Getting a Job

You know, the amount of time I’ve spent applying for jobs is out of control.  Applying, interviewing, sitting on interview committees…it’s really quite ridiculous.  So I’ll throw out there a few tips I’ve learned, as well as what I hope is an entertaining story to you.  It was pretty entertaining when it happened to me.  First my tips:

1.     Professionalism.  Some teachers have gotten the idea that it’s okay to print your resume on cute paper with crayons and stick kids around the edges.  It’s not.  Not even a little bit.  Print your resume on resume paper.  Otherwise, people won’t take you seriously and you will definitely not get the position.

2.   Committees.  I’ve lately noticed the amount of committee interviews is on the rise.  I actually haven’t even heard of a 1-on-1 interview in 5 years.   Address everyone on the committee, because if you don’t they feel awkward and won’t like you as much as they should.  They feel awkward anyways, don’t make it worse.

3.   Questions.  They people who are feeling awkward on the committee feel like if they write down everything you say, it will be less awkward.  I personally struggle with silences in these types of formal situations, so I usually talk until I get cut off.  DON’T DO THAT!  Just answer the question and be done.  It’s okay if there’s a little silence between you finishing your answer and the committee finishing writing it down.

4.   Differentiation.  This is the key for public schools.  I have never been part of an interview that didn’t include the question “You are running out of time and have to sacrifice part of your day.  Do you skip whole group or small group?”  The right answer is whole group.  You always sacrifice whole group.  This feels like a trick question because, realistically, there are so many factors that go into the decisions teachers make in those situations.  But I’m telling you, the right answer in an interview is that you NEVER skip small group.

So there are my “get a job” tips.  Now here’s my favorite interview situation story.

I applied for a job at a school in a district near the one in which I was currently working.  I got called for an interview, so I put my resume together (on nice resume paper) and headed over there.  I sat down with the committee and made small talk for a minute or so before getting started.  I’m really bad at #2, and there were a ton of questions, so the interview lasted an hour.  Afterwards, they showed me around the school, showed me the classroom, told me I could paint the walls whatever color I wanted, showed me where I could store my extra things, and introduced me to the other teachers on the team.  I took all these things as good signs, since they told me to think of what color I wanted the walls to be.  I left and did not hear from the school again. 

Until a year later.  When they called me for another interview (I guess based on the application I’d submitted the year before).  I figured there was little harm in going, so I put my resume together and headed over there.  I walked in to the EXACT same school, the EXACT same room, the EXACT same people on the interview committee.  Not one of them remembered me!  Not one of them!  I even said “It’s nice to see you all again” and they looked at me like I was crazy.  We had the EXACT same interview, they took me on the EXACT same tour, showed me the EXACT same room.  Surprise, surprise, that was the last time I heard from that school.  IT WAS ALL THE EXACT SAME!  TWICE! 

Looking for a job can be a frustrating and exhausting endeavor, but don’t lose heart!  Pay attention to and enjoy the funny and ridiculous situations you will inevitably find yourself in.  Surprisingly enough (or maybe not so surprisingly) I have quite a few crazy interview stories to entertain myself on a rainy day! 

Jodie