How many interviews did it take to get your first teaching job?

[TheFunEagle]

Yesterday, I had my 4th interview, and unfortunately, I got another rejection! 😔

Is it normal to get rejected this many times? I’m a newly qualified teacher, and I’ve been applying for permanent teaching positions. The good news is that I’m getting interviews, which means my applications and CV are doing their job . But somehow, I feel like I’m not doing well in interviews!

I received feedback from one of my previous interviews, and they mentioned that I needed to go deeper into my answers. So, this time, I really tried to give more detailed and in-depth answers… but unfortunately, I was rejected again.

I’m still waiting for the feedback from this interview though, but I'm so frustrated! :(

For anyone who has been through something similar, how many interviews did it take you before you finally got your first permanent teaching job?

Sorry but considering there is a teaching shortage there may be a problem -
but you may be unlucky

are you flexible about what youd teach ?
Can you offer extra curricular activities?
would you help organise trips ?

there is alway a safeguarding question :
be professionally curious
reassure child they did the right thing In telling you
don’t promise confidentiality but say it will be only one other person who knows

neutral face not shocked
do not investigate not your job
take note using child exact words
pass on to dsl only - no gossip
write up fully using Cpoms or whatever system - promptly
follow all policies and procedures

And a behaviour management :
consistency
routines
making positive relationships
follow all school policies and procedures
positive relationships with parents
rewards
seating plan

use flash cards so you don’t forget anything

My specialty is Art and Design in FE sector. So, it's not really shortage is this sector but I was hoping to find a job by now! I'm teaching at moment but with agencies and I wax looking to find a permanent job but I've not been successful yet ! :(

Slightly different situation as I was an NQT / ECT 15 years ago but I applied for well over 50 jobs at the time. I got my first job covering long term sickness. Once I was in a local authority school, I think it helped to ease my way into another local authority school when a job came up. Keep heart. It feels like an uphill struggle but keep ploughing on, taking feedback and fine tuning your interview responses.
Finally, if it helps to hear about other rejections, I received 2 sets of feedback, at the time, from primary schools telling me that I lost one job because the other candidate brought a puppet to his lesson observation and another because the other candidate dressed up as a book character to teach his observation lesson. Sometimes you can’t foresee the reasons they’ll reject you on 🤷🏻‍♀️

Over my career, I’ve worked in 5 schools and had 6 interviews from 7 applications.
So 1 interview where I didn’t get the job and 1 application where I didn’t get an interview.

It’s tough at the moment as so many places have had rounds of redundancies as places deal with funding and falling roll issues. This is true in FE too. Four isn’t that many really. You never know there was an internal candidate or whether this one wanted more concise answers.

Record yourself answering questions - use a tool like The Key and evaluate and score your answers. Repeat until you are fabulous and then you are ready for your next interview.

Everytime I lost the job to more experienced candidate! I'm quite disappointed by myself, I think I need to practice more. But teaching jobs interviews are two parts. Teaching and interview. That's make it more complicated. I also been shortlisted for another interview but I don't think I have enough motivation to go to interview again!

You might be better moving this to Staffroom.
I’m retired so years since my first interview and job. It was quite common then for LAs to conduct panel interviews with several heads with a vacancy for a newly qualified teacher. So just the one for my first job.

Please don’t lose heart 4 isn’t many and the right job will be out there. Have you been visiting the schools first and having a good look on their websites? Good luck with your search.

Sorry hadn’t seen your updates. Started typing then went back to my post.

About 19. A very trainee dense, competitive teaching job market where I am! I accepted the first job I was offered even though it didnt feel right and it nearly cost me my teaching career (bullying Head, later ousted by the governors but after I'd gone). So take caution. The right school might not be the first school. I cannot rate supply teaching highly enough for gaining experience!

I was rejected by one interview because they didn't rate my answer to an interview question. That question being, "if you were a vegetable, what would you be and why?" Absurd, the excuses they come up with as well as the questions sometimes!

Mine was years ago but I got lots of interviews but the job always went to the person who was in it temporarily. I got really cheesed off so if I knew these were the circumstances I didn't bother applying.
Eventually I managed to get into a school and worked my way up from being part time