Certified Teacher-- can't land an interview...

Hey fellow men,

At the moment I'm very frustrated and discouraged with this field. For the past 2 years I have been struggling to even land an interview (due to 400 people applying for every 1 position posted). I'm certified PreK-6 in NYS with 78 graduate credits (12 of which are reading), I taught English in Japan to Japanese students and yet I can't get called for an interview. This has been going on for 2 years and I'm wondering if I should pursue another career. I love teaching, it's what I am most passionate about. The students that I've had adore me.... I've been told I'm a good teacher and have great connections with kids-- and yet the administrators won't look at me. If any of you have any tips/advice, or similar experiences, please share them. Research claims they want male teachers-- and here I am--- so what am I missing??

Wed, 2009-07-15 13:37 — palmharbor

Phil

There is no shortage of male teachers in Elementary schools. Were there a shortage, the district's teacher recruiter would be actively looking for you.
She is NOT. Example....a man may not have any 4" high heeled pump
shoes in his closet, but that does not mean he has a shortage of 4" high heeled pumps. He doesn't want any. Same with the school district.
I guarantee you that if a school district had all their Trig. teachers retire, they would actively be looking for trig. teachers. They would not be passive about
it as they are about having male elementary teachers.

Tue, 2008-09-02 18:02 — sdawson

Hi folks, While I haven't

Hi folks,

While I haven't shared the frustration yet, I can share the nervousness. I am changing careers in my mid 40's. I'm in a 2-year part time program at Oregon State. I've finished the 1st year and am about to start my second year.

While I did a 3 week practicum last spring, my real practicum comes this next spring, where I do 12 weeks full time. The importance of that is that I will at that time quit my regular job to finish my Masters in Education. I will be out of full time work for a minimum of 6 months -- pretty scary for a guy with a wife, 3 kids and a mortgage.

Today was the 1st day of school, and I asked my cooperating teacher about his experience and knowledge about how hard it is to get that first teaching job. He is in his 40's and has been teaching for 15+ years. He helps with the interviews for prospective teachers at his school.

This past spring they had two openings for teachers. For those two jobs, they had 100+ applications. Of those, they called in six for interviews. Over 94% of the people who applied didn't even get an interview! Yikes! It makes one wonder how a new teacher competes with all the teachers who have years of experience who are also applying for jobs.

Some advice and questions he gave me today were:

* How well do you interview?
* Do you appear motiviated and enthusiastic?
* You must be willing to take positions in less desirable districts and schools -- especially in the first few years as you get experience.
* Do you come across as a team player?

-Shawn

Tue, 2008-07-22 08:15 — egidseg

Can't Land an Interview

That's truly a shame that you can't land an interview. I can tell you that based solely on the background that you reported there are definitely districts out there that would value you enough on paper to give you another look. Here are a few questions that you may have already considered:
Have you received some guidance as to how to make your reume/CV look interesting?
Have you considered broadening the geographic area that you are canvasing?
Have you considered beginning your career in a city? Perhaps a high needs school?
Have you found some ways to distinguish your resume/CV so that it stands out in a pile of 200?

From my vantage point as co-chair of the NY State Professional Standards and Practices Board I can assure you that there are people looking for you....they may not know that you are there though.

Eric Gidseg, Ph.D.
Kindergarten Teacher
Pleasant Valley, NY

Tue, 2008-07-22 12:58 — Gscalerajr

Thank you Eric for your

Thank you Eric for your comments. I wanted to give you some insight to what I have been doing....

1) I've spent countless hours on my resume with a career counselor from the college I went to in addition to having other educators (principals and former superintendents and my retail manager) look at my resume... all say something different-- it seems it's all based on personal preference. I'd be happy to send you my CV/resume for your insight if you wouldn't mind looking at it.

2 and 3) I've looked at the eastern part of NY from Glensfalls south of albany, including parts of NYC. Out of state at NC and FL-- all dead ends... most now have military preference (adding to the competition). I've heard it's difficult in NY especially due to the # of teaching colleges in the state in addition to the 'politics' involved--it's all about who you know. So much of the application process is done via the internet through data base searches.

4) any tips you have on differentiating my resume-- please pass them along!

you can reach me @ my email address gscalerajr@gmail.com Thanks again

Gerard

Mon, 2008-07-21 10:46 — Bryan G Nelson

Challenging market

How frustrating!

Yes, there is definitely a shortage of male teachers.

And, yes, men sometimes do not get interviews. In some regions, there have been massive layoffs because of the decreasing enrollment and population of children. It really makes it a difficult time for teachers.

Here's something I wrote in response to another man's request for help:

Teacher Shortage or Teacher Turnover

Be certain to look at some readers' comments.

Good luck and do keep in touch!