In this interview about the job search process, a teacher reveals how assessing your skill-set, building relationships based on character, integrity and trust, and broadening your job search focus can lead to rewarding and well-paid work.
I am a certified teacher currently employed as a Public Safety Education Specialist with a metropolitan fire department. In this role, I develop, teach, and evaluate injury prevention education programs for all audiences and age groups. I found my current position posted on Craigslist.
In my most recent job search, I scoured through a number of job boards such as Monster, Indeed, and Career Builder but eventually found the position posted on Craigslist. I found these websites beneficial for a number of reasons.
First, they provide literally thousands of opportunities at your fingertips, which increases your chances of finding the right opportunity. Second, the ability to enter specific criteria, job skills, etc. into a search and return job descriptions that match your abilities broadens the scope of your potential. As a classroom teacher struggling to make ends meet I hadn’t considered the crossover potential of my skill set to other industries. Yet as I began to think about training and program management as a direct extension of the teaching profession, I found the confidence to look for work in other areas.
If I were interviewing for my current position with another organization, I would emphasize the breadth of work in the field of education. I have had the opportunity to engage in from the traditional role of classroom teacher, to working in public outreach with the fire department. Having both a solid foundation in teaching and experience with social marketing and project management gives me a much broader skill set than the average teacher. I would also focus on any educational or work related experiences that the typical teacher would not have.
For example, I achieved a Masters degree in Public Administration. The management and leadership skills acquired through that program would definitely set me apart from other candidates.
I think the most effective technologies for connecting and collaborating with professionals working in my field are those that are interactive and that allow you to share ideas, information, and products with many people at a distance. Social networks, email, webinars, e-learning modules are simple but effective ways to share information.
I still believe that to progress in your career or within your organization it is essential to build relationships on a human level. Demonstrating your expertise is important, but building trust and displaying character, integrity and stability are also just as important. Those types of interactions aren’t necessarily transferable through electronic media. As far as getting the foot in the door, sites such as LinkedIn can help to market your talents, accomplishments and availability.
I have had both job interviews that went well and those that were disastrous. When I interviewed for my current position, I did excellently. Since I was the “expert” being hired to specialize in an area no one else in the organization was familiar with, it was quite easy to answer the interview questions. I already had a vision of where the department could go with their public outreach and education efforts, and that impressed the committee greatly.
In a more recent interview for a Safety and Environmental Program Coordinator position that would have entailed employee training to some degree but also monitoring compliance with OSHA and EPA regulations, things did not go quite as well. I had a great grasp on the training and communication strategies that the candidate would need, however I lacked experience in other areas.
The first interview question they asked was, “What experience do you have with facilities management and fleet services?” Unfortunately, my answer was “none.” Needless to say, it was not the best way to start an interview.
From that experience, I learned to expect the unexpected and do as much homework as possible to prepare for the interview. If you can find others doing similar work, contact them and discuss their job duties and background. If possible, try to get a very broad sense of what the job may entail and do as much preparation as you can before the interview.
The most important lesson I learned from my job search experience is to never give up. You may have to apply for many positions before you get the interview and you may have to interview many times before landing the job. The market is very competitive, but eventually you will find the right match for your personality and skill set.
Also, don’t sell yourself short; some of the experiences and skills that you may have developed in previous jobs may be highly transferable in other areas. It is important to remain confident in your abilities and persistent in your efforts.
The Career Services program of the university I graduated from held a career fair for those entering the teaching field. I was hired for my first teaching job through that job fair.
Although I loved working in the classroom and helping children learn, I found it impossible to survive on a teacher’s salary. The low pay coupled with the amount of student loan debt I acquired made pursuing a teaching degree a poor financial decision.
If I were entering college as a freshman today I would do a much more thorough assessment of the earning potential of my field of study. With that being said I do love the work that I do and I feel that I am making a difference in people's lives. For that reason, the work is very rewarding.
Job search lesson image from Bigstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
In this interview about the job search process, a teacher reveals how assessing your skill-set, building relationships based on character, integrity and trust, and broadening your job search focus can lead to rewarding and well-paid work.
I am a certified teacher currently employed as a Public Safety Education Specialist with a metropolitan fire department. In this role, I develop, teach, and evaluate injury prevention education programs for all audiences and age groups. I found my current position posted on Craigslist.
In my most recent job search, I scoured through a number of job boards such as Monster, Indeed, and Career Builder but eventually found the position posted on Craigslist. I found these websites beneficial for a number of reasons.
First, they provide literally thousands of opportunities at your fingertips, which increases your chances of finding the right opportunity. Second, the ability to enter specific criteria, job skills, etc. into a search and return job descriptions that match your abilities broadens the scope of your potential. As a classroom teacher struggling to make ends meet I hadn’t considered the crossover potential of my skill set to other industries. Yet as I began to think about training and program management as a direct extension of the teaching profession, I found the confidence to look for work in other areas.
If I were interviewing for my current position with another organization, I would emphasize the breadth of work in the field of education. I have had the opportunity to engage in from the traditional role of classroom teacher, to working in public outreach with the fire department. Having both a solid foundation in teaching and experience with social marketing and project management gives me a much broader skill set than the average teacher. I would also focus on any educational or work related experiences that the typical teacher would not have.
For example, I achieved a Masters degree in Public Administration. The management and leadership skills acquired through that program would definitely set me apart from other candidates.
I think the most effective technologies for connecting and collaborating with professionals working in my field are those that are interactive and that allow you to share ideas, information, and products with many people at a distance. Social networks, email, webinars, e-learning modules are simple but effective ways to share information.
I still believe that to progress in your career or within your organization it is essential to build relationships on a human level. Demonstrating your expertise is important, but building trust and displaying character, integrity and stability are also just as important. Those types of interactions aren’t necessarily transferable through electronic media. As far as getting the foot in the door, sites such as LinkedIn can help to market your talents, accomplishments and availability.
I have had both job interviews that went well and those that were disastrous. When I interviewed for my current position, I did excellently. Since I was the “expert” being hired to specialize in an area no one else in the organization was familiar with, it was quite easy to answer the interview questions. I already had a vision of where the department could go with their public outreach and education efforts, and that impressed the committee greatly.
In a more recent interview for a Safety and Environmental Program Coordinator position that would have entailed employee training to some degree but also monitoring compliance with OSHA and EPA regulations, things did not go quite as well. I had a great grasp on the training and communication strategies that the candidate would need, however I lacked experience in other areas.
The first interview question they asked was, “What experience do you have with facilities management and fleet services?” Unfortunately, my answer was “none.” Needless to say, it was not the best way to start an interview.
From that experience, I learned to expect the unexpected and do as much homework as possible to prepare for the interview. If you can find others doing similar work, contact them and discuss their job duties and background. If possible, try to get a very broad sense of what the job may entail and do as much preparation as you can before the interview.
The most important lesson I learned from my job search experience is to never give up. You may have to apply for many positions before you get the interview and you may have to interview many times before landing the job. The market is very competitive, but eventually you will find the right match for your personality and skill set.
Also, don’t sell yourself short; some of the experiences and skills that you may have developed in previous jobs may be highly transferable in other areas. It is important to remain confident in your abilities and persistent in your efforts.
The Career Services program of the university I graduated from held a career fair for those entering the teaching field. I was hired for my first teaching job through that job fair.
Although I loved working in the classroom and helping children learn, I found it impossible to survive on a teacher’s salary. The low pay coupled with the amount of student loan debt I acquired made pursuing a teaching degree a poor financial decision.
If I were entering college as a freshman today I would do a much more thorough assessment of the earning potential of my field of study. With that being said I do love the work that I do and I feel that I am making a difference in people's lives. For that reason, the work is very rewarding.
Job search lesson image from Bigstock
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