Career Corner

Here are some questions to ask yourself when going through the often difficult decision-making process.

There are many steps to the application process for teaching positions and you should be prepared to spend a considerable amount of time preparing each application. Here are some tips to help you in your job search and the application process:

As you transition from your college career into your professional career as an educator you will be experiencing many new beginnings in your life, one of which may include a type of stress you have never dealt with before. The great excitement of your first year teaching can sometimes be coupled with great stress and anxiety to meet the needs of your students, administrators, peers and parents! Here are a few tips I learned in a recent workshop to help you keep your cool under stress.

Working with many students, particularly freshmen, reminds me of conversations I would like to have with teachers about their work with students in helping them to discover their majors and career paths.

Do you ever think about how you are perceived by others? There are many ways this occurs both in person and online. This can affect you in the workplace. Perceptions become reality so it is worth the time to review how we present ourselves which becomes our personal brand.

What things have you been wanting to change or improve on lately?  We want improvement, but we do not necessarily know how to get that improvement.  For most of us, the difficulty probably lies in getting started.  Perhaps we are afraid of what might come from change or maybe we lack the resources or momentum to build the right circumstances for change.  Oftentimes, the idea of change will feel like it threatens the existing balance and routine in place, but think about what good might come from change.  Even when it does not feel like there is time to make steps towards the change or dedicate the time for development, think about what would help you get started.  The nature of growth and learning requires change; and when we expand our horizons, new opportunities are available.

There is a quote I found recently attributed to Soren Kierkegaard which says "life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."  In many ways, our past can easily influence our present and the people we are today.  We might not consciously think about it very often, but our experiences with the world around us shape our career trajectories, too.  Think about the resources, relationships, and environments which have shaped you as a person.  How did you learn the skills you have today?  How did you arrive in the occupation you have now?  Perhaps there was an "Aha!" moment; or perhaps it was more of a steady process.  Even as I am composing my thoughts for this article, I recall the voices and knowledge imparted from my past experiences regarding message and critical-thought of the issues beyond the face value.  From the classroom to the real world, our lives have been ripe with learning opportunities to try and understand how life works - how we work.

We have all heard the stories - teachers let go because of a blog post, peers asked to show their Facebook profiles in an interview, or employers googling their prospects to see what pops up.  According to a survey released by Microsoft, 79% of hiring managers and recruiters in the United States admitted to reviewing information online about interviewees and potential applicants.  70% of those managers and recruiters admitted to rejecting applicants due to uncovering an offensive social media profile.  As technology and social networking continue to flourish, as a job candidate, particularly for a teaching position, it is up to you to monitor your professional identity.  As soon as you begin interacting with a school or you apply to a job, an employer could choose to google you to see what pops up.  As a job seeker or an employee of a school district it is up to you to maintain a positive reputation online.  What does this mean exactly?

A question that often arises when I am speaking to students and alumni about their resumes is "is it important to include my non-classroom experience?"  I always answer with a resounding "yes!"  Often, people play down the activities and experiences they are involved in outside of their "professional" life, thinking that the resume should focus solely on the classroom.  While you definitely should lead your resume with your most important and relevant information (i.e. degree, certifications, classroom experience), it is also important to include information on some of the other activities you are involved in.  For example:

Behavioral-based interview questions are a popular way for employers to gain knowledge of your experiences and how you may make decisions or act as a potential employee.  A typical behavioral-based interview question would start out asking for you to "Tell me about a time when..." or "Give an example of..."  The employer is trying to use your past experiences to gauge how you will act in the future.  These questions can often throw interviewees off, as they try to come up with past experiences to meet employers' expectations right on the spot.  Job seekers often incorrectly believe there is no way to prepare for these questions.  After all, how can we anticipate exactly what scenario a school will be interested in hearing about?  Although you cannot always guess what questions an employer will ask, you can prepare for behavioral-based interview questions by knowing how to answer them and by thinking about your related experiences before the interview.  The STARR Technique is commonly spoken of when it comes to behavioral-based questions.  Before an interview, think about significant past experiences (either in your work with students, extracurricular work, or coursework).  Then practice answering questions about those experiences using the STARR method.  If you pick a variety of stories to prepare and think about, you will find many apply to questions asked in an interview.  If you practice the STARR method, the employer will have a good understanding of your experience.  Here is an example of using the STARR technique to answer a behavioral-based question:

Often when I discuss networking with people, they focus on two main issues:

Networking has become a buzzword for those who are job searching and the lack of networking can definitely hurt your job search in the long run.  The networking process should not stop when you land a job or when you are in a job you love.  Networking can help you exchange ideas with other teachers, solve problems you are facing in the classroom, or learn of new and existing resources.  Here are a few tips to help you begin networking:

Ultimately, that is the fundamental question.  With all of the programs and initiatives that we implement in schools, the greatest factor in the academic achievement of students is the teacher.  There is no amount of interview coaching or resume development that can substitute for a teacher that is qualified to teach and passionate about the success of students.  If your passion for the learning and success of your students does not come through, your interview process will be short.

There is a saying that "the job isn't finished until the paperwork is done."  There is a different spin on this when applying for a position.  The job won't begin if the paperwork is not done correctly. Your application and resume introduce you as a prospective candidate.  Often attention to detail makes the difference in whether you are screened out or brought to the table in an interview process.  Building and personnel administrators can tell stories of paperwork blunders that sometimes cost a potential candidate an interview and ultimately a position.