Didn't get a job at 38

[CathysGhost]

Just been told I failed to get a main scale teacher job
I'm 15 years in and the other two candidates were nqt. I'm not overly disappointed as I have a tlr job at the moment and I wanted to go the interview as it was in a better school. My feedback was that another lesson was better than mine and I'm gutted.
Actual teaching had always been my strength and now I've lost all confidence. 15 years experience and beaten by an nqt and I feel shit. Isn't that bitch of me?
How can I get a grip?

they interviewed you before anyone else? That’s the dream? They must had absolutely loved your application
I was very pleased!
Pretty much every application I’ve done recently says something along the lines of ‘we reserve the right to interview before the closing date’ but I never actually believed it happened until they got in touch and said ‘can we see you
on Monday!’ I also used the TES ‘quick apply’ for that job and it was really easy to use so would definitely recommend that. Funnily enough I also applied for another job on that same day using quick apply and got an interview but withdrew my application because I couldn’t manage another day out of school. They actually got in touch with me on the afternoon of their interviews saying ‘we weren’t keen on any of them, are you sure you can’t pop in and meet us after school tonight for a quick interview?!’ So that was a nice confidence boost after all the rejections!

I have nothing useful to say other than wait til you're 48...

when a 12 year old gets promoted to SLT instead of you

Because of my job I knew quite a few people applying for their first teaching jobs, apart from one who got a job at a placement school the others are all losing out on jobs to teachers who are just finishing their NQT year - still cheap but with some experience.

My current school is filled with NQTs and +1s. With 11 years experience, I'm the most experienced teacher there by several years! And I'm leaving at the end of this year because I really don't like the school.

It'll be cost, OP, for sure. Teachers with only a year or two of experience are so much in demand due to budgets. My mum said it's a seller's market atm but I disagree - I'm more likely to have to take a pay cut to get another job than being able to name my price when there are far cheaper teachers out there. Depressing, but true.

Like everyone else has said NQTs are cheaper. Such a shame that experience counts for nothing, I guess they churn teachers out using grants and bursaries fully aware of the fact they have enough people doing it for two or three years to plug gaps.

I was recently told there was nothing to choose between me and an NQT at an interview, but she seemed to ‘want it more’ so she got the job

I read on here once that they tend to interview the nqts but invite one or two experienced candidates as a back up in case the nqts are rubbish. I think that might be true as every recent interview I have been to has been me and maybe one other experienced teacher plus 4 nqts.

I was against an nqt and another with less experience than my 20+ years for my now current job. I am on U5, had a high level tlr but was exhausted and just wanted to have a job where I could teach without the crap. I was lucky that they valued my experience, and accepted my prepared answer about stepping down. It has saved me. I love beings teacher again.

Please hold out hope that it can happen for you.