Advice to Job Hunters

Looking for a job in education?  Whether it is a teaching job, classified position, or substitute position the job market is very competitive.  As someone who interviews and hires staff, I have some advice.  I am not an expert, but you never know it just might help.  :)

1. Proofread your application.  Even better, have someone else give it a second glance for you.  Typos are not the first impression you want to give. Please, please capitalize your name and other proper nouns.
2. Sell yourself as much as possible in your application.  Tell me all about the responsibilities you held in your previous and current positions.  Your application needs to stand out from the crowd.
3. If you get an interview, do some research on possible interview questions ahead of time.  You want to go into the interview confident.  Know your stuff, sell yourself and once again stand out from the crowd.
4. If you know you are going to be job hunting, you need to do some leg work ahead of time.  Participate in professional development activities.  Do some reading.  Learn from other educators through social media.  Do what you can so you can speak about what's going on in education.
5. Be prepared to talk about technology.  Think beyond using word processing.  How do you have students use technology to engage, learn, and create?  
6. Be positive and show your enthusiasm!

The hardest thing about interviews is that really you only get about 20 to 30 minutes to demonstrate why you would be a good asset to the team.  That is no easy task, but you can do it, especially if you do some prep work ahead of time!