References called and waiting

C

CatieCat

Rookie
I recently had an interview in a school district that I would REALLY want to work for. Positions are very hard to come by in the state I live in and so I was not feeling to confident. Then, one of my references called me and said she received a call from the principal. I was supposed to hear something this week and did not receive a call. I was wondering...how many people have had their references called and not get the job?
 
Just wondering...I'm in a similar situation, but not sure if they actually called my refs like they said they were going to do. Ususally they have decided to hire you if they call your refs so I would give it some time.
 
I would say that you are definitely in the running if they made contacts with your references. When I was on a hiring panel, we only called the references of our top three candidates. Good luck... and let us know the results!

P.S. Welcome to the boards!
 
Thanks for the advice. How many people do schools typically interview? There are two positions are I am being considered for.
 
I dont know how many time my references have been called but I know my cooperating teacher was contacted last yr. Apparently it was between me and another girl and of course she got it. But my cooperating teacher said that the superintendent appreciated her answering his questions but she didnt make it easier on him because it was so close between us.

I dont think there is a set number of ppl for schools to interview. I know schools who hired the first person they interviewed, I know some who interview like 3 or 4 and some who interview 8 or more. I guess it depends on the principal.

I'd kinda like to know from people who have been on interview committee, what makes candidates stand out? I mean if a person doesnt answer a question the way you think it should be answered does the principal automatically cut that person or do they look at every question? I personally think interviewing a lot of ppl would be hard because then youd have to go over everything they said.
 
We brought in 7-8 candidates. We (the panel) narrowed the number down to our top 3. From there, our principal called references and made the final decision.

As far as the one that was hired, she (H) came highly recommended from many sources as did the other two. She was selected for a couple of reasons... she knew the curriculum in 5th grade already as she had student-taught in a 5th grade classroom and completed a long-term position for a maternity leave in 5th grade soon after student-teaching. Her personality seemed to mesh with the rest of the grade level. As far as the two others, one (M) had three years of experience out-of-state and the other (S) had been working as a substitute and a title teacher. "H" didn't necessarily outshine anyone at the interview but she came "dressed to impress", had a portfolio (that we didn't really look at-- but it was available should we have needed it), had great references, and had some experience in the grade level. She was very solid on her answers and knew a lot of the new buzz words. She was educated on our school's mission statement as well as the district's.
 
We didn't throw people out of contention for just one answer. We even were extremely understanding in knowing that those individuals would be extremely nervous. We were able to cut down a couple of people because they seemed more "primary" rather than intermediate. After that, it became much harder. One person was eliminated quickly because of the lack of depth in his answers... we had to constantly rephrase our questions so he could understand them. Even with an incredible amount of wait time, he couldn't give us the basics like... how you do manage a classroom/discipline policy? What is your experience with Balanced Literacy? How do you motivate a reluctant student? At the end, "H" was hired due to her personality and knowledge of the curriculum. She was a perfect fit for our team... honestly. I don't think M or S would have been as good of a fit.
 
Do you feel that someone who has experience with a certain grade level or district sometimes get jobs over others? I mean the interview that I had today was in the district that I student taught in and currently work in as a parapro. When the principal was talking how things worked with the school I nodded and told her that I knew what she was talkin about and that I had had experience with it when I student taught.
 
It depends on the principal honestly. In our case, our principal is very loyal to those that work for her or the district. Typically she has hired those individuals who have subbed and/or worked in title positions. In this case, she hired basically a new teacher who had only subbed for 1/2 year... a relative newbie. Ok,OK... I gotta confess. The gal that we hired for the 5th grade position was my student teacher. She student-taught for me in the fall, finished in mid-December & graduated, got married in mid-January, filled my position for 8 weeks while I was on maternity leave at the beginning of February, and finished the last nine weeks of school as a "regular" sub for our district. Whew... that was a long sentence! "H" was the MOST awesome student teacher EVER!! That's why I asked her to stay in my room in February. I picked her over a couple of retired (great) teachers who were willing to do the long-term for me. However, hers is not a typical story. She knew the curriculum as she'd experienced nearly the entire year of it with my room except for 1.5 weeks in December as well as the months of April & May. The reason I am saying that it is not typical is because typically our principal hires those that have been in our title teacher positions. Out of the last four positions we've had open, she has hired two title teachers, my student teacher and a gal with 16 yrs of experience at all grade levels. (The later gal had a husband who was hired by our district as a teacher of the "at-risk" kids and who also does a bunch of coaching.) I think that anytime you have a "toe-in the-door" by being in the system already, it helps.

Good luck to you...
 
Does your district have candidates do demo lessons? I did a 45 minute lesson this week and was never given a reason why I haven't been hired. The principal said she liked my lesson and said she would be calling my refs. I called yesterday and was told that another position popped up and they were looking through more applications. What does that mean for me???
 
I really never knew when my references were called except when I was subbing in one district and the principal there had told me she'd gotten a call from an assistant superintendent.

As for how many people schools usually interview, I think it depends on the number of openings. At the school I was just hired at, there were 4 positions open. They received 165 applications, interviewed 20, then selected finalists (don't know how many finalists) to be interviewed by the Superintendent.
 
My references were called and I didnt get the job. I'm guessing another candidate was a better fit in the end. Still, I think if refs are called, it means they are *highly* considering you.
 
I think the bad thing about references tho is the fact that obviously people choose references because they know they will say good things about them. So when principals do call them, I don't see how it really helps unless they ask them really specific questions about certain things. But then again, references are usually people who make you look good.
 
My one reference who called me told me that the principal did ask specific questions about my teaching abilities. She also said the principal seemed very positive about me. I am just keeping my fingers crossed.
 
Carebear05 said:
I think the bad thing about references tho is the fact that obviously people choose references because they know they will say good things about them. So when principals do call them, I don't see how it really helps unless they ask them really specific questions about certain things. But then again, references are usually people who make you look good.
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In my case it's a little different. The principal specifically asked for an administrator and since I've only had one real long term position, that was the administrator I put down. I was also not hired for next year by her even though she said I could use her as a reference. I'm not sure how positive she would be. So in the end, I feel like she may have blown it for me. Come June 30th, she will no longer be there as she was let go. Most principals and supers in my area know about her bc it was in the paper. But this one job I interviewed for is a good hour away and they probably didn't know that she was fired. Who knows?!?!?!
 
I've never heard of teachers being asked to do a demo lesson. There are generally only two or three people being interviewed depending on the time of year. I'm a music teacher though, there arn't tons of us. There also arn't tons of jobs. This is the first time that I've lived in an area with a surplus of teachers.
 
That's tough. It seems that sometimes they're so picky as well. It's like they want certain people to be yer references. Sometimes tho we want to choose other ppl based on the fact that we know someone else may say better things about us. I don't even know if half the ppl even check references or read recommendation letters.
 
I had a tough situation, I didnt have a great student teaching exp and unfortunately i was only in one classroom. My supervisor is fine....

I ty and avoid my Master Teacher when possible. This last job wanted to talk to my Master teacher. It was a year ago. I do have a ref from subbing. (shes actually seen me teach as she called a sub so she could work on her papers...was still working on her sp. ed cred) but sometimes, thats not enough. Slso have a first grade teacher who i assisted ib calss.

(im trying to get an el. pos...student teacheng wss middle school)
 
I found out when i was interviewing for my present job that the principal had called my reference before she hired me. She wanted to get a feel for my teaching style and see if I was upfront in the interview. i was hired on the spot. This was two years ago and I am looking forward to another great year.
 
Carebear05 said:
I think the bad thing about references tho is the fact that obviously people choose references because they know they will say good things about them. So when principals do call them, I don't see how it really helps unless they ask them really specific questions about certain things. But then again, references are usually people who make you look good.
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A few years ago a friend used me as her reference. I had been her department chair.

I was able to give specifics about her teaching style, the way she dealt with kids, her pacing, and a million other things. I think I was a strong reference because I knew so much about the way she taught.
 
One of the problems I had with references is that last yr. I had down my cooperating teacher and my supervisor. My supervisor no longer teaches at the college so I have no clue where she is at. Now I can no longer use her as a reference. I have used some professors from my grad. program. I know that they really want people who know yer teaching style and things, but I felt that my professors would say great things about me. Not to mention if you put references down that are teachers, since it is summer, getting in touch with them is harder unless you put down their home # which I didnt because I didnt feel that it was right. I am getting one of the assis. principals to call a principal tomorrow that I interviewed with hoping that will help since they work in the same district and know each other.
 
I have been used as a reference and given my home phone number. Don't be afraid to ask: as long it's not to a student, I bet it will be OK.
 
Dee452 said:
I found out when i was interviewing for my present job that the principal had called my reference before she hired me. She wanted to get a feel for my teaching style and see if I was upfront in the interview. i was hired on the spot. This was two years ago and I am looking forward to another great year.
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You're lucky!
 
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