Agencies are proving beneficial for teachers looking for work, writes Kristie Kellehan.

Within three days of registering her details with recruitment agency Hays in Sydney, teacher Kristina Shuey was successfully placed in a full-time position.

The history (HSIE – Human Society and its Environment) specialist says she was delighted to find work so quickly in a religion-based high school that is progressive, growing and dynamic. ‘‘I was starting to feel quite disillusioned with the job search,’’ she says. ‘‘I was applying for casual positions, looking through the ads online and speaking to former teachers and contacts but nothing was happening."

‘‘I was considering the move to a regional centre to find work when someone recommended I send my CV into one of the education specialists at Hays."

‘‘I went straight in for an interview, they matched me with a school that was urgently seeking a HSIE teacher and within days it was a done deal.’’

Shuey encourages other teachers to maximise their exposure to the job market by enlisting the services of a recruitment agency.

‘‘They have access to jobs that aren’t even advertised yet,’’ she says. ‘‘You have nothing to lose; you could even speak to an agency about how to best present your CV. I just wish I’d done it earlier.’’

The director of Hays, Grahame Doyle, says his agency recruits predominantly for education professionals in the private and religion-based school marketplace.

‘‘A lot of people who approach us may not be aware of the opportunities available to them in the education market,’’ Doyle says. ‘‘Recruitment agencies have a broad view of what’s available and what might become available.We can help candidates to look at a range of opportunities.’’

Interested candidates who approach the agency are invited to meet for a competency interview. References are checked and green-lit teachers will then be presented to schools seeking to fill vacant positions.

Doyle says many job-seekers prefer the anonymity of working with a recruitment agency. ‘‘In most recruitment situations, candidates are best represented by a third party.’’

A learning support co-ordinator, Antonella Isgro-Attwood, says quality recruitment agencies simplify the task of job-seeking by ensuring the right candidates are matched to the right jobs.

‘‘They’re very thorough, they listen to what you want and make sure they put you forward for the right job,’’ she says. ‘‘I had worked for 20 years in the [Department of Education and Training] DET system at a public school when I started to feel like I needed a change,’’ the former head teacher of special education says.

‘‘I wanted to look at alternative ways of being in education.’’

Isgro-Attwood was browsing employment ads online when a recruitment agency advertisement caught her eye. ‘‘The position advertised was for a learning support co-ordinator at a Catholic high school,’’ she says. ‘‘It looked good so I arranged to meet with the recruitment officer; at the meeting I was given a lot of information on the role and that helped me prepare for the interview at the school a few days later.’’

Isgro-Attwood says the agency made the process smooth and easy. ‘‘They were informative each step of the way and they were available if I needed any support,’’ she says. ‘‘The officer who placed me even took me out for coffee a few months later just to touch base and make sure everything was going well.’’