Certified Teacher– can’t land an interview…

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!

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

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

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.