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Original poster

Had school admin interview today - is it bad news?

61 replies

user3244786 · 15/05/2026 18:00

I had an interview for admin role in a primary school this morning. It is now 6pm and not heard anything. It’s also Friday today.. is it looking like bad news?

they didn’t say when we’d hear back about whether we were successful.

I was up against a lot of other candidates. Interviews only today. Would they contact successful candidate today or is it likely it would roll on to Monday?

thanks

OP posts:
Ernestina123 · 15/05/2026 18:04

Very unlikely they would contact you today.

If there were a lot of candidates they may have spent all day interviewing and they will only be able to make a decision once they have seen everyone. That meeting may not even take place until Monday. And then they may have to feed a decision up the food chain. Final decision maybe on Wednesday.

They will inform the unsuccessful candidates first. So I would not expect to hear anything until next Friday at the earliest.

Chickoletta · 15/05/2026 18:07

I wouldn’t expect a call today if there were a lot of candidates. They will ‘wash up’ at the end of the interviews but may not make a final decision at that point. Monday or even Tuesday would be very normal. Good luck!

SparkyBlue · 15/05/2026 18:08

I definitely wouldn’t expect them to get back to you so quickly

Interested in this thread?

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General education Jobs
DoYouLikeYourNaneFred · 15/05/2026 18:10

I don't think there was ever any hope of hearing anything today. Even if you were the only candidate!

youre going to need to be patient! Good practice for a job in a school!

try to enjoy the weekend!

best of luck
🌷

ShowOfHands · 15/05/2026 18:12

In our school, we would let you know on the day BUT we'd tell you this at interview and we contact everybody on the same day either way.

I think it's highly likely they aren't contacting anybody until next week.

Original poster
user3244786 · 15/05/2026 18:14

Thank you all xx

i never would have expected to hear back same day either but for some reason on mumsnet it seems to be common to be told same day when it’s a school setting… maybe not… we’ll see.

OP posts:
ginasevern · 15/05/2026 18:20

I don't know about school jobs but it would be pretty unusual to hear back the same day as an interview in most sectors.

Mumdiva99 · 15/05/2026 18:22

Schools do often let you know at the end of the day. BUT there might be a reason you haven't yet heard.

Daffodilsinthespring · 15/05/2026 18:24

Not a school but NHS. We interviewed nearly two weeks ago and told the successful on today. Same day is way too early unless they said it would be today.

sittingonabeach · 15/05/2026 18:25

When I have been involved with school interviews they do normally let you know on the day or tell you the timeframe for contacting you. But we usually only have a small field of candidates

Butterme · 15/05/2026 18:30

When I’ve interviewed in schools, the interviews have been over more than 1 day and so I’ve never heard back on the same day.

I’ve had to wait up to 2 weeks before.

Good luck.

MeetMeOnTheCorner · 15/05/2026 18:33

We always informed the successful candidate on the same day. Only reason not to would be excessive dithering. The interview is the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle. It’s not the only part of the process. It’s to confirm you are what your application says and it gives you snd them a chance to evaluate each other. We never informed unsuccessful people first - the person you offer it to might turn it down. Offer first and have a reserve. When did interviews stop? They surely only interviewed around 5 or 6. That doesn’t take all day.

Original poster
user3244786 · 15/05/2026 18:37

Thank you all for your replies.

6-8 people were interviewed. Interviews lasted an hour each.

I have a gut feeling successful person has been called already.

It makes sense, I have no previous experience. But I was really happy with how interview went

OP posts:
HedgehogsOnTheWall · 15/05/2026 18:43

Interviewing say 8 people for an hour each is pretty much a whole working day. Then they have to find time to compare notes, score the candidates (if needed) and decide who gets the job. I would not expect to hear anything until maybe Tuesday or Wednesday.

MigGirl · 15/05/2026 18:54

It is fairly normal for school jobs to here the same day. I got offered 2 jobs at the end of interview, although the second one I was the only one interviewed.

Schools normally don't hang around, but I've also had to wait a few days and I think often that's when they offer their first choice the job but they don't say yes straight away. So they are then waiting on their preferred candidate to get back to them before letting everyone else know they weren't successful.

Even teacher jobs are often decided on the same day. I found it odd when I first started working in education but seems quite normal in this sector.

Original poster
user3244786 · 15/05/2026 18:58

I wouldn’t be as worried if it wasn’t a Friday.. yes I think I’ve been rejected. The questions went very well I thought but think I f-ed up the task

OP posts:
sittingonabeach · 15/05/2026 19:03

You can ask for feedback if you don’t get it. Were you able to answer safeguarding questions?

Original poster
user3244786 · 15/05/2026 19:11

Yes. I prepared for this interview and did my absolute best. I think I Did well but have been trumped by people with previous school experience

OP posts:
Callmeback · 15/05/2026 19:14

With teaching posts, it's usually same day but that isn't always the case for other school roles. They're likely to get back to you by Monday or Tuesday.

MeetMeOnTheCorner · 15/05/2026 23:28

@user3244786 An hour for a basic admin job? Far too long! And maybe 8 people? As I said, excessive dithering. It’s too long and too many. So what time did they finish? 6 pm?

Original poster
user3244786 · 16/05/2026 07:12

30’mins of the hour is spent doing a task

OP posts:
WonderfulSmith · 16/05/2026 07:14

ginasevern · 15/05/2026 18:20

I don't know about school jobs but it would be pretty unusual to hear back the same day as an interview in most sectors.

In schools the same day is standard. I’ve even known it happen for a head teacher job!

HoraceCope · 16/05/2026 07:15

well done for getting an interview
last school admin job i went for the part time person decided to go full time so the job was pulled!

SheilaFentiman · 16/05/2026 07:16

if one candidate was sick or couldn’t make today, would they get interviewed on Monday?

HoraceCope · 16/05/2026 07:16

MeetMeOnTheCorner · 15/05/2026 23:28

@user3244786 An hour for a basic admin job? Far too long! And maybe 8 people? As I said, excessive dithering. It’s too long and too many. So what time did they finish? 6 pm?

i doubt it is a basic admin job