It is often said that if your ship is slow to come in, you should swim out to meet it. The same can be extended to your acquisition of relevant experience. You need not wait for an employer to formally hand you an opportunity to gain some experience. You can create your own credible experience by volunteering and by exercising initiative. Some job-relevant experiences that the writer has encountered over the years include activities such as the following:
- Served as a summer nanny / sitter for five-year-old twins
- Taught weekly Sunday School classes for 12-year olds
- Assisted with children’s church choir
- Volunteered as summer camp counselor
- Organized campus-wide after-school fitness program
- Led a campus book study group that doubled in size
- Volunteered as a children’s piano teacher at local faith-based thrift shop, while parents shopped
- Tutored students in a family night shelter
- Mentored assigned at-risk students
- Coordinated a back-to-school shoe drive for children
- Participated in the Mayor’s School Supply Drive and Distribution
- Raised funds for local Juvenile Diabetes Run
- Read daily in the local United Way Read-a-thon
- Worked in after-school Extended Care program
- Entertained children as a balloon artist / cartoonist /facepainter
Among this list, it is likely that you will be able to think of at least three or four variations of each - all do-able before the annual job fair season ensues.
Janet L. Hood-Hanchey, Ph.D., Director, Secondary Staffing
Lewisville (TX) Independent School District