it means to be finishing her course and the job application process.

I’m in the final year of my Bachelor of Education (Primary) in Melbourne and most weeks I’ll get asked the question ‘So when do you finish?’ and I’ll say ‘this year!’ enthusiastically, and then I get the comment ‘ahhh, so you must be nearly ready to apply for jobs!’. All of a sudden, I’m feeling daunted, stressed and anxious, much like the lady in the picture. I’ve heard bad things about applying for teaching jobs fresh out of university.

Firstly, I think back to a friend who finished her Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) degree three years ago - one of the most lovely, friendly girls you’ll ever meet. She applied for over 100 jobs, and had only 4 interviews come out of it. The problem with the interviews was that they were for a position that had already been ‘filled’, but government required the schools to interview at least two other candidates before they could hire/re-hire that candidate. She was offered a position in a country location, however chose not to accept this position.

Secondly, another friend finished her Bachelor of Education Secondary, specialising in English and Drama two years ago. A similar story, applied for what seemed like tens of hundreds of jobs, writing unique key selection criteria suited to each school, without much success. It is important in this case to consider that drama is a specialist field, and these jobs are hard to come by at the best of times. She has a theory though (which she claims to be true), that a school will receive hundreds of applications, split the pile in half, and throw away one of the piles without so much as a glance. I really hope this isn’t true.*

Now, I’m not telling you these stories to scare you - I’m telling these stories to help us explore how we can set ourselves apart in the application process. Keep reading to find out what happened to these two friends (there is hope, don’t worry!). These stories do however beg the question: How to we get schools to look at our application?

If there’s one thing that I know for sure - schools want you to have a range of experience. Experience that may not be limited to placements required by your course, but experience working with children in other settings too. This indicates that you’re proactive and have demonstrated the necessary skills to work with children on a regular basis. 

For the duration of my course, I’ve been volunteering at a children’s art class that runs weekly after school, as well as a breakfast club at a local high school. Every time I mention that I’m studying Primary Teaching to one of the parents, they make the comment ‘that’ll look great on your resume!’ and I (mentally) pat myself on the back. Perhaps you’re like Alex who volunteers in a classroom (see below) - or perhaps you’re a swim teacher or maybe a nanny. What I’m trying to say is - whatever experience you have working with children is experience that schools want to hear about because these experiences will inevitably have helped to shape you as a teacher.

Back to my two friends - the first spent some time working as a casual relief teacher (CRT), and secured an ongoing contract at her dream school 6 months later. The second has worked as a CRT and had three term-long contracts at different schools filling long-service-leave positions. The feedback that she has received from schools is that they are looking for someone with experience, so she will continue to try and gain some more experience. 

*if you’ve heard of some other myths like this, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll see what I can find out about them.

- Kristen