It is indeed that time of the year! You may already know who is leaving next year or may not. Once I had someone resign on Christmas Day and at another time a week after school had started, having not returned. In fact there was seldom a time in my 30 years that I didn’t have to recruit in January when I was usually on holidays, interstate with the family. However if you do know of a vacancy, recruiting Term 3 or even earlier is helpful. I found recruiting a teacher took many hours, but the consequence of not getting it right was most unwanted, though the result of a successful appointment was ultimate joy.

The staff form a colourful mosaic. They are all different, look different ` have different skills, backgrounds, senses of humour, interests, family situations, temperaments___________. In fact their variety can in itself teach the students so much about people. The school needs a rich, engaging mosaic of people who can relate well to students; in fact teaching is about “Relationships”. If a teacher can’t relate to students they will find success difficult. Each teacher has a special spot in the mosaic, a spot for them to be proud of and which the students can enjoy. Two of my old school friends and their wives stayed with me on the farm the other night. We left school in 1968/9, 53 years ago, but we can still talk about teachers that had meaning for us and ultimately made a difference to our lives. As teachers we are not always convinced of this when we are engaging with the students but it so often happens. What a really special task teachers have!

Getting recruiting right is so important. I brainstormed a whole heap of memories regarding recruiting. Some of these processes resulted in success some sadly in failure. I doubt if few Principals over time get their recruiting 100% right, but if they can manage 85% they are doing well. If some of the following comments strike a chord with you, that’s great. In fact if one idea does then it’s all been worthwhile.

Some Principals are dreadful procrastinators. When you know you need someone, start looking and advertising straight away! Recruiting to the NT is a competitive business and harder than most places near the large populations. Take the time to review what you would like in your staff, what you can celebrate and what might be missing. If someone leaves it can be disappointing but that disappointment can be turned into a positive if a new teacher has skills etc. that are missing in the staff team.

When you advertise, set a reasonable closing date for applications; don’t make it a huge drawn out process or you will lose good candidates. And if no candidate is suitable, don’t succumb to appointing someone half suitable. Advertise again - good staff are so, so important. And it is easy to convince yourself that someone is good when clearly they are not, if you are desperate. Fortunately advertising on the internet is so acceptable. The years of having to advertise in newspapers were very costly. If a teacher can’t be found you may need to use a recruiting company - there are some good ones. They will cost money but always be aware of how much income a single student brings in. Remember income in an Independent school is usually fees plus grants. A good teacher could result in another student and the resulting income; a poor teacher may result in the loss of a student and the loss of that income. This makes the cost of a recruiting company seem more acceptable. It was encouraging to be addressed by a good professional recruiter at our Darwin “get together” this year.

I found reading applications several times to be beneficial. I recall one case where the applicant had in fact been in jail and I had missed it on the first two readings. It is so easy to be distracted in a busy day. I felt sorry for the applicant, but didn’t employ him - it would be a very difficult exercise particularly in a country town.

The golden rule, I felt was to diligently follow up referees. Even if the reference was written, it was of value to follow up with a conversation with the referee. I learnt to be careful about following up with only one referee. On one occasion I had a conversation with two about an applicant. Both gave glowing accounts and I was not going to check the third. Fortunately I did. “Don’t touch him with a barge pole was what I received”, and I didn’t appoint him. I wasn’t going to take the risk. I have made some unfortunate appointments over my time and know that usually everyone loses - you, students, other staff and indeed the appointee themselves. You as the Principal have to do so much work to deal with such a situation.

I had a mental rule. Even if an applicant was charming to me, if they had poor manners or were rude to any of my staff, there was no second chance. It was easy to ask my HR manager or my PA “what were they like on that phone call?” Surprisingly some would be demanding or rude.

I think the most dangerous time in recruiting is the interview. There would be times when someone’s application produced a slight feeling of concern which was basically intuitive, though difficult to identify but nevertheless caused a little unease. Then the interview happens. Of course you want staff so you are hoping that the interview will be successful. The applicant could be a brilliant interviewee, say all the right things, be thoroughly charming and engaging and wheel out all the fantastic experience and lay any doubt completely in the dust. I have been caught like that and appointed someone who was a wonderful interviewee but ended up being a problem with unfortunate weaknesses. On another occasion my deputy and I interviewed some applicants at Melbourne airport. Before the second applicant turned up, the third arrived. He was from out of Melbourne and said he had come early (by an hour) because he wanted to go shopping. Though honest, he clearly didn’t get the job.

A cardinal mistake some Principal’s make is to spend the interview doing most of the talking and not listening. You want to draw the person out by asking lots of searching questions and through that process you want to listen and think, listen and think! The interviewee should really work hard. After the interview it is of value to sit on the memory of the interview overnight or over a few days while others are considered. I did on occasions offer a person a position straight after the interview but doing that is risky unless you have all the information you want and have considered it beforehand. Obviously Zoom interviews are more cost effective and necessary during COVID, but in person is definitely the best. In addition, if they come to the school, you can have another staff member show them around or take them out to lunch - their opinion can be very useful. Some schools actually have them teach a class.

I found a concern was if a teacher had moved regularly. Having staff stability is an advantage.

It is also worth pursuing why someone wants to come to the NT. If someone is coming from interstate they are making a significant lifestyle move and possibly are uplifting their whole family which can be traumatic. I found it was wise to be careful of impressive qualifications. I employed some teachers with PHDs who were wonderful and some who clearly weren’t cut out for school teaching - maybe more suited to University lecturing. Always remember that you are first and foremost appointing a person and their character, personality, ability to work with others and enthusiasm for teaching are the most important qualities.

Obviously this article is not exhaustive and is based on my experience. Others may have had different experiences. But what is certain is the appointment of staff is one of the most important jobs that you, as a Principal, undertake.

Chris Tudor,

Principal Liaison & AISNT Historian