Subbing!!!!

geez

Hi

I am currently living in Kerry and am finding it difficult to get subbing even though I have my h dip completed. I was considering going to Dublin and livin with one of my friends for awhile as I probably would have a better chance of getting subbing there. What do others think of this idea?

Rosita

Presumably you would have a better chance of subbing purely on the basis that there are more schools nearby no matter where you are in Dublin.

Whether there would be enough subbing available to justify moving to Dublin is another matter of course. A lot would depend on your subjects as well as your ability to get your message out there to schools. Needless to say much comes down to luck as well.

byhookorbycrook

Munster traditionally had too many teachers. Better chance to get subbing in Dublin as there is a bigger pool of schools concentrated in a small area.

solerina

I would think long and hard about this, in Kerry you are somewhat restricted by geography, there may not be as many schools as in Dublin but equally there wont be as many people looking for the available hours....maybe try broaden out from Kerry without goingt o Dublin (cork/limerick maybe)

Rosita

solerina wrote: »

I would think long and hard about this, in Kerry you are somewhat restricted by geography, there may not be as many schools as in Dublin but equally there wont be as many people looking for the available hours....maybe try broaden out from Kerry without goingt o Dublin (cork/limerick maybe)

Only problem with this is the feasibility of being maybe 50/60 miles away from a school in a neighbouring county that might ring and need a sub inside half an hour/three quarters of an hour.

happywithlife

hiya,
i had this problem as well and what worked for me in the past was to literally photocopy loads of cv and spend a couple of days driving around to each school within a certain distance of me. it took ages and but did pay off with work during the year. if driving isn't an option, try e-mailing your cv to every school you'd consider subbing in.

solerina

Rosita wrote: »

Only problem with this is the feasibility of being maybe 50/60 miles away from a school in a neighbouring county that might ring and need a sub inside half an hour/three quarters of an hour.

I suppose you need to see how far you are willing to travel, send schools inside this radius your CV and personalise each CV to say....I am X miles from your school but if you ring me I will be there in Y minutes.....that will show that you are very keen and if they ring you they will be aware of how long you need to get there (oh and maybe shower before going to bed to speed up your morning rountine:D)

Dionysus

happywithlife wrote: »

hiya,
i had this problem as well and what worked for me in the past was to literally photocopy loads of cv and spend a couple of days driving around to each school within a certain distance of me. it took ages and but did pay off with work during the year. if driving isn't an option, try e-mailing your cv to every school you'd consider subbing in.

This is what I did, and it also worked. You make your own luck, as they say.

khan86

Well, I must be sh*t at making my own luck because I too have done this and have yet to receive one call for subbing this year. I emailed (driving wasn't an option at the time) my CV's along with a reference and a copy of my TC registration to about 25 schools within a 20 minute driving distance from where I live in Dublin once a week since the beginning of September and yet...

Dionysus

khan86 wrote: »

Well, I must be sh*t at making my own luck because I too have done this and have yet to receive one call for subbing this year. I emailed (driving wasn't an option at the time) my CV's along with a reference and a copy of my TC registration to about 25 schools within a 20 minute driving distance from where I live in Dublin once a week since the beginning of September and yet...

Emailing a school and calling into a school are not synonymous. I emailed well over 100 cvs, but called into around 20 schools and it was one of the latter who contacted me for my first subbing post; she happened to need a sub the next morning (this was before I had the PGDE or had ever set foot in a classroom teaching). Other principals passed my name on to their colleagues in nearby schools when they asked for a sub. Without a car I wouldn't have got any subbing.

implausible

khan86 wrote: »

Well, I must be sh*t at making my own luck because I too have done this and have yet to receive one call for subbing this year. I emailed (driving wasn't an option at the time) my CV's along with a reference and a copy of my TC registration to about 25 schools within a 20 minute driving distance from where I live in Dublin once a week since the beginning of September and yet...

Schools are getting hundreds of CVs every week, in person, by post and by email. Whatever chance there is of a principal noticing one that gets handed to him in person, there's less and less with posted ones and less again with one that the secretary has to print off and give him.

Oh, and by the way, September is a bad month for teachers being sick, on courses etc.

khan86

Thank you for the replies Dionysus and implausible, I completely appreciate the point you are both making but being an unemployed teacher just out of college with debts to repay, the possibility of buying my own car until I have a bit of income (however sporadic it may be) is non-existent and I have to make do with, very gratefully, sharing the car with my other half who also needs it for work. Therefore, while I intended driving round schools at the start of the year it just didn't work out so I figured emailing them was better than nothing-especially emailing them once a week. Also, on a side note, a few other teachers have told me that going around to schools in person can be a waste of time because 9 out of 10 times you will get no further than handing your CV to the secretary anyway as Principals and Vice Principals do not have time to see you-in fact the principal in the school I did my PGDE last year said as much to me also with respect to herself. My other half has returned to college this week and is not in as much need of the car as when working so it would be possible to go around from next week on but, forgive my defeated-ness, is there honestly much point?

happywithlife

yeah i think its definitely worth personally calling into the school with the cv - sept wouldn't be the best month - as someone else, not a lot on, teachers are just back from holidays so generally fresh enough. from now out though , the ole colds and flu's will start kicking in, so its def worth calling in now with a cv.