Yes, it does happen in other places

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Home : 2001 : July : 14

Yes, it does happen in other places
By Carolyn

I know what you mean about being dropped from other places! I went to interview in the county north of us a few years ago when my husband and I were ready to relocate out of the city of Charlotte. The district in which I
interviewed was a county-wide school district, as they tend to have here in the South.
I started my search by calling the hotline for vacancy listings. I then called all of those principals whose schools were on the hotline listings. I started out by interviewing in a small town school. The principal wanted to hire me for a fifth grade position--was ready to offer it to me, in fact,

at the end of the interview. However, she didn't definitely commit, so I continued my interviewing. I went to several more interviews. One principal I interviewed with even made it a point at the interview to say something to me about how I got a job at this other school. I tried to convince her that nothing was offered, and that I was still free to interview. Although the other principals I interviewed with didn't say anything, I got a very strong suspicion that there was a "network" among the principals. The principals knew all about who had interviewed whom, and who was being offered or considered for a job.

Well, after not being offered a job by the other principals, I got tired of the games they were playing and went to another county and got hired there for a fifth grade position. What amused me and basically confirmed my suspicions about the network was when I told one principal in that district that I was hired by another district and wasn't going to attend his interview.

Now, here's the really funny part! The principal who had originally offered me the job in the first county I interviewed in called me up within a few hours of my calling to cancel my interview. She offered me a teaching position right on the spot. Of course, I respectfully declined, telling her that I had already been offered a position. I suppose the principal then realized that her plan of "holding" me failed.