Teaching Job Search Tips

These teaching job search tips will help with all aspects of finding teacher job opportunities. The job market in the education sector is very difficult and this section will provide education job search guidance to move your career forward.

job searchHappy New Year! I have compiled a list of New Year’s Job Search Resolutions to help you land a teaching job in 2013:

Job Search Resolution #1 - Take the time to reflect on what is important to you. Set priorities, make a plan, and stick to it! job search resolution 2 through 10

job searchMany job searchers are convinced that job searching between December and the middle of January is a waste of time. If you buy into this myth about holiday job searching, you are losing out on one of the better job searching seasons of the year. During the holiday season, you enjoy reduced competition for jobs and many other benefits. During the holiday season…

portfolioYour teaching portfolio is a large and well-organized binder that holds all of your most important documents and evidence of your best teaching work. Your portfolio is a very important tool in your job search as it allows schools to see snapshots of your past teaching work, your credentials, and your planning skills. Your teaching portfolio is partly used as …

autobiographySometimes when applying for educational positions at certain levels or in specific districts, you may be required to submit an autobiography. This is a document that allows you to recount events in your life that have shaped who you are and impacted your desire to teach. An autobiography is basically a concise summary of a person’s life. To write a successful document, you do not need to start off with “I was born in 1965 in Los Angeles, California”. You do not need to start right from the beginning. If you have come from another country you can always mention that and specify when you moved to North America, as this provides a good background as to how you developed your beliefs and practices, and demonstrates your willingness to change and adapt.

If you cultivated a passion for teaching and education early on, mention that. Perhaps there was an outstanding teacher who encouraged you to take up the profession. This is also a good place to begin. However, some educators did not develop that love for teaching until later on in life, after obtaining other degrees or working in unrelated professions. If this the situation you find yourself in, start there, and explain how certain events changed your outlook and encouraged you to become an educator. As you can see…

uniqueWith the economy the way it is, employers can have their pick of the litter. They may only receive a handful of applications or possibly one hundred, depending on the school district. For that reason, it is very important that you determine what makes you unique and showcase that uniqueness. Not only do you have to meet the minimum requirements mentioned on a job posting, you must also demonstrate what other special qualities or achievements you possess that you can bring to the table.

All classroom teachers must be able to develop and instruct lesson plans that adhere to curriculum and benchmarks. But how are your lesson plans different? Are they creative and hands-on? Do they relate to the real world and leave students wanting to learn more? If so, make sure this is mentioned in your résumé and cover letter. What about behavior management? Do you implement innovative methods for keeping students well-behaved and focused? Do you go the extra mile to maintain communication with parents? Are there team-building techniques you apply to boost morale amongst fellow teachers? The trick is to

job searchingWhen job searching for a new teaching position while the economy looks bleak and newscasters continue to talk doom and gloom, it can be easy to lose faith. However, no matter how terrible the economy gets, people are still working and schools still need to hire teachers. Even though school districts may be laying-off teachers, others will need to hire. So although there may be fewer jobs to choose from, they are still out there.

In order to be successful in your job search during these tough times, it will take some innovative techniques and a little bit more effort. Here are a few ways that you can successfully capture a school’s attention: 1. Highlight your skills:

Managing Your Internet Presence

Your internet presence is an indispensable part of your 21st century job search. Not only should you be actively reaching out to recruiters and hiring authorities, but you should also be leveraging your efforts with direct networking (through LinkedIn, Facebook, Ecademy, etc.) and by developing a strong internet presence. This combination creates an effective job [...]

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The Benefits of Creating a Teaching Portfolio

Whether or not you decide to create a teaching portfolio is a personal decision, but there are definite benefits to having a portfolio. There is a lot of research supporting them as a tool in lifelong learning and for your job search. As a result, preparing a portfolio, either digital or hardcopy, will become more [...]

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Create a Professional Brand

It’s important in your job search that the information schools find about you online is positive and professional. Remember that many schools will Google their potential candidates to find out what they can about them. So, it’s important that what they read is relevant and helpful. You don’t want schools reading your inappropriate blog posts [...]

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Give Yourself A Background Check

Before starting your job search, it is a good idea to complete a background check on yourself ahead of any schools. You should find out if there are any potential problems that you will need to fix before a school or district does a search on you. Things to look into are your credit report, [...]

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