Take Inventory of Your Qualifications and Preferences
The first thing you need to think about when you are trying to get great teaching jobs is your qualifications and your preferences. A variety of qualifications may be needed, depending on where you want to teach. Various teaching jobs require specific qualifications when you are being considered for the job.
Usually the qualifications you'll need to have will depend on the state, district, or even the county that you are interested in teaching in. Also, if you want to teach at a private school, the qualifications are even different there. So, take the time to figure out what qualifications you need to have for specific areas or teaching jobs and also take some time to figure out which areas you prefer as well.
Start Getting Experience Immediately
Even while you are trying to get great education jobs, you can still be working to get some experience. There's no doubt that it takes quite a bit of time to land educational jobs. You have to wait for positions to be available and even once you apply, you'll have to wait for your application to go through review. Of course, even while you're working to get a full- time teaching job, this doesn't mean that there is nothing that you can do.
You can work on sharpening your skills as a teacher in a variety of ways. You can tutor privately for more experience or even start out as a substitute teacher in the area where you want to land one of the teaching jobs available. This way you can begin getting more experience, which will help you even more as you strive to get a great job as a teacher.
Prepare Your Resume and Application Carefully
One of the most important steps of getting a great education job is to take extreme care when you are preparing your resume and your application. This is going to be your introduction to the people hiring, so you need to work to make these application your best.
In most cases you'll be turning in a resume and also filling out an application for the education jobs you apply for. Both are going to need to be done carefully. When you are writing a resume, carefully write it showing your strong points, your accomplishments, and your education. Your resume may be the first thing your prospective employer sees, so sell your teaching skills and make sure it looks great and has no errors.
Of course, your application is going to be a bit of a different story. Applications will ask targeted questions about your education, experience, and more. Make sure that all questions are answered to the best of your ability and make sure you do it neatly. Also, remember that if you are a first time teacher, you may have to have a background check and fingerprinting done.
Look Online for Teaching Jobs
The great thing about all the technology that is available today is that the Internet is right at your fingertips. Today you can easily look for jobs online. Use search engines to look for potential education jobs and there are many online job banks available too where you can find the jobs you are looking for in the teaching field. This makes the job search a whole lot easier for you, and in some cases you may be able to email your resume for consideration. So, if you want great teaching jobs, then you may want to take your search to the online world.
Prepare for an Interview
After you apply for the jobs in higher education that you are interested in, you hopefully land the interview. This will be your chance to make a great first impression in person. Make sure that you dress carefully, prepare for possible questions that will be asked, smile, act personable, and take your portfolio with you. Ensure that you can answer each question thrown out at you with ease. Here is a list of some of the most common questions you can expect to get:
- What kind of educational philosophy do you have?
- What are your strengths as a teacher?
- How do you do your lesson plans?
- Give examples of how you would deal with a parent that was being difficult?
- What will some of the rules be when you are in the classroom?
- How will you deal with student/teacher difficulties?
- Give me examples of when you were a team player.
