Job-hunting for NQTs

With so much going on during the latter part of your initial teacher training the whole time-consuming task of actually finding a job for September can easily slip to the bottom of your list of priorities. Planning your next batch of lessons for your teaching placement is, quite naturally, far more urgent!

That said, however, spending time on the great job hunt at this stage of your final year of training can help to ensure that you continue your career in the profession in a school that is right for you, and in which you will be happy to complete your induction.

When looking for your first teaching job you should be aware of where you can and cannot work through your induction period. The DfES guide, The Induction Period for Newly Qualified Teachers, states that the following types of school can provide an induction period:

• Maintained schools
• Non-maintained special schools
• Sixth-form colleges (under certain circumstances)
• Independent schools (under certain circumstances)

The following cannot offer you an induction period:

• Pupil-referral units
• Schools requiring Special Measures (unless certain conditions apply)
• Independent schools that do not meet the relevant conditions
• Further Education colleges

Although you do not have to begin your induction period immediately after gaining Qualified Teacher Status, you will not be able to teach in a maintained school or non-maintained special school if you do not successfully complete one. So it makes sense to look for a job that will be inductable in order to complete this important stage of your career.

Teaching vacancies are advertised throughout the school year and knowing where to look can take a lot of the pain out of the job-hunt. These ideas will help you to locate the right vacancy for you:

• Decide on the geographical area in which you would like to teach. For some this will include the entire country, but for others, personal commitments may mean that the size of your target area is far more limited.
• Check out the national press for jobs. Most of the broadsheets have weekly education supplements carrying job vacancies, so buy them on the relevant day.
• The local press in the areas in which you'd like to teach will also carry vacancies.
• LEA bulletins or newsletters usually carry job vacancies.
• There are several websites devoted to teacher recruitment, e.g. www.eteach.com and www.selecteducation.co.uk. Look at TeacherNet's Useful sites area for others.

Most local education authorities have a recruitment-strategy manager. These people are in the know when it comes to local recruitment needs and are available to talk to trainees and newly qualified teachers about possible vacancies. This can be a particularly fruitful route to landing a job if you are proactively targeting one specific LEA. If you want to work in the area in which you are completing your initial teacher training you can also make use of any contacts you've made at school and college/university. The right conversation at the right time could mean you glean the very information that will lead to the perfect job for you.

Once you have located a job you'd like to go for, the next stage is completing the necessary forms. This is a time-consuming stage of the process but worth devoting energy to.

Much of the application form will be self-explanatory; just a question of filling in the boxes with the relevant details. It's usually a good idea to take a photocopy before starting so that you can have a 'dry run'.

Selling your skills

Writing a supporting statement or letter of application is a challenge for most of us and it has to be one of the least-liked aspects of the whole application process. The following guidance on writing statements comes from The Newly Qualified Teacher's Handbook.

The application form is designed to elicit basic information about you, your education and employment history. This alone will not make you stand out from the crowd, but your real opportunity to shine is in the supporting statement.

Your main goals when writing your supporting statement must be to match your skills to the job description and to include your unique selling points. Don't simply write about the experiences you have had. Inform your future employers of your achievements. Your leading sentence must engage the reader immediately, giving a sense of your personality. Always optimise your positive aspects and end with something memorable.

Although the supporting statement is by far the most trying part of the application process, don't be tempted to reproduce it for all your applications - make sure to relate it directly to individual job descriptions.

Checklist for writing a supporting statement

• Before starting, write a list of key points from the job description (e.g. Year 3 class teacher, class contains pupils with special needs, high display standards, strong singing tradition in the school).
• Write a list of your unique selling points, ensuring that they relate directly to your first list.
• Begin with impact and end unforgettably!
• Convey a sense of your personality.
• Fill the main body of the statement with your skills and achievements, always optimising the positive. Include an explanation of your motivation to teach.
• Use impeccable grammar throughout, avoiding lengthy sentences and aimless paragraphs. Brevity is the key. Use so-called 'action' words to avoid overuse of 'I did'.
• Express what your teaching practice has taught you, and convey an idea of your philosophy of teaching.
• Include information on any travel, hobbies and voluntary work that you have done, and how this equips you for the job.
• If possible, and unless requested otherwise, type your statement.

Once you have sent in your completed application and associated forms (you may be asked to return a declaration of health or 'fitness to teach' form, for example), you may not automatically receive acknowledgement of receipt unless you have included a stamped, self-addressed postcard. And if your application has not been successful this time, again you may not automatically be informed, so do contact the school if you hear nothing within two to three weeks. During this time you are free to apply for other jobs if you see any suitable. Hopefully, though, your application will result in a call for an interview.

The Newly Qualified Teacher's Handbook by Elizabeth Holmes is published by Kogan Page.

Originally published on Teachernet