EMPLOYMENT

Know the role: All roles at the College call for specific skills and competencies and it would be beneficial to tailor your cover letter and CV to address the given criteria directly and specifically. This might take you a bit of time, but showing a high attention to detail and knowing for which role you are applying is advantageous. If you have the opportunity, we suggest that you ask someone to read your covering letter and CV to provide you with feedback. 

The Cover Letter and CV: These give us a small window into your personality, your skills and experience and should highlight the reasons why you want to work at our College and be part of our team. Unless specified, our panels request a covering letter of 2 pages maximum and a CV of 4 pages maximum.

• Tell us who you are: We are really interested in the real you! We are keen to understand your story, what ignites your passion for working in Education and, most importantly, the style and personality that your will bring to the role. Whether you are applying for a teaching role or an administration role, when writing your cover letter let your philosophy and your passions shine through. This always captures the attention of our recruitment panel!
• Showcase your integrity and values: When addressing specific selection criteria, be sure to focus on and highlight your skills. Telling us about every single skill you have ever gained over time will make your application wordy and over long. Being specific allows you to focus and be clear. Remember to keep all your other skill statements (that might not relate to this particular role) in a separate master document. You can then access this information at any time depending on the role for which you are applying. 
  
  In your cover letter, remember to incorporate an example of how you will role model the values of our College: Compassion, Courage and Respect. These values create the framework we use to make decisions on a daily basis. We love reading applications that tell us how you would role model our values.  
• Use a logical format: Our panel prefers to read your CV with your most recent career history first and work backwards from there – your first ever job should be at the end of your career experience history. This also applies to all your professional development and training – most recent first. We also enjoy reading 6-8 (maximum) of your key competencies as it gives our panels a quick summary of what you see as your skill set. 

The Application Form: You also need to complete our application form. This application summarises the big picture that we need to know about you.

Confirmation: Once you have submitted your application you will receive an email confirming that your application has been received.

Tips from our panels when submitting your application:
When applying for a new role, it’s very easy to want to detail everything you have ever done in your previous roles, your professional development and your wonderful accomplishments. We understand you have worked hard to gain all these experiences and that you want to share your wonderful accomplishments and you probably really want the role! So, our best advice when putting your application together is to try to remember and use the 3Cs as your framework:

• Clear - identify the main points you would like to address (the main areas are usually expressed on the job advertisement). Tailor your covering letter to clearly respond to these.
• Concise - aim for sentences that are short and direct. Saying less will force you to focus on key points only and this gives you a better chance of getting across your message. Also, keep it simple. There’s no need to use fancy, jargon words - we are interested in the authentic you! Remember that formatting is your best friend: use bullet points, headings or bold words to emphasise your key points.
• Consistent - it’s ok to repeat your key messages - the more times we read your messages the greater the chance we have of remembering it. Avoid over-stating key points because, the more honest and authentic your application is, the more we can understand your personality and skills.

The Shortlist: If your application has been shortlisted, you will be invited to attend an interview. Depending on your location, the interviews will either be face-to-face at our College or via Microsoft Teams. We are always interested in getting to know any potential new staff member at our College, so as part of the interview process we will ask questions about the unique style, skills and experience that you would bring to the role. 

It's important to know that employment at Sacred Heart College requires you have the following:

• Australian work rights
• a current Working with Children Check (or evidence that application lodgement has been made), and
• a National Police Clearance (which must be obtained within the first three months of employment if not prior). 

The Interview Panels: Our College prides itself on creating a welcoming interview environment. Our interview panels are made up of our warm, professional and curious staff who want to be able to get to know the real you! We also want you to have a chance to learn about us and we love it when you ask lots of questions during the interview process. The nature of the role you have applied for will determine the number of panel members interviewing you, but know that on all our interview panels will always be at least one member of our Executive and (on average) a minimum of three staff members interviewing you.
 

The Interview: this is an important part of the process, so we are going to spend a little time offering some tips to help you bring your best self to the process.

• Know the job description - this will help you when addressing the interview questions. Be prepared with examples against the competencies/skills identified in the job advertisement and job description. Tell us about some interesting projects you have been involved in, how you handled a tricky student or parent/caregiver situation or how your professional development has informed what you know and do.
• Know our College – research our College and what it stands for – our panels members love to hear how you will fit in and enhance the mission of the College - luckily the information is easily located on our website.
• Know our Vision and Values – knowing our College values and then being able to incorporate these into how you do and will live them daily will put you at the top of the class. Our College prides itself on its reputation and the strong positive attitude our staff bring daily to the workplace. We want you demonstrate how you will be part of this and keep it going.
• Provide specific examples - providing specific examples that highlight your experiences and showcase your skills will always be captivating to our panel. Take the time to prepare before the interview, as it takes the pressure off thinking on the spot. When answering interview questions remember to use the STAR structure (describe the Situation, Task, Action and Response). We want to hear the whole story, so make sure you tell us the beginning, the middle and the end.
• Different roles, different formats - Depending on the role you are applying for, your interview format might change slightly. For example, if you are applying for a Head of Learning Area position, we will ask you present to the panel on a particular topic (which will provide prior to the interview) and also undergo psychometric testing (emotional intelligence profiling). We never use these assessments to exclude someone from the recruitment process, they just help us to understand you holistically.

After the interview process, and if you are successful in moving forward in the application process, the College will conduct referee checks based on your nominated referees. Depending on the role, we may ask you to do some testing or even teach a class to show us you-in-action. The expected timeline will be communicated during the interview.

If you are the chosen candidate after the review, we will offer your the position over the phone. If you accept (and fingers-crossed you do), you will be asked to come to the College to meet our Principal and collect your contract.

Onboarding: We understand the first 3-6 months can be tricky when you are navigating a new role and a new workplace and that's why we work closely with you to make transition as smooth as possible:

• In your role as a teacher or support employee, you will be mentored by many of our experienced and friendly staff.
• All members of our leadership team have an open-door policy, so communicating and providing feedback is highly encouraged.
• Our aim is for all new staff members to understand our vision and mission and for you to feel welcome, connected and supported to be the best you can be!

• Ongoing Professional Learning Opportunities: Our College lives by its motto of Always Striving Upwards by staying at the forefront in the provision of ongoing professional learning opportunities for all staff.
• Professional Learning Communities: Our dedication to continuous improvement and growth in our teaching pedagogy sees our teaching staff and education assistants working together in regular, on-campus professional learning communities.
• Personalised Professional Learning: We personalise learning by encouraging staff to seek out professional learning that supports their ongoing development. This includes nationally recognised training courses, tertiary study assistance and professional memberships.

As we know that feeling good and working well go hand-in-hand, we prioritise health and wellbeing opportunities for our staff. Our hope is that all members of our community can flourish and feel connected to something bigger.

• Events: We promote and prioritise events such as R U OK? Day, International Women's Day and International Men's Day.
• Complimentary Daily Fruit: Complimentary fruit is available in the Staff Room on a daily basis to promote and support healthy eating.
• Fitness Centre: Access to the College's fitness gym is available to staff before school, during lunch and after school.
• Oceanside: Sorrento Beach just across the road from our College allows staff to take advantage of our glorious location to boost your physical and mental health with a walk, a surf or ocean swim.
• Free Annual Influenza Vaccinations: Facilitated by trusted professionals on-site during a school day.
• Employee Assistance Program (Counselling Service): This counselling service is available to help whenever our staff face a hard time. Professional, confidential and short term, our Employee Assistance Program is for our staff and their families. Whether your concern is personal, family or work related, this program is there to support and guide you.
• Massages: The College often arranges for massage therapists to set up in the Staff Room for 8-10 minute sessions.
• Regular Staff Gatherings: As feeling connected to something meaningful is really important at our College, we offer regular staff 'get-togethers'. From shared morning teas and lunch times to D@SH on a Friday afternoon, we regularly connect and play as a community.

A commitment to social justice drives our community, and our staff is active in its mission to serve others.

• Volunteering: Our very strong link to many charity organisations in Perth sees our staff regularly volunteering their time by packing or donating items for hampers, building bikes and furniture and cooking and packing meals for our most disadvantaged community members.
• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Event: We recognise grandparents raising their grandchildren at our annual event with games, music and connection.
• Young Vinnies: Our Young Vinnies program is vibrant and active both on and off campus, with its annual Family Fun Day Out entering over 20 years of providing fun and hampers to disadvantaged children and families.

We want our staff to thrive in all ways, so the below financial incentives are also available.

• Superannuation: Get more from your superannuation by contributing some of your salary into your Super Fund.
• Salary Sacrificing: Our College's partnership with various approved funds allows you to salary sacrifice many everyday goods and services with your pre-tax salary.
• Deferred Salary Scheme: Work for four years and take the fifth year off, with pay! You can apply to be remunerated at 80% of your salary for four years, allowing you to still be paid your full salary in your fifth year (whilst you aren't working).
• Discounts on Private Health Insurances
• Paid Tours: If you nominate to attend one of our many Extracurricular Tours, you have the wonderful opportunity to explore the culture on offer in so many different countries: The Arts Tour to London; the Languages Tour to France or Japan; or even the Spiritual Tour to the Kimberley or Vietnam.