I applied for a Numeracy Leader position and I knew I wouldn’t be successful!

I applied for a Numeracy Leader position and I knew I wouldn’t be successful!

I had been working at my school for about 3 years when the opportunity came up to apply for the Numeracy Leader role.

In teaching, sometimes you have to take a bit of a leap and decide upon the path you would like to follow.

I had decided while I was a pre-service teacher that Numeracy was my passion and I was keen to, at some point, become a Numeracy Leader.

The problem I faced before applying for this job was twofold.

1. Imposter Syndrome: My mind was saying things like “I have only been teaching 3 years. How can I be a leader?”. Clearly, I had imposter syndrome. What I would learn many years later, was that whether I had been teaching for 3 or 33 years, imposter syndrome always kicks in just as you are about to challenge yourself and take on something out of your comfort zone. In reality, I needn’t have worried, after all, it is up to the Principal to decide if you are suitable for a job- not you- so just jump in!
2. The “Competition”: one of my colleagues at the school was much more experienced than me and was also passionate about leadership and Numeracy. I knew he would get the job, and so I kept telling myself it was a waste of time applying.

Luckily, I talked the whole thing through with my parents (who are both teachers) and they said “what have you got to lose?”

So I applied!

You might think- why bother applying for the job?

Well, two reasons:

1. I gained experience going through the application process.

Up until that time I had only been to one interview- it was for my graduate position- and I was so ‘fresh’ I didn’t even realise it was an interview. The principal asked me to come in for a ‘chat’, which I naively thought was literally a ‘chat’.

 I didn’t know they had a job going. I had been there for my 3^rd year teaching rounds, so I thought it was a ‘chat’- obviously I was shocked when they started asking me questions about pedagogy! lol! I survived it, and got the job, but much of that interview was a blur!

2. I wanted to let my principal know I was really passionate about Numeracy. Talking about maths leadership in the interview, gave me the perfect opportunity to showcase how ‘much’ I knew and share my enthusiasm and ideas for the school in maths. While I had previously shared my interest in maths when asked in my Annual Review Meetings, when you actually apply for a leadership position you are really showing that passion and commitment. It takes courage to apply for a new position!

So, I went for it!

I walked away from the process and learnt a lot- I was so happy that I had applied. I was 100% sure I wouldn’t get the job- and I was right. My colleague was definitely the right man for the job.

However, what happened next surprised me.

My principal called me in and explained he was really pleased I applied for the job. He said he didn’t realise how passionate I was about maths and had decided to make a new position for me “Junior School Maths Leader”. The position provided me with one hour per week in release time and he wanted me to set up a Junior Intervention program.

I was SO excited!

I poured my heart into setting up the intervention program and one of the best parts was that I got sent to lots of Maths PD- I learned so much over that time! It was like my apprenticeship!

Two years later when the Numeracy Leader role was re-advertised I applied and got the job (my colleague had moved on to become Curriculum Leader by then)

So, looking back, applying for a job I knew I wouldn’t get was the best decision I made- because, while it didn’t happen immediately, it put me on the right path and it might just do the same for you!