u/Independent-Aerie333

I recently had an interview at a Catholic primary school in QLD (part of the Rockhampton Diocese) and they offered me the job on the spot. During my interview I had my arms covered and forgot to ask the question - are visible tattoos allowed or will I be required to cover it? I have a floral sleeve down one of my arms.

I found this on another schools site - “Tattoos that misalign with the professional standards, culture and image of the Catholic Diocese should always be covered.”

Would this apply to my tattoo? Does anyone have any experience here?

Thank you!

Is it normal practice to be offered a job during the interview?

Most of my working life has been in cities, where the process has usually been- apply, interview, they interview a bunch of other people, then say they’ll be in touch. Sometimes they ask to contact references and then eventually call me if I’ve been successful, alternatively you just never hear from them again.

Since moving back to my hometown in regional QLD (population >100,000) I’ve had two interviews where they told me on the spot that they wanted to hire me. Both said they would still contact my references as a formality but that the job was mine if I wanted it.

Is this a regional thing or am I just lucky?

The most recent job offer is a teaching assistant position at a private school. From what I understand, these roles can be hard to get into here, especially without primary school experience or doing casual relief work long term then getting lucky when someone leaves.

This job also wasn’t even advertised. They found me from a casual relief register I submitted about two months ago, contacted me for an interview, seemed to really like me, and offered me a PT contract on the spot. I was the only person they interviewed.

I did put a lot of effort into my cover letter so maybe that helped, but I’m still a bit thrown by how direct the process has been compared to what I’m used to.

What gives? Is this common?

I’ve heard that on the spot offers can be a red flag but that hasn’t been the case in my current role that I’ve been in for over a year.