What's the situation with accepting a job and turning it down? (Teaching)

I was talking to a friend who is an nqt, and she said she was told if you accept a teaching post and then subsequently back out you get blacklisted by your local authority. Is this true?

I'm not saying I'd ever want to back out of a job because I know that's a bad thing to do in any career. It's just difficult because you want to apply for literally every job you see, yet at the same time you don't want to accept an early job offer in case something else comes up. I want to work in a college ideally, so if I'd accepted a job at a high school then saw my perfect job in a college, I'd be devastated, but at the same time i want to apply for a lot of jobs. It is a catch 22.

Early to think about this I know, but I was just wondering what the situation is.

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Reply 1

Squoosh25

3

Original post by Airfairy

It is a catch 22.

It's a dilemma, not a catch-22. In a catch-22, neither option would be available to you, because you would have to achieve option A in order for option B to be available for you, and you'd have to achieve option B in order in order for option A to be available for you. In your case, both option A (grab the earliest job you can) and option B (wait for the perfect job) are available to you, it's just that you have to choose one or other, and not both.

An example of a catch-22 would be where you need to have work experience to get a job, but you need a job before a company could take you on for work experience.

I strongly recommend reading the book Catch-22, by the way.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

2710

18

Original post by Squoosh25

It's a dilemma, not a catch-22. In a catch-22, neither option would be available to you, because you would have to achieve option A in order for option B to be available for you, and you'd have to achieve option B in order in order for option A to be available for you. In your case, both option A (grab the earliest job you can) and option B (wait for the perfect job) are available to you, it's just that you have to choose one or other, and not both.

An example of a catch-22 would be where you need to have work experience to get a job, but you need a job before a company could take you on for work experience.

I strongly recommend reading the book Catch-22, by the way.

Lol

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Reply 3

TraineeLynsey

7

It's a big no no. And a verbal acceptance is as binding as a signed contract.

Heads talk, so backing out essentially ruins your name with anyone that head might feel inclined to tell.

Reply 4

myrtille

15

Yeah, just don't do it.

When you first start applying, only apply for jobs you think you really want. In your case, colleges/6th forms/upper schools. If you're lucky enough to land an NQT job in January/February, great!

By March/April, you may wish to start broadening your search. Before that I only applied to schools I knew (by reputation at least) and which were in a 30 mile radius of my postcode. After that, I went for a 50 mile radius provided the school website seemed to suggest my subject was valued and had good take-up at GCSE. There's still no point applying to schools you're sure you wouldn't want to work in.

May/June is the point where you'd need to start applying for pretty much anything. A lot of NQT jobs are one year contracts so you're best to stick it out and then start applying for jobs in colleges again the following year.

Reply 5

paddyman4

14

I backed out of accepting a teaching job during my PGCE. I backed out the next day and even then it was a massive thing, I had to call my union for advice and had to tell the head of my PGCE who called the school after I backed out to apologise.

Reply 6

Airfairy

OP

21

Original post by paddyman4

I backed out of accepting a teaching job during my PGCE. I backed out the next day and even then it was a massive thing, I had to call my union for advice and had to tell the head of my PGCE who called the school after I backed out to apologise.

Wow, that's quite extreme! I thought one day after they would be ok with, seeing as it wouldn't be that hard for them to ring someone back who was their second choice :dontknow:

Did you accept another job?

Original post by Airfairy

Wow, that's quite extreme! I thought one day after they would be ok with, seeing as it wouldn't be that hard for them to ring someone back who was their second choice :dontknow:

The second choice would have been told they were unsuccessful the previous day. They are not likely to subsequently accept a job from someone who didn't really want them in the first place. The cost of repeating the process is £1,500 - £2,000 and it may not be possible to re-advertise before the recruitment window closes.

Reply 8

Juichiro

18

Original post by myrtille

Yeah, just don't do it.

When you first start applying, only apply for jobs you think you really want. In your case, colleges/6th forms/upper schools. If you're lucky enough to land an NQT job in January/February, great!

By March/April, you may wish to start broadening your search. Before that I only applied to schools I knew (by reputation at least) and which were in a 30 mile radius of my postcode. After that, I went for a 50 mile radius provided the school website seemed to suggest my subject was valued and had good take-up at GCSE. There's still no point applying to schools you're sure you wouldn't want to work in.

May/June is the point where you'd need to start applying for pretty much anything. A lot of NQT jobs are one year contracts so you're best to stick it out and then start applying for jobs in colleges again the following year.

Interesting. And after NQT? Do they tend to be one-year contracts too?

Reply 9

Juichiro

18

Original post by Mr M

The second choice would have been told they were unsuccessful the previous day. They are not likely to subsequently accept a job from someone who didn't really want them in the first place. The cost of repeating the process is £1,500 - £2,000 and it may not be possible to re-advertise before the recruitment window closes.

Why is it so expensive, Mr. McAllister? Where does the money go?

Reply 10

LavenderBlueSky88

20

Not teaching but I'm in a similar situation. I have interviews for jobs I'm not particularly crazy about and I'm waiting on a few others I've applied for. If I got one of the less desirable jobs I'd probably have to accept it because there's no guarantee I'd even get an interview for the jobs I want, but then if I did I'd be devastated. It's really hard, especially as loads of jobs wait weeks before offering you an interview.

Original post by Juichiro

Why is it so expensive, Mr. McAllister? Where does the money go?

Typical TES advert costs £1,500.

Reply 12

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by Airfairy

Wow, that's quite extreme!

I'm afraid it isn't extreme. In the teaching world, doing this is effectively ending your chances of a job anywhere in the region. It's a big, big nono.

Reply 13

myrtille

15

Original post by Juichiro

Interesting. And after NQT? Do they tend to be one-year contracts too?

At the end of my one-year contract I had to reapply for my own job and go through an interview process, but I now have a permanent contract.

You definitely do get permanent contracts advertised (including for NQTs) but it is pretty common for schools to initially offer a 1-year contract and then give you a permanent contract if they're happy with you. It's a bit of a pain (extra stress about job security in the NQT year as well as everything else) but from the school's point of view it means they're not stuck with someone on a permanent contract who they're not sure about.

Reply 14

haroon77

1

Would love to get a permanent job.

Reply 15

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by haroon77

Would love to get a permanent job.

It'll happen one day. Many temporary contracts become permanent as long as the money is still there to pay you and you haven't committed some serious atrocity during the year. It's a safety net for the school, not really a judgement on you.

Reply 16

Juichiro

18

Original post by Carnationlilyrose

It'll happen one day. Many temporary contracts become permanent as long as the money is still there to pay you and you haven't committed some serious atrocity during the year. It's a safety net for the school, not really a judgement on you.

I would love to hear examples of that. :biggrin:

Reply 17

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by Juichiro

I would love to hear examples of that. :biggrin:

To quote from Educating Rita, buggering the bursar.

Reply 18

haroon77

1

Original post by Carnationlilyrose

It'll happen one day. Many temporary contracts become permanent as long as the money is still there to pay you and you haven't committed some serious atrocity during the year. It's a safety net for the school, not really a judgement on you.

No I just found it laughable that a 3-4 year contract is a permanent one.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 19

paddyman4

14

Original post by Airfairy

Wow, that's quite extreme! I thought one day after they would be ok with, seeing as it wouldn't be that hard for them to ring someone back who was their second choice :dontknow:

Did you accept another job?

Yeah as other people have said, they will tell the unsuccessful people their fate as soon as their first choice accepts. These people might not want to take a job knowing they are second choice.

In my case I'm pretty sure I was the only one being interviewed on the day so I guess wasn't as bad. They offered me the job in school, right after my interview, which I think is bad practice. I had no chance to digest the day's experiences and there is a lot of pressure in that moment. For the job I ended up taking, they called me in the evening instead.

What's the situation with accepting a job and turning it down? (Teaching)

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