Ask the expert: Place in front of the class

By MARIE WILSON

Q. I am a registered biology/chemistry teacher, with three years' full-time experience in Fiji and two years' long-term relieving experience in New Zealand. I am struggling to get a full-time position. I have even gone out of my way to do my teacher retraining here in New Zealand, and yet no luck. Would you have any suggestions for me?

A. I think your investment in retraining in New Zealand is well-placed, as there are some differences in the New Zealand school system. Gaining advanced certification also should help you to build up a network of contacts of other teachers working in New Zealand schools; perhaps you can contact some former classmates and see if they can help you to identify opportunities.

Long-term relieving is also a good way to break into the system and gain local referees who can both alert you to opportunities and provide local experience for your CV. You may wish to go back to supervisors where you have provided teaching relief and ask for their assistance and advice regarding teaching placements.

If you are only focused on Auckland jobs, you may be somewhat restricted; even though Auckland has a huge need for teachers, it is also well-served by new graduates, experienced teachers and an influx of trained migrants. You may need to look further afield to find a match with your interests and expertise.

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Q. I have a bit of a dilemma at work. I recently won a prestigious industry award. My boss wishes to reward me for this achievement, so he has invited me and my wife out to dinner with him and his wife. The dilemma is: I do not like my boss, and my wife - who thinks I am not very well-treated by my boss or the company - likes him even less.

He insists on taking us to his favourite European restaurant, which serves a very good French wine that he is fond of, even though my wife and I are teetotalling vegetarians.

The restaurant, nice as it is, has little to offer us. We are dreading the prospect of dressing up, and suffering through a dinner, while we shoulder the additional expense of a babysitter for our children and parking near the restaurant for what may be a long and unpleasant evening.

A. For something to be a reward, it has to be valued by the person receiving it, not just by the person giving it. While this is an extreme example, many employers assume that the reward that they value will be the one that their staff will value as well. It is the job of the effective manager to determine what each member of their staff will value as a reward for their performance.

As you have indicated, this varies by family status, personal preference, and a host of other factors. Your boss seems to have missed this important step.

I suppose you could suffer through the dinner, perhaps making excuses for your wife to spare her the experience.

This at least acknowledges that your boss is trying to reward you, even though it is not what you might have wanted. I'm sure this is not the first gift that you have received and not liked.

Alternatively, you could try to change your boss' behaviour into something that is a reward for you.

First, at least give your boss some credit for trying to acknowledge your achievement, even if he has misinterpreted what would be an effective reward for you.

Depending on the culture of the organisation, you could either tell him directly, "thank you, but I'd much rather ... " or you can be much more politic by suggesting that the planned dinner is much too grand, and that you would rather have a quieter and lower-key recognition, either at work with your colleagues, or at home with your family.

Your boss should take his cue from this that you would prefer a less formal recognition, and perhaps even pick up your dietary requirements.