Admin School position

[Rossie86]

Hi all, im actively looking for admin position in school.I got over 15 years experience,and i dont think there's anything which I cannot do in that field. I have been on around 5-6 interviews so far, and what i hear every time is " you did really well on the interview, it was very positive, but unfortunately there is someone with direct school experience " .There always going to be someone, and they know i dont have any school experience why they inviting me to interview at all? I dont know what to do ,or what im not doing? What is your experience, any ideas?

Honestly OP, your spelling, punctuation and grammar is terrible. No way would this be acceptable for school admin. I appreciate you’re not British but how do you think it would work if you were employed in a school you’re not able to write correct English?

You must be very over qualified then, that won't help. Did they ask about that? They did when I applied for school admin posts, and I did when interviewing for them. You need a very good answer because they want admin staff who will stay "forever" not someone who's looking for a couple of years until DC go to secondary.

Thank you for the feedback, that's very useful for me. I will work on it.

I didnt pay too much attention on what im putting here to be honest ,as its only discussion.

Serious question, intended to be helpful - does the role require good spelling and grammar and/or a high standard of communication skills?

It wasn't mentioned or worded as your question. All job spec was about admin skills, specific school related skills , customer service,which I guess covers communication. I dont think I have any communication issues to work on,as im spending the day on the phone,replying to emails and messages as well.Its really interesting why ,out of around 9 applications do far,I had only 2 refused. All the rest I was invited to interview. And I hear all the same very positive interview, you did really well,but there was someone with direct school experience "
I found high school interviews ,harder than primary schools ones, anyway no luck in both.

A cousin of mine worked in a school office for a while. She absolutely hated it for a variety of reasons. She was not treated nicely by the other admin staff. Constant micromanaging, she was criticised at every opportunity by her bitch of a manager. High pressure, high level of responsibility, huge workload, low pay. She would come home in tears.

Micromanaging its the worst you can get in a team.Good leader should trust their team.They should know all strengths or weaknesses of each team member. If you Micromanaging, that means you failed, in my eyes, and from my experience. Starting to think ,that the disadvantages are bigger than advantages in this role.

I work in school admin in a high school. I took 28 calls in my first hour of work today as well as dealing with a stream of parents in person, sorting deliveries and trying to get actual admin work done. It's relentless, teachers treat you like shit on their shoe and the pay is dire.

Admin roles in offices I've had have been much less stressful.

Have you tried Universities. Easier to get into than schools if you have any good ones nearby? Obviously, a lot of Universities are struggling but may be easier to get into and there could be scope for flexibility if it’s the holidays you are looking for?

The tour before you actually apply is the real interview in my humble opinion!!

Genuinely busy people always find time. Also your current employer should give you time off for volunteer work.

My first thought would be that you must be earning good money as a recruitment account manager and school admin positions are notoriously under paid. Therefore I’d assume your motivation for applying is better work life balance/ an easier life, which, as a hiring manager I would not be what I’m looking for.
Also as others have said, your punctuation in every one of your posts is terrible - even subsequent posts after addressing it. Simple things such as where to put commas and spacing. I know it’s not a huge deal in recruitment but working in education it’s one of the basics.
Good look op.

Hi, bear in mind its just online discussion here and i won't pay any attention on my grammar, punctuation or whatsoever. What im shearing here is my honest thoughts ,I won't do it in that way on interview.I'm not arrogant, I just know what Im capable of,im confident im my current role,yes. Its exactly how I feel.Anyway, I dont think I'll carry on pushing for that type of role after I read all comments. It's just not seems to worth it at all.Thank you all for the advices. Have a lovely day

Also think about your role in regards to dealing with children who may be sent to the office to wait for a parent to collect as they are unwell, vomiting, having a melt down, distressed and parents who may be worried, angry, distressed. Working in a school office is more than admin type work. You also need to be able to fix photocopiers etc for teachers who might need things urgently etc. Think about what questions you were asked in your unsuccessful interviews and if you are able to elaborate on your answers. As others have said, given what you are expected to do probably exceeds more than just an office role. Good luck 🤞

I still don't understand why you are fixated on school? If its for the hours, the NHS has better flexible hours. They are very used to people just applying for the holidays. Schools are savage places to work, not worth it. You could just look for a role and workplace that is a happy place to be?

How many schools have you worked in? They aren’t all the same, many have IT departments, printing departments etc

@Rossie86you need to answer your questions in the interview with examples. I also moved from a high demand role to a school job , loads of people do. You are getting interviews which is a good thing.

I just recently went through this, had very relevant experience including in safeguarding, problem solving etc etc but didn't get the school admin job. My sister who worked in schools said they're really emphatic about direct schools experience- makes you wonder how anyone ever gets in the door...! Thankfully just been offered a job elsewhere.

Honestly, the way people type on Mumsnet isnt always indicative of how they'd perform at work. Do you really proof read before you post on SM? I definitely don't. I do with my work though.

Many years ago, I was offered a school admin job with no experience except having done some volunteer work in an office. I remember at interview I was warned that I might have to manage a range of non admin situations such as: complaints/concerns from members of the public, angry parents, supervising upset or unwell kids and cleaning up vomit!

I declined and took another admin job that was not in a school!

It is “extremely” not “extreamly”.

I do try to check before I post, yes. Not saying there are never mistakes but the amount of errors in the OP’s writing suggest that her English is not up to the standard required for a school admin post, or any admin post, for that matter!

Recently retired school business manager here. Schools are very cautious when employing office staff and they tend to go for someone they already know is a safe bet. You can’t afford to take a risk on anyone who might upset parents who’ll then vent all over sm and affect the school’s reputation and cause a drop in numbers (and money). It’s also notoriously difficult to sack school staff.

Get a foot in the door somehow if you possibly can.

You might have better luck in a big academy chain with several schools who share staffing to some extent.