“I’ve applied for over thirty leadership jobs over the last two years. I got five screening interviews; two of them were ‘courtesies’ due to contacts inside those districts. I moved on once to a second interview and was then cut. I need your help.” This is a typical email that I often receive. My advice to those of you who are frustrated in your job seeking, and to those who are considering or in the process of getting certified is to practice the 3P’s of job seeking—preparation, persistence, and patience.

Preparation

Financial advisors will tell you that preparing for a secure retirement should begin early in your career, and if not early, then now. Athletic coaches know that good preparation is the key to winning. Similarly, early and sound preparation is essential to your school leadership career, and that includes your education and where you attend graduate school. If you are considering enrolling in a school leadership graduate and/or certification program, you should think about attending the most prestigious university in your area. I understand that tuition costs and commuting long distances are serious concerns. However, a degree or a doctorate from a place like Columbia Teachers College, or even NYU or Fordham, will go a long way in making you a highly attractive candidate in the most desirable and best paying school districts.

Another major component is your accomplishments. Serving on a committee, chaperoning school dances, and participating in the PTA sponsored fashion show, although good things to do, should not be confused with significant professional accomplishments. Accomplishments may include: initiating a new course or program that addresses student needs; chairing an important committee, writing a report, and doing a Board and/or community presentation; winning a prestigious award or gaining community, professional, and/or student recognition; writing and being awarded a significant grant.

Of course, preparation must also include preparing an effective resume, and preparing for job interviews. A great resume requires meticulous crafting and editing. It must be tweaked to make it better and better. Giving a great interview means constructing and delivering a compelling narrative that goes beyond what’s on your resume and letting the interviewers know who you are. Seriously consider getting quality coaching and feedback from a knowledgeable and experienced coach in order to prepare a great resume and giving a winning interview. Just blundering through the search process is a formula for failure. Instead, you must design strategies that are tried and tested and will successfully work.

Persistence

Persistence means you stick with it; you must be determined and diligent. Over the course of my career in public education I could have wall papered every inch of wall space of my living room with letters of rejection from school districts in four different states. I was runner up in scores of jobs. It took me 24 years from the time I got my doctorate until I got my dream job. I jokingly say that I was an “overnight success”. It is terribly disappointing and demoralizing to repeatedly experience rejection. Nevertheless, if you are determined to achieve your career goal, you must be persistent in your belief and your actions. If you are not getting interviews, enhance your qualifications. Chalk up impressive experiences and accomplishments. Become a summer school or evening school principal. Volunteer for important and difficult assignments. Re-write your resume. Have a career coach review your resume and suggest changes. Once you get more interviews, reflect upon and diagnose why you came up short. Adjust your responses to often asked questions. Again, work with a career coach to hone your interviewing skills and strategize your answers.

Patience

Job seeking is not a 100-yard dash. It is usually a marathon. It requires patience and endurance. You must believe in yourself. Your mantra should be, “Sooner or later, my time will come.” When it does come, I predict it will come effortlessly.

Dr. Aronstein is a career coach who works one-on-one with leaders and aspiring leaders in their preparation of resumes and preparing for interviews. You can purchase his ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086HXY8MQ?ref_=k4w_oembed_agX9D63dSYiFsF&tag=kpembed-20&linkCode=kpd

Learn more about Dr. Aronstein by visiting his website: www.larryaronstein.com

As an experienced career coach, I have found that at least 20% of my clients are over the age of 45. There is no telling how many so called “older workers” are so discouraged about their age that they reject even considering applying for a leadership job. My older clients ask: “I am an older candidate and feel that my age is working against me, how do I compete against these 30-something year-olds?”
I have worked with more than 650 educators, about 600 of whom are well-qualified. Sixty (60 %) percent of my well-qualified clients successfully get a job. The success rate of “older worker” clients is the same as the rest of my clients.

Most of us are aware that it is discriminatory to ask about your age; you will not be asked that question. However, in most cases it is not difficult to figure out your age. Your resume indicates the year you graduated from college; add 22 to how many years ago you graduated, and they have your age. You are not required to include that on your resume, but you do have to include your record; add 22 to how many years ago you got your first teaching job. Of course, at some point you will submit your college transcripts; your date of graduation is there. If you google yourself, you will find a free site that provides your age. Therefore, don’t hide it by leaving your date of graduation off of your resume. You will only be signaling that you are uncomfortable with your age. My advice is to be proud of who you are. How do you do that?

Usually the first question you will be asked on an interview will be: “Tell us about yourself”. This is your opportunity to tell your story. Take what you might consider to be a deficit and make it into a strength. What is implicit is that with age comes maturity, experience, good judgment; life experience. In my book, “Landing Your School Leadership Job“: http://www.e-junkie.com/schoolleadership20/product/495531.php, my advice is avoid reciting your work and educational experience in answering that first question. The interviewers already have that information in front them on your resume. What you should do is to describe the characteristics that make you stand out.

Describe your life experiences. Tell them about a problem you solved or a decision you made based upon your sound judgment. Be proud of your maturity. Employers want leaders and educators who have good judgment.

Attend Dr. Aronstein’s March 7th four-hour workshop.https://schoolleadership20.com/events/larry-aronstein-1

Answering Interview Questions for Teachers

Below are sample interview questions which are typical of what teachers are asked. In preparing for interviewing, my advice to interviewees is to think through your professional guiding principles. You probably should identify between 10 and 15 principles. There are your beliefs. Write them down and identify your accomplishment, skills, experiences and personal stories that illustrate each guiding principle.

There are lots of lists of typical, most asked questions that are readily available. Review those questions and match them to the guiding principle(s) that come closest to getting at the core of the question; then create two minute answers that are guided by your guiding principle. This isn’t easy, but with some practice you will get good at it, and it really works. You might want to purchase my ebook in which I devote an entire section on specific answers which speak to guiding principles. Here are some questions and what I think are key principles that can guide an effective response.

• Why did you decide to become a teacher? SERVICE TO YOUTH AND THE COMMUNITY

• Have you ever taken care of someone? Did you enjoy it? NURTURER AND ALTRUISM

• If I were your principal and we were setting goals for next year, what would they be? STUDNT LEARNING/STUDENT UNDERSTANDING ARE ALWAYS PRIMARY

• What is the last book you read? PRESENT YOURSELF AS AN INTERESTING AND INTELLIGENT PROFESSIONAL

• Some people say you should demand respect. Do you agree or disagree? ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. ESTABLISH A RESPECTFUL CLIMATE/ BE A ROLE MODEL

• Tell me about yourself. IDENTIFY THREE WORDS AND/OR PHRASES THAT GO TO YOUR CORE

• How would you rank these in importance and why? Planning, discipline, methods, evaluation. THINK SYNERGISTICALLY

• If a student came to you and said, “None of the other students like me,” what would you tell him/her? KNOW YOUR ROLE AND RECOGNIZE YOUR LIMITATIONS/ BE A TEAM MEMBER—MAKE REFERRALS

• How do you feel if a student does not meet a deadline? BE NON-JUDGEMENTAL –AVOID TAKING THINGS PERSONALLY

• How do you give your students recognition for a job well done? INTRINSTIC REWARDS OUT-WEIGH EXTRINSIC

• How do you know that students are learning? CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

• How do you handle a child who seems gifted? EVERY STUDENT IS UNIQUE AND NEEDS TO BE CHALLENGED/DIFFERENTIATION OF INSTRUCTION

• How do you prefer to use computers in the classroom? A TOOL IN PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

• What is the role of the principal? THE PRINCIPAL IS A RESOURCE PERSON WHOSE ROLE IS TO HELP ME GROW PROFESSIONALLY

• How would you handle a racial conflict situation? TEACHABLE MOMENT

• How do you establish authority/discipline? ESTABLISH CLEAR EXPECTATIONS AND LIMITS

• Do you ever feel angry toward your students? THE TEACHER IS THE ADULT AND THE PROFESSIONAL IN THE CLASSROOM

• How would you handle making a difficult phone call to a parent? ASSUME THAT PARENTS LOVE THEIR CHILD AND WANT WHAT’S BEST