jobs

BEWARE OF FOLLOWING WELL INTENTIONED ADVICE

Remember the adage, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. After a 48-year career in public education, 40 as a school and district leader who interviewed thousands of candidates, I would like to believe I can speak with some authority about hiring educators. Lesson #1: Be careful about following advice from well-intentioned friends, family and colleagues. Here are a few examples of advice you should not follow, why not, and what you should do.

Seek advice from people who are successful in other fields—NO. Be selective about who may be assisting you. The world of education is quite different than the business world. Private business and public education are culturally worlds apart. Also, be cautious about following the advice of educators who do not have experience in screening and interviewing.  Work with a coach who is an experienced school leader. People who give you advice are certainly well meaning, however acting upon misguided advice can be a costly mistake in time and money.

Put together a standard resume—NO. Do not conform to standard formats. Go beyond what you learned in school. Highlight your special skills and accomplishments; your resume should not look like a job description. Do you have valuable life experiences? Are you fluent or proficient in foreign languages? Have you traveled extensively and developed a deep understanding of world cultures? Can you coach sports or have expertise to run extra-curricular activities?

Bring a Portfolio—NO. Your first screening interview usually will last 10 to 15 minutes. The interviewers are busy people. They will not have time to review your portfolio.

Apply and then wait patiently—NO. You need to be active; passivity doesn’t work. Networking is a key. Contact everyone you know who might have a connection into schools. You may get a courtesy interview—but be aware that it’s only a foot in the door.

Look for geographical regions that are hiring—YES. But be careful. There is a reason why some regions find it difficult to find good candidates. In addition, most of us are unable and unwilling to relocate. It’s difficult and lonely to go somewhere where you don’t know anyone. If you’re adventurous, or have friends or support systems in another region, then seriously consider it. However, anticipate that you may be in for culture shock.

Dr. Aronstein is a career coach who works with educators in preparing their resumes and preparing for interviews. For more information go to his website: www.larryaronstein.com

BEWARE OF FOLLOWING WELL-INTENTIONED ADVICE

Remember the adage, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. After a 48-year career in public education, 40 as a school and district leader who interviewed thousands of candidates, I would like to believe I can speak with some authority about hiring educators. Lesson #1: Be careful about following advice from well-intentioned friends, family and colleagues. Here are a few examples of advice you should not follow, why not, and what you should do.

Seek advice from people who are successful in other fields—NO. Be selective about who may be assisting you. The world of education is quite different than the business world. Private business and public education are culturally worlds apart. Also, be cautious about following the advice of educators who do not have experience in screening and interviewing.  Work with a coach who is an experienced school leader. People who give you advice are certainly well meaning, however acting upon misguided advice can be a costly mistake in time and money.

Put together a standard resume—NO. Do not conform to standard formats. Go beyond what you learned in school. Highlight your special skills and accomplishments; your resume should not look like a job description. Do you have valuable life experiences? Are you fluent or proficient in foreign languages? Have you traveled extensively and developed a deep understanding of world cultures? Can you coach sports or have expertise to run extra-curricular activities?

Bring a Portfolio—NO. Your first screening interview usually will last 10 to 15 minutes. The interviewers are busy people. They will not have time to review your portfolio.

Apply and then wait patiently—NO. You need to be active; passivity doesn’t work. Networking is a key. Contact everyone you know who might have a connection into schools. You may get a courtesy interview—but be aware that it’s only a foot in the door.

Look for geographical regions that are hiring—YES. But be careful. There is a reason why some regions find it difficult to find good candidates. In addition, most of us are unable and unwilling to relocate. It’s difficult and lonely to go somewhere where you don’t know anyone. If you’re adventurous, or have friends or support systems in another region, then seriously consider it. However, anticipate that you may be in for culture shock.

Dr. Aronstein is a career coach who works with educators in preparing their resumes and preparing for interviews. For more information go to his website: www.larryaronstein.com

ARE YOU PREPARED TO BE A COMPETITIVE CANDIDATE?

Assume that you are a well-qualified applicant who is applying for a mid-level leadership position and are 1 out of a total of 150 applicants. Assume that there are 10 other candidates who are at least as equally qualified. Therefore, you need to be better prepared than the rest of the field in order to out-compete them. What must you know and do so you stand out from rest of the candidates? Consider the following:

  1. Do you know how to strategically organize and design a resume that gets the reviewers’ attention?
  2. Do you know how to differentiate yourself in your response to the inevitable question, “Tell us about yourself”?
  3. Do you know the best order in which to be interviewed and how to get, like in a horse race, the best “post position”?
  4. Do you know what to do in order to accurately anticipate most of the questions you’ll be asked?
  5. Do you know long to take in answering a question?
  6. Do you know how to read the “body language” of the interviewers?
  7. Do you know what questions to ask at the conclusion of your interview?
  8. Do you know how to frame a final statement at the conclusion of an interview?
  9. Do you have a strategy as to how to present yourself as someone who is likeable and a good fit for the school-community?
  10. Do you know how to adjust your interviewing approach as you move from screening to committee to leadership to Board interviews?
  11. Do you know how to create an entry plan in anticipation to getting the job, and how to go about creating your priorities?
  12. Do you know how to “close the deal” if you are a finalist”?
  13. Do you know how to negotiate the best deal for yourself if you’re offered the job?
  14. Do you how to make a good impression during your first 100 days?

There are many other things that you must know in order to be a highly competitive candidate. I have coached 100’s of my clients get their dream jobs. Let me help you, too.

YOUR CANDIDACY: WHAT ARE THEY REALLY LOOKING FOR AND HOW DO YOU PRESENT YOURSELF?

As a candidate, everything you write and say contribute to building your narrative; the story you tell about yourself. This includes your resume and cover letter, how you present yourself in person or virtually, your answers to the interviewers’ questions, the questions you ask, your letters of reference, and what your references say about you. It’s about developing a picture of yourself, creating a chemistry, demonstrating you are a good match, an easy good fit for what they’re really looking for, and what their community wants.

Creating an attractive narrative requires many strategies for each unique position. However, the commonalities out-weigh the differences. Before describing some of the strategies that go into building your narrative, we first must understand what the interviewers are really looking for.

What They Really Want

  1. They want to know who you are, and what you’ve accomplished.
  2. They want to like you. Too often interviews are sterile; you must create an emotional and compelling context through your story telling.
  3. They want to be assured that you share their values and aspirations.
  4. They want to see that you look and act the role.
  5. They want to be sure that you’ll easily fit in and not cause conflict.
  6. You need to come across as humble, self-effacing, sincere, direct, plain spoken, good humored, and authentic.

If this is what the interviewers want, then how do you go about creating a narrative and presenting yourself as that candidate? What strategies should you employee?

Useful Strategies

  1. Find out everything you can about the school-community from a variety of sources. How many students do they have; what are the demographics; what are they proud of; who are their leaders; what is their reputation; what is their fiscal and physical status.
  2. Figure out what they really want you to do. Do not solely rely upon their job description—that’s what they think they want; it may not be what they really want. Do they want a change agent? Are they happy with their current status?
  3. What problems do they have? Speak to how you have addressed similar problems and solved them.
  4. Analyze your resume, particularly your accomplishments, and emphasize those aspects that they are looking for and that are consistent with their values as a community, and their needs. It is not enough to assert, “I’m creative and hardworking”. Provide specific and vivid examples of your accomplishments, both professional and personal. Quantify your accomplishments whenever possible.
  5. Elude to some personal information, which is not on your resume and which they can’t ask you about. If you are married and a parent, let them know. School people love family-oriented candidates who can relate to children and parents.

The tactics as to how you go about carrying out these strategies requires careful planning and practice. However, the reward of moving through the steps of your candidacy and winning the job will be worth all of the effort.

Dr. Larry Aronstein is an experienced career coach who assists school leaders, aspiring leaders, and teachers in their resume and interviewing preparation. Find out more at www.larryaronstein.com. Contact him at larryaronstein@yahoo.com