MTPT Project blogger, @Lucy_Braidley reveals her feelings after preparing and applying for promotion whilst on maternity leave.  This post also features on the new WomenEd blog platform.

I didn’t get the job.

I really wanted the job.

I really, really wanted the job.

I worked tirelessly to be fully prepared for the interview. I thought of nothing else for weeks. I researched, printed out document after document, highlighted, summarised, mind mapped, performed and executed to a high standard. In feedback they said ‘We think you’d make an excellent deputy’, ‘we loved this…’, ‘we loved that…’ but still, I didn’t get the job.

As an internal candidate, I exposed my once secret desire to be Deputy Head to all of my colleagues, all of the children and some of the parents in my school. They were all rooting for me. And then, I didn’t get the job.

Someone else did.

And that’s okay.

I’m not going to lie, it stings, but it’s okay.

 

It’s okay to try and fail; it’s okay to strive and fall short and then get back up, dust yourself off and try again.

Applying for promotion whilst on maternity leave is hard. I was observed whilst teaching for only the third occasion in the last seven months. I had to provide examples in the interview thinking back to pre-maternity leave experiences. I had to work hard to impress a new Headteacher who had never worked with me, but had worked with other candidates in previous settings. It took guts and I’m proud.

The process was tough, but it reminded me of what I love about my job, about being in the classroom, why I have my sights set on progression to leadership and why I know I’ll be good at it once I find the right place for me. I learnt a lot about myself during the process and I think my skin just got a little thicker too.