ETB Application Forms

Shaz_b196

Hi, I have just completed PME in post-primary teaching. I am currently in the process of applying for teaching posts. I would really appreciate any advice on how to effectively incorporate my experience for each of the competencies. For each one you are asked to provide an example of how and where you have displayed each competency with a 200 word limit on each.

Thank you in advance.

frenchmartini

That sounds like LMETB. Been there. It’s a nightmare of a form.

ethical

.......and scant regard is paid to whatever you put on it! The name of the "to be employed teacher" will be in your mans top pocket!!! Of course the rigamarole of "openess,transparency etc" will be fulfilled by have an interview charade where the great and the good (friends of etb,arse lickers,back scratchers etc) will turn up for their expense filled day and fool the candidates into thinking that they are there to thoroughly examine candidates attributes and how suitable they might be for a job! frightening the amount of money that is wasted,it would employ several teachers for a good many years1

Blaizes

ethical wrote: »

.......and scant regard is paid to whatever you put on it! The name of the "to be employed teacher" will be in your mans top pocket!!! Of course the rigamarole of "openess,transparency etc" will be fulfilled by have an interview charade where the great and the good (friends of etb,arse lickers,back scratchers etc) will turn up for their expense filled day and fool the candidates into thinking that they are there to thoroughly examine candidates attributes and how suitable they might be for a job! frightening the amount of money that is wasted,it would employ several teachers for a good many years1

That’s not a very helpful comment to the op though who is seeking advice about trying to fill out the form.

Op could the college help you out, maybe your teaching practice supervisor. Could you share ideas/ thoughts with a friend who also completed the PME with you. Maybe writing the names of the competencies on separate sheets of paper then doing a quick brainstorm while think back on your teaching practice and school experience. Maybe having your lesson plan folder at hand then might further assist you as you can check back on lessons that worked well etc. Or Maybe you have a reflections on your tp diary that you can look through.

If you put your mind to it you should get through it, very painful but maybe when done once you can use it for further applications.

TheDriver

ethical wrote: »

.......and scant regard is paid to whatever you put on it! The name of the "to be employed teacher" will be in your mans top pocket!!! Of course the rigamarole of "openess,transparency etc" will be fulfilled by have an interview charade where the great and the good (friends of etb,arse lickers,back scratchers etc) will turn up for their expense filled day and fool the candidates into thinking that they are there to thoroughly examine candidates attributes and how suitable they might be for a job! frightening the amount of money that is wasted,it would employ several teachers for a good many years1

I've sat on interview panels that are hard work, long days and definitely not easy. Could you provide a source for your accusations as I'd be interested in where this practice is taking place?

2xj3hplqgsbkym

Shaz_b196 wrote: »

Hi, I have just completed PME in post-primary teaching. I am currently in the process of applying for teaching posts. I would really appreciate any advice on how to effectively incorporate my experience for each of the competencies. For each one you are asked to provide an example of how and where you have displayed each competency with a 200 word limit on each.

Thank you in advance.

On the form it gives examples of each competency. Just take that language and put it into your examples,eg.I demonstrated leadership through my organization of the Trad Music group by distributing... and cooperating with ...,

The most relevant terminology comes from the looking at our schools document, you can also copy and use the language from that, once you have some examples to write about.
Good luck, they are long to fill in, but at least you can copy and paste next time.

Seámus-Púbach

Re ETBs, the bare minimum you'd expect is some sort of automated acknowledgement of an application. The system as it is is a pain in the hole at the best of times, never mind the part where you're stuck in limbo waiting.

As it happens, I was called to interview with a particular ETB. The email went direct to spam where it lay until the day of said interview.

A week later, they emailed me the morning of the interview with a message of 'High Importance' to confirm my attendance. This one made its way into my Inbox(why not high importance from the off?). At that short notice there was no chance of attending. As it was I was out of the country.

Several calls and voicemails trying to actually talk to somebody to either rearrange an interview or even at least for closure about the opportunity being gone have all fallen on deaf ears. Bit of a shambles. Least they could do is show some sort of respect and leave a message.

emilymemily

They dont read it, Ive had that many interviews with LMETB where theyve asked me questions about my qualifications, experience etc and acted surprised by my answers when everything I said was clearly stated on application.
I once applied to a literacy teaching position after I graduated, I was applying to everything at this stage, I got an interview and went to it only for the interviews to look at me like id two heads because I didnt have an additional literacy teaching qualification on top of my undergrad and teaching dip. I spent an entire day filling out the application. meticulously checking and rechecking my spellings and grammar, making sure I was satisfied with all my essay length answers to their silly questions. I put in all my qualifications and talked about them and the skills I gained from each of them. It was all for nothing as the interviewers obviously hadn't read any of it. They barely knew my name. They gave me an interview without even checking if I met their criteria for the job.
Another interview I was questioned about reports, testing for special needs, working with occupational therapists etc, the interviewers looked genuinely annoyed at me for not knowing the answers, I was out of college a couple of weeks with no experience outside of teaching practice which was clearly stated on my application.
Honestly dont stress about it, fill it out, add in whats important but dont spend your week filling them in as they will be disregarded in 2 seconds flat.

thegreatescape

emilymemily wrote: »

They dont read it, Ive had that many interviews with LMETB where theyve asked me questions about my qualifications, experience etc and acted surprised by my answers when everything I said was clearly stated on application.
I once applied to a literacy teaching position after I graduated, I was applying to everything at this stage, I got an interview and went to it only for the interviews to look at me like id two heads because I didnt have an additional literacy teaching qualification on top of my undergrad and teaching dip. I spent an entire day filling out the application. meticulously checking and rechecking my spellings and grammar, making sure I was satisfied with all my essay length answers to their silly questions. I put in all my qualifications and talked about them and the skills I gained from each of them. It was all for nothing as the interviewers obviously hadn't read any of it. They barely knew my name. They gave me an interview without even checking if I met their criteria for the job.
Another interview I was questioned about reports, testing for special needs, working with occupational therapists etc, the interviewers looked genuinely annoyed at me for not knowing the answers, I was out of college a couple of weeks with no experience outside of teaching practice which was clearly stated on my application.
Honestly dont stress about it, fill it out, add in whats important but dont spend your week filling them in as they will be disregarded in 2 seconds flat.

I feel like this is an individual experience with regard to LMETB. I've been working under LMETB for over a year now and just did my reinterview and found both years of interviews absolutely fine. Yes the application form is long but the 'essay length answers' you speak of, each competency asks for 200 words to explain? 200 words to me is hardly essay style. Each interviewer on the panel this year had individual aspects of my application highlighted so I actually feel they were more prepared than some voluntary school interviews I've been at.

happywithlife

To the OP
Been there and done those pain in the rear applications.
As previously advised use the lingo from the heading in your answer with a couple of concrete examples.
I'd add a nugget of advice though - copy & paste and save your answers into a word doc - it'll save you painful hours of retyping the same thing more or less over the summer. And don't forget to save a copy of the application form / photocopy it before submitting as it may be a while before you're actually called to interview and in any case presumably you're submitting mutiple applications across a number of schools and its easy get confused later on. Another thing I wish I'd done early on was screenshot the advert as again they mingle into each other and you forget which one was 11 hours vs 15 hours vs mat leave etc etc
Good luck with the search!

emilymemily

thegreatescape wrote: »

I feel like this is an individual experience with regard to LMETB. I've been working under LMETB for over a year now and just did my reinterview and found both years of interviews absolutely fine. Yes the application form is long but the 'essay length answers' you speak of, each competency asks for 200 words to explain? 200 words to me is hardly essay style. Each interviewer on the panel this year had individual aspects of my application highlighted so I actually feel they were more prepared than some voluntary school interviews I've been at.

Its likely that these jobs where already gone which would explain their lack of interest.
Something the OP should also be mindful of, you can be called for interview for jobs in which a candidate has already been chosen for.

bobbyss

TheDriver wrote:

I've sat on interview panels that are hard work, long days and definitely not easy. Could you provide a source for your accusations as I'd be interested in where this practice is taking place?

And what exactly would you do with that information?

ethical

Some ETBs are red rotten!
Infact a top union official told me same and when I tackled him about it he said that nothing can be done!
Too many "I'll scratch your back if you'll lick my *ss and fcuk the ordinary decent staff that sticks to all the set out parameters!....like equal opportunity etc,etc!!1
You could even smell the sh1t from some contributors here,they sometimes get annoyed when they do not like what is written about their sacred golden circle,of course the truth sometimes hurt....but thats as far as it goes if you are an "untouchable" in the system.

Blaizes

Well what you say is pretty much public knowledge didn’t prime time do a special on it. Saying that it can’t be every etb in the country though and some must be more credible than others But If some etbs are messing people around it’s disgusting and very unfair on genuine teaching candidates.

patsman07

Sorry to the OP, thread is getting derailed. But have to add my tuppence.

Two vacancies were advertised in a LMETB school. I know of 5 applicants. The 2 applicants with the least amount of experience got the jobs. One was straight out of college and had a parent working for LMETB. 3 unsuccessful candidates had between 5-10 years experience.

rainbowtrout

thegreatescape wrote: »

I feel like this is an individual experience with regard to LMETB. I've been working under LMETB for over a year now and just did my reinterview and found both years of interviews absolutely fine. Yes the application form is long but the 'essay length answers' you speak of, each competency asks for 200 words to explain? 200 words to me is hardly essay style. Each interviewer on the panel this year had individual aspects of my application highlighted so I actually feel they were more prepared than some voluntary school interviews I've been at.

I would say it's possible that re-interviewing for your own job is a vastly different experience from the person who is applying for a job and hoping that it's a real job and someone isn't already in it. If you were re-interviewing and the principal had already given you the nod, you were going to get the job one way or the other. So the interview is going to be a lot more straightforward for you. Not so much for the other candidates. If they want to get the 'right result' then the interviews will be conducted in a particular way.

That's not a dig at you, that's just the reality of re-interviews v. someone walking in off the street who has no hope for a job that is already gone. It's very easy to have a set of questions lined up for candidates that match your CV (the bits that were highlighted) to ensure you come out on top, and that the other candidates who are there to make up the numbers don't have a chance.

patsman07 wrote: »

Sorry to the OP, thread is getting derailed. But have to add my tuppence.

Two vacancies were advertised in a LMETB school. I know of 5 applicants. The 2 applicants with the least amount of experience got the jobs. One was straight out of college and had a parent working for LMETB. 3 unsuccessful candidates had between 5-10 years experience.

Yep. Same in my ETB. Know of a school where the policy seems to be to hire inexperienced teachers. Nothing wrong with hiring someone straight out of college, but know several teachers who have applied there over the years, with plenty of experience (10-20 years), work for the SEC etc. who didn't get a look in and then heard they lost out to someone straight out of college with no experience. The vibe seems to be 'hire new teachers that don't know their rights, don't have the experience, won't yet be members of a union and won't be on a CID, won't question dodgy decisions, so they can be made jump through hoops and find it hard to speak up for themselves. Much harder to do that to a teacher of 15 years experience who knows exactly what the story is. And if you keep hiring like that you erode the culture of knowledge and experience (in terms of employment rights, not subject knowledge specifically) in the school.


In my own school last year a job was advertised for three subjects (one teaching position). The person who got it was only qualified in one of the three subjects and had only a couple of years experience. I happen to know a person who applied for the job, was qualified in all three subjects and had an extra, useful, niche fourth subject in addition to that, had more than 15 years experience, works with the SEC. Didn't get the job.

Mardy Bum

Blaizes wrote: »

Well what you say is pretty much public knowledge didn’t prime time do a special on it. Saying that it can’t be every etb in the country though and some must be more credible than others But If some etbs are messing people around it’s disgusting and very unfair on genuine teaching candidates.

Every ETB is open to political interference, unfortunately. Also working continuously with the SEC unless it is an advisor's role is not really that useful. Undoubtedly, marking two or three times is useful but doing it for 10 years will only make you good at correcting exams not teaching.

Blaizes

Mardy Bum wrote: »

Every ETB is open to political interference, unfortunately. Also working continuously with the SEC unless it is an advisor's role is not really that useful. Undoubtedly, marking two or three times is useful but doing it for 10 years will only make you good at correcting exams not teaching.

Where did I mention SEC?

Mardy Bum

Blaizes wrote: »

Where did I mention SEC?

Not your post. I was commenting generally.

rainbowtrout

Mardy Bum wrote: »

Every ETB is open to political interference, unfortunately. Also working continuously with the SEC unless it is an advisor's role is not really that useful. Undoubtedly, marking two or three times is useful but doing it for 10 years will only make you good at correcting exams not teaching.

That may be so, but having done the exams on a number of occasions can feed into a person’s teaching. Like it or not exam technique is half the battle.

And it’s likely to be experience a person coming straight out of college doesn’t have.

Conversely, I am familiar with a school that does favour SEC work as those teachers know exactly how an exam is marked as they see it as valuable prep for their students.

Blaizes

rainbowtrout wrote: »

That may be so, but having done the exams on a number of occasions can feed into a person’s teaching. Like it or not exam technique is half the battle.

And it’s likely to be experience a person coming straight out of college doesn’t have.

Conversely, I am familiar with a school that does favour SEC work as those teachers know exactly how an exam is marked as they see it as valuable prep for their students.

I corrected before and felt it definitely enhanced and improved my teaching. I think every teacher should take the opportunity to mark exams at least a few times. I have heard that some principals want to hire teachers with SEC experience but in any of the interviews I previously did I felt it was quickly glossed over and dismissed by interview panels which was and is very short sighted and a missed opportunity imo. But there you go.