I applied to three times more jobs in my first year and didn't even get an interview. However, in the last half of this school year, I got interviews for every application I sent. After two years trying (and pretty vigilantly), how did I finally get the job? I've been reflecting and wondering what were the key ingredients.
Getting the interview - My applications where I got interviews were better tailored and reflected more risk taking than the ones where I didn't get call backs. On my own time, I wrote curriculums and persuaded teachers to let me teach them to their students as a volunteer. These experiences enabled me to stand out from the crowd. I also tried to offer my vision of how I would distinguish the job from the vanilla job description. Whereever possible, I would ask teachers and principals who like my work to put in good words for me.
In the interview - Interviews can make or break you. As I found out earlier, support from everyone prior to the interview is not a slam dunk for getting the job if I did not wow them when they formally interview me. I prepped myself with writing every interview question I could remember being used on me. Since Seattle doesn't allow you to take the interview questions home, I would sit in the car after the meeting and just write down all I remembered them asking. I collected a good bunch of questions this way and they generally come down to why I would want this job, a parent question relation question, a student behavior question, how I would address/teach a piece of curriculum, a teaching philosophy/methodology question.
I thought up clever, humorous vignettes and examples that depict how I excel in each of these areas. I did better in each successive interview as I would have more prepared stories that are honed and sharp.
Until finally, one day, I scored.
I would love to hear stories of how others find a job in these trying times. Anyone willing to share?
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