Finding a job teaching in this economy is harder than ever and nothing is worse than spending four years of your life and tens of thousands of dollars preparing for a career that doesn\’t seem to need you. Though the climate is difficult, don\’t despair. Success comes to those who are dedicated and persistent, not those who show passing interest and quit easily. If you really want to find a teaching job you\’re going to have to try put full effort into the job search process and try as hard as you can. I suggest that you also do the following…

Be Aggressive: In the cases of love and the job hunt, there is a fine line that runs between pushy and persistent, but you\’ll find more success occasionally crossing the line than never approaching it. Don\’t let your fear of bothering \”them\” prevent you from realizing your dreams. \”They\” are paid to answer your questions and respond to your queries, so let them do their jobs. Make them tell you \”No.\” Don\’t just assume that they mean \”No,\” otherwise the answer will be \”No.\” Send a thank-you letter after the first interview, and if they don\’t callback, call them and ask what the status on the position is. Sometimes, the prize goes to the contender who wants it the most. Be humble and polite, but be persistent. They won\’t blame you for trying, and if the job slips through your fingers, at least it won\’t be because you didn\’t reach for it.

Pick Up Your Phone: With the convenience of email, many job seekers are solely using their computers to contact schools. But while digital communications continue to replace the analog technologies of yesterday, something is lost in the transition. Don\’t underestimate the power of a telephone call. There is an intangible human quality realized in voice communication that is not expressed in text. Years of spam emails have conditioned people to be suspicious of unsolicited messages. These feelings may lead an administrator to not read past the subject line of your cut-and-paste email. Contrarily, if you manage to get him or her on the phone, his or her ears will be open. Though an email may forever go unread, a hand delivered envelope demands some level of physical attention. All of this does not mean that you should be a technophobe, however. Rather, if you have not already done so…

Upgrade Your Info: Have a phone number, email, and web address clearly posted at the top of your resume. Be sure to direct the recruiter\’s attention to the web address. Don\’t have a website? Start a free blog at blogger.com and slap some information about yourself on it. Your blog will be on a subdomain of blogger.com, but plenty of administrators don\’t understand the difference between a domain and a subdomain. Though they will probably never visit the page anyway, having a web address on your resume will make you look techie. Just in case they do visit, however, put some content on your page. At the minimum, include your contact information and links to your resume.

Finding a job teaching in these days of shrinking budgets may be difficult, but there are things that you can do to immediately improve your chances of getting hired.

Author Bio: Learn nine more ways to find a job teaching. When Mr. Mortini is not dispensing advice on finding teaching jobs, he his reading worksheets.

Category: Education
Keywords: teaching jobs, finding a job teaching, employment, teaching, teachers, education, jobs