Interview

Well, in the end I wasn't the only job applicant and yesterday, along with 3 others, I went along for an interview.


It's always interesting to have a look around another school and mostly I really liked what I saw. Sadly the bit I wasn't so keen on was the science department. I think it has potential but some serious money needs to be spent on the labs. It's a much smaller school than I have ever worked in before - about 330 pupils, 6 science teachers, 4 labs. In a way I think that could be very nice as you'd get to know everyone quite quickly and it was emphasised that everyone is expected to get involved in school life beyond their own department. That could be a good thing, I don't know.


The interview process itself consisted of 3 separate interviews with the Head of Science, the Principal and the Vice-Principal. This was the first time I've ever been interviewed by a Principal! All 3 clearly had different aspects that they wanted to find out about. The Head of Science was obviously interested in my credentials as a technician and my skills, the Vice-Principal mainly asked about ways in which I could benefit the school as a whole and my skills and experience outside of science, and the Principal seemed to want to find out who I am as a person, I suppose to decide whether I would fit in.


I felt as though I made a good impression but the one thing no one could tell me was what the hours or salary are likely to be! Those are fairly major considerations and it does seem odd that they couldn't even hint at a ballpark figure. It sounds as though there's a bit of a restructuring of the staff going on at the moment which I guess is fair enough, but if they did offer me the job there's no way I could accept if they can't give me those sort of details.


Last night after I got home I had a call from my best mate (Head of Biology at the school concerned) who told me off the record that I'm definitely the Principal's preferred candidate but that everyone is going to sleep on it and I may hear something by the end of today.


However...  I have now been offered a big juicy carrot by my current school. I knew that going for an interview would shock them into action and they have proved me right. It's a carrot that I won't get until this time next year but it's a good carrot. Can't really say too much because it's all a bit unofficial at the moment.


So now we wait.

Job Application

I applied for a job last week. I've no idea if I actually want it or not, but at the moment I seem to be at a bit of a career crossroads. If I stay where I am then the only way to get any sort of career progression (and hence more money!) is to head down the teaching route - initially as a TA alongside my technician job and then ultimately perhaps going for QTS and moving into teaching full time or working as some weird teacher/technician hybrid. I'm still very unsure as to whether teaching is the right path for me, so my only other option is to look elsewhere for a Senior Technician post.


The job I applied for is one I normally would have ignored. The advert is for a general technician, said 'full or part time' and there was no indication of salary or working hours given which generally suggests to me that it probably wouldn't be worth my while. However, I happen to have a bit of background information on this one.


You see, my best friend is the Head of Biology at this particular school and is very keen for me to apply. At the moment they have a full time technician and a part time assistant. The full timer is now retiring and it looks as though they are waiting to see what sort of applicants they get before deciding whether the part timer gets more hours or whether they appoint a new full time technician. I also happen to know that as of 24 hours before the job closed, they had no applicants at all (mine was a bit late!).


In theory this could put me in a strong position. I've got lots of experience and I know that physics specialists tend to be a bit of a rarity. If I get an interview, and like what I see, I could try to push for a better salary and see what happens. Even if I decide I don't fancy it, or they aren't offering a good enough deal, the fact that I've applied for something else might give my HoD the kick up the backside he needs to get on to HR and sort out my contract and start the process of deciding what my TA salary should be. Could be onto a win-win here!