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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The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
- How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
- The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
- How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
- The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
- And, a lot more hacks for job search success!
Let us show you the secrets to getting a new, better-paying job you actually love. Sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp today.
Are you ready to land the job of your dreams (and leave the job of your nightmares)?
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