There are few bigger decisions in life than taking up a new teaching post, yet we often commit to working in a school months in advance, after a quick tour, a bit of hearsay, and a couple of days spent in the place at best. 

It’s madness really, topped perhaps only by the way we spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on a new house after a couple of 15-minute viewings.

There are few realistic alternatives, of course. As tempting as a trial period might be in theory - again, much like buying a new house - such arrangements aren’t feasible in practice. So we should do all we can to make sure that the process works as well as it possibly can, with the least pain for everyone involved. 

Job applications: being fair to candidates

First, schools should set out their stall clearly. Be clear about what you’re looking for in your person specification, and make it clear how your school and post is different from all the others.

That way, candidates are not forced to guess what you want to hear about in their applications, and they can begin to exclude themselves if they know they’re not the right fit. 

If yours is the sort of school that expects every member of staff to run after-school clubs, say so up front and you’ll be more likely have a list of applicants who can offer you that.

It also makes your shortlisting process quicker: if candidates haven’t shown how they meet your person spec, you can safely presume they don’t. If you’re relying on them guessing what you want you could miss great candidates by mistake, and keep weaker ones in the running unnecessarily.

Let’s also be fair to candidates at that point, and at least let them know if they’ve not been shortlisted. It ought even to be possible to offer feedback on applications if candidates request it. 

Traditionally we’ve focused on feedback only for candidates who are interviewed, but by that stage often the most honest feedback is that we just liked the other person better, or we felt they were a better fit. Rarely is there anything candidates can do to improve their chances next time.

But feedback on application forms and letters could actually be useful. Knowing that your supporting statement didn’t offer enough examples, or lacked clarity in a key area, might help with your next application.

Teacher interviews: not about catching people out under pressure

When it comes to the interview, this year we’ll again be providing copies of our main questions in advance to candidates. It’s not the traditional way of doing things in teaching interviews, but it makes sense to us. We want people to invest time in thinking about how their skills and experience meet our needs; doing that within seconds of hearing a question just isn’t possible.

The aim of interviews isn’t - or at least shouldn’t be - to catch people out under pressure. We want to know as much as we can about how each candidate’s skills and experience make them a good fit for our school: why wouldn’t we let them think deeply about our questions and begin to compose the answer that best highlights their strengths and philosophy?

Recruiting for teachers is probably the most important thing any school leadership team does. We owe it to our pupils to try to find the best person for the job, and to make it as easy as possible for the best person to show themselves to us. 

And even when we have to let people down at the end of the process, surely it’s best if they go away feeling as positive as possible about the experience? That reputation might be what brings the next great candidate.

Michael Tidd is headteacher at East Preston Junior School in West Sussex. He tweets @MichaelT1979