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I am a piano teacher and also the owner of Kane Piano Studio. I have more than 30 years of experience in this field. My clientele consists of more than 40 students, and I employ two other teachers who also teach students for me.
Each of my students receives a private lesson of 30 minutes each week. Most of my students participate in a New York State test of their ability, and we hold an annual recital every June. A common misunderstanding in my field is that it is easy, and that you only have to know how to play the piano in order to know how to ‘teach’ piano.
I would rate my overall job satisfaction at about a 6. The students of today are involved in far too many extra-curricular activities. As a result, they cannot possibly dedicate a regular amount of time daily (at least 30 minutes) to practice and to achieve satisfactory results. To improve job satisfaction I would want to drop those students who do not practice regularly due to lack of interest or because they are overextended with activities.
Sometimes, I feel like I have found my calling when a student shows sincere appreciation once they have successfully learned how to play a particular piece or have performed well. I then know I have done my job well.
I started teaching music privately after college. I subbed during the day and taught at a music studio after school hours. The money was better so I decided to teach privately and not in a public school setting. That was a mistake. I went for the better money right away instead of looking down the road for my later years. Now I have no retirement, no pension. I would probably have been retired by now and teaching privately had I taught classroom music instead.
One thing I have learned the hard way outside of the classroom is that the saying, "It is not always 'what' you know, but 'who' you know," is true of just about any profession in terms of getting into and succeeding in a certain area.
Nothing actually strange has happened during my career, but little kids will often say whatever is on their mind – they do not filter things out. I am sure some parents would be appalled by what their children have shared with me over the years.
I get up and go to work each day because I am not the kind of person who can remain idle for too long, and because I have a family to support and bills to pay. But on the other side of the coin, I do enjoy what I do and look forward to what each new day brings.
The biggest challenge I am confronted with on a regular basis is getting the students to commit to practicing each day. It can be very frustrating to have to say the same thing over and over, week after week, and see no improvement.
There is definitely stress involved in my job. Trying to keep the parents happy even when their children are not doing their jobs can become extremely stressful. The parents simply do not want to hear it. For some reason, a child’s lack of success is usually blamed on the teacher and not the child’s lack of commitment and dedication.
I make $30 per 30-minute session, which is the going rate for a degreed instructor in my geographic location. I am fortunate to make such good money, but I do have a bachelor's and master’s degree in this field, a great deal of experience, and I have been told on numerous occasions that I am a good teacher.
To get into this industry and succeed, one needs a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in music education.
My advice to a friend who was looking to get into this field would be to start your career in the classroom and then have a private clientele on the side. As I mentioned, I made the mistake of doing it in the opposite direction. I should be enjoying my retirement years at this point in my life.
If I had started in the school system as a music teacher I would be able to retire comfortably today and not have to worry about whether I have a large enough clientele to meet my overhead expenses.
If I could write my own ticket I would love to be teaching ONLY those students who want to learn and are willing to practice. I have no plans of retiring… ever!
Career teaching music image from Shutterstock
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
BigstockMake 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
BigstockAre 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.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
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
BigstockYour 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.
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