Career Corner
In this blog, members of the American Association for Employment in Education, a professional organization for college career-center directors and school district recruiters, provided career advice and discuss developments in the education job market. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: career advice and job huntjob hunt.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
A New Type of Career Fair?
Students preparing for careers in education are often exposed to the latest technology in universities and are urged to help soon-to-be employers learn about and engage with new technologies once on the job. Knowing about the latest technology is certainly important, not simply from a classroom standpoint, but also for knowing what our students are experiencing and engaging with outside the classroom.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
The Weakness Question
At some point in the interview process, you are likely to be asked about your weakness(es). This is the question that seems to be most problematic to candidates, and is the one I get the most questions about.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
"Tell me about yourself..."
Perhaps the most common interview starter is the request to "tell me about yourself." It is also one of the most confusing parts of the interview for many job seekers.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
"I did" vs. "I would"
Behavioral interviewing has become the norm rather than the exception with all types of employers. Behavioral questions usually begin with a phrase such as "Gve me an example of a time…"or "Tell me about a time when you…." A variant of the behavioral question is the scenario question. Scenarios often begin with something like "How would you handle a situation where…." Scenario questions have been around a long time; most of us have been faced with them in interviews.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Why Am I Not Getting the Job?
As I watch the comments that are posted here, I am struck by the questions many are posing about why they are not being hired. Several of these are related to administrative positions, with a few in the teaching areas. There are a number of questions that can be asked in return, so I will pose a few of them here myself.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Are you ready for success?
Spring is just around the corner and if you are a prospective teacher, you are probably well aware that spring is Educator Career Fair season. If you are planning on including career fairs in your job search, please consider that despite the often noisy, informal feel and the use of the word “fair,” these events are essentially job interviews. If you start from that point, you may already be thinking differently about what to wear and how to present yourself, but here are a number of less obvious steps you may also want to consider:
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Portfolios, The Good, The Bad, The Essential?
In my neck of the woods, Northeastern Ohio, there is a consortium of twelve colleges and universities, some public, some private, that works collaboratively to sponsor a huge teacher education fair; The Northeast Ohio Teacher Education Day (NOTED). Every year, hundreds of students and alumnae from the participating schools show up at the crack of dawn (in April, that is around 6:00 a.m.) rain, shine or even snow, dressed in their suits and armed with folders full of resumes and. . . . .carefully crafted portfolios.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
How Cute Is Your Résumé?
Occasionally, I get a résumé from an education candidate who believes that incorporating some cute graphics will demonstrate their ability to use technology to create inventive classroom projects. My advice is not to use your résumé for that purpose.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Whose advice should I take?
When writing a resume and cover letter or putting together a portfolio, students tell us they often receive conflicting advice - from the career offices, from their faculty advisors, from their cooperating teacher, from their friends (some who have jobs, others who don't) and finally, from the people who actually do the hiring! Talk about too much information!
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Budget Time for the Job Search
It is imperative that every job seeker budget for the search. Money is the most obvious commodity, but the job search budget includes time as well as money. Finding the time while student teaching or working may be a challenge, but you can do it if you plan ahead.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Interview Appearance - Part 2
Some years ago, I was told that the first thing employment recruiters do in an interview is look at your shoes. As a male, I knew that my black wingtips should be freshly polished to make the best impression. It was not necessary that shoes be new, but they should look new.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Dress Like an Administrator
A few years ago, at an interview day at a university, a school administrator commented to me that most candidates were dressed appropriately for interviews, but it appeared some visiting from another university had been advised to "dress like a teacher." Fifty years ago, that might have been a compliment, but with more relaxed dress in educational settings in the twenty-first century, interview wear should be dressier than "like a teacher."
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Job Seeker Holiday Hints
It is tempting to spend all our time during the holidays eating and sleeping (at least it is tempting to me!). For the education job seeker, however, this is a time when you can do some things that might enhance your search. While I have a list of several, I will share only a couple.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Teacher Shortage – What Does It Mean?
We continue to use the term "teacher shortage" to describe the job market in education. Certainly there are considerable shortages in areas such as mathematics, the sciences, special education, and bilingual education. Supply and demand research from the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) shows these fields with shortages nationwide.