Once all the candidates have been interviewed, you may be asked to wait while the panel makes its decision.

If this happens, the chairperson of the panel will invite one candidate back into the interview room to make an offer of employment.

 

As soon as the panel has received oral acceptance, the remaining candidates will normally be told that the job has been offered to another applicant.

 

While you're waiting for the decision, make some judgements of your own. Would you accept the job if offered? What are your instinctive feelings about the job and the school? Could you be happy there? On rare occasions, candidates may be released immediately after the interview and the whole process of offering and accepting the job may be carried out by telephone and letter. If this is the case for you and employment is not offered, you are still entitled to ask for a debriefing.

 

Accepting the post

 

If you receive a job offer, you may feel that you can’t accept the post immediately, particularly if you have another interview in the immediate future for a job that you’d prefer, or you’re waiting for the result of another interview.

 

Be honest with the panel and you'll usually be met with a sympathetic response. While you shouldn't expect them to wait too long for a decision, it would not be unreasonable to ask for 24 hours to decide whether or not to accept the job. 

 

If you receive an offer of appointment you want to take up, you should initially make an oral, provisional acceptance (i.e. subject to receipt of all the final details of the appointment in writing). 

 

The next stage, once you've received the formal written offer of appointment, is to confirm your acceptance in writing. Remember that once you formally accept a job offer, both sides become contractually bound. Needless to say, you should be entirely certain about the precise terms and conditions of the post and details of the job description before you formally accept. If you have any doubts, seek extra clarification from the school or contact ATL for advice before going any further. 

 

In your letter you should refer back to the employer's formal written offer and any other terms that have been agreed between you and the employer. These letters will then be evidence of all the terms of the contract. 

 

Be aware that if you change your mind and decide not to accept the job after formally accepting it (whether orally or in writing), you may be in breach of contract. If you do so after accepting at interview but before the written offer is sent to you, the breach of contract is likely not to have serious consequences, since the employer will probably be able to offer the job to the next best candidate without too much difficulty.

 

However, if you withdraw after accepting in writing, the employer may then find it difficult to fill the vacant post without placing further adverts, holding interviews and drawing together another interview panel. Should the employer be put to this additional expense due to your withdrawal, you may become liable for this expense if a decision is made to sue you for breach of contract. While there have been very few instances of employers successfully suing prospective employees under these circumstances, it is obviously best to avoid getting into these difficulties. Be sure that you're clear about and happy with the details of the appointment before you formally accept. If you decide to withdraw your acceptance of the post, inform the employer immediately. 

 

Sadly, it is not unknown for oral offers to be revoked after they have been made. This may also involve a breach of contract if a clear agreement had been made. However, it can be difficult to prove subsequently that a formal contract was in fact concluded, if there's nothing in writing. To protect yourself, you should always request written confirmation, setting out the terms and conditions, which you then accept by letter. If an offer was withdrawn in these circumstances, the exchange of correspondence could then be used as evidence of the employer's breach of contract.

 

If you are not successful

 

If you've been unsuccessful, don't automatically think the worst ­ it could be a blessing in disguise! Take out of the experience as much that is positive as possible, and develop the attitude that, if the job wasn't for you, there will be a more suitable one to apply for in the future. At the very least, the whole process is valuable experience and good practice. 

 

If you are very keen to work at the school but did not receive an offer of a job, it's worth sending a letter to the school shortly after your interview to say how much you enjoyed your visit and that you'd like to be considered for future vacancies.

 

If you’ve submitted lots of applications and had a couple of interviews without getting any job offers, it’s easy to feel downhearted. Elizabeth Holmes, author of ATL’s publication Apply yourself!, offers the following advice.

 

Make sure you’re looking for vacancies in the right places. Schools are using a range of methods to advertise, and you have to cover all the bases to make sure that you don’t miss out. Most vacancies are advertised online now and many local authorities will publish job bulletins on their own websites. It’s possible to complete an online CV on www.eteach.com that employers can browse.

 

The wider you can make your search, the better. If you’re restricted to one area it may take longer, but don’t be tempted to dash to the other end of the country to chase a job if you know that you’ll be miserable far away from your family and friends. The induction period is too important and potentially challenging to add homesickness into the equation. Teaching vacancies crop up all through the academic year so even if you don’t get something for a September start, the chances are you’ll be in a job for the spring or summer terms. In the meantime, aim to gain as much experience as possible. If funds allow, do some voluntary work in a local school, as this is all good CV fodder. Consider going for temporary contracts too, as you never know what they may lead to. Stay positive: something will turn up!

 

This text is taken from page 9 of Elizabeth Holmes’ book FAQs for NQTs: Practical advice and working solutions for newly qualified teachers. (2006) Routledge. Hardback ISBN: 0415367956; price £65 Paperback ISBN 0415367964 ; price £16.99. 

 

Making complaints

 

If there is any aspect of an application process that you're not happy with, particularly if you feel that equal opportunities may have been compromised (see page 21), you should contact ATL for advice without delay. There is likely to be a complaints procedure, but it is important to take professional advice before taking this route.

 

Self-appraisal and evaluation

 

Regardless of the outcome of your application and interview, take some time to evaluate how things went and what you perceived to be your strengths and weaknesses. If you've been offered a debriefing, do consider what is said and how you might improve in the future. 

 

It can be helpful to discuss any concerns with your tutor or a trusted friend, especially if you feel you were unsuccessful because of your interview technique. Above all, make a list of all the positive points from your application experiences so you have something morale-boosting to read before you apply for another post. Think about the things you wanted to say but didn't, and how you would answer questions differently next time.

 

Looking to the future

 

Making a successful application for a teaching job will probably be just the beginning of your continuing professional development. If you can feel comfortable with the whole process of applying, the interview and enthusiastically selling your skills and abilities, you won't hold yourself back from the progress you deserve to make in the rest of your professional career.

Further information

• Looking for vacancies
• Applications
• Interviews