my oldest lost her teaching job. Looking for a new job. many interviews no job. any suggestions?

Answer 1

The other respondents mentioned a lot of good ideas. It really does depend on what your daughter's certification and experience has been as well as why she is no longer employed at her previous school. My top ideas would be the following:

1. Expand her job search radius in the area
2. Don't be picky about where she is applying
3. Follow up with interviewers after the interview, send a thank you letter, send more references, offer to teach a sample lesson
4. Have an awesome portfolio and specific handouts made from it to present to each person on the interview committee
5. Think about moving to a higher need area for a job- urban, rural, state where there is a shortage
6. Apply to be a leave replacement teacher
7. Apply to be a permanent substitute teacher to get an in with a school
8. Keep on the look out even after school starts- sometimes teachers don't work out even in the first month and schools are looking to hire someone else

I wish your daughter good luck!

Answer 2

How long has she been teaching? Was she riffed (Reduction in Force, or a fancy way to say laid off)?
Most of the teaching positions being filled now are taken by teachers with some degree of experience. This process, however, actually takes a while. The new hire must be approved by the board, which usually meets once a month during the summer. No logical teacher would give his/her notice to a previous job without board approval and a signed contract in the new district. Fortunately for your daughter, this means there is another flood of job openings in August to replace those teachers who have moved on to other districts. Of course, these openings are often in "less desirable" districts, which is why the other teachers left in the first place.

Answer 3

Just becuase she lost her job, doesn't mean she is impacted by that loss. I teach in CA--and some teachers have a temporary contract--meaning they are "fired" at the end of each school year regardless of their performance. People are hired under temporary contracts when school districts need a teacher because of over enrollment or a special teaching position has opened up--but they cannot guarantee it will be funded beyond one year.

Now, I have no idea why your daughter lost her job. You never said where you live--that has a lot to do with the amount of available teaching jobs. Hot places for teaching right now: California, Texas, Arizona, Las Vegas. It may be that she will have to move to find another job. It may depend on the teaching credential she has. Maybe it is not in demand. Music and art taechers in CA are not in demand--as schools will cut music and art first in budget crises and govt. takeovers. Your daughter may need to get a different credential.

Look into private schools/parochial schools as well. They all do not necessarily pay as well as public, but it is experience that can translate to a better paying teaching job later. I spent 5 years making really low pay in parochial school in order to get the experience for public school to even look at me--but that was over 10 years ago when jobs were much more scarce in CA than they are now.

What about their interview style? Is she playing up strengths? Is she being too vague when she answers questions? Is she answering questions with cliched, stock answers because she thinks that is what a school wants as opposed to how your daugher really feels about educaton? Be honest and play up your strengths in interviews. If no job, maybe call and see if she can talk to the interviewer to get some ideas why she wasn't hired, especially if it was down to your daugther and only a few people. It can help to know.

Good luck!

Answer 4

How does one lose their teaching job? The fact that she lost her job might have a negative impact on her ability to find a new one. She may have to consider another line of work. Or, as another answerer suggested, move to Texas. I live in south Texas and the number of teaching jobs available here is unbelievable! It seems districts are hiring warm bodies to fill vacancies.

Update: Pick a state that borders Mexico and you've got a hot spot for teaching jobs. It's a bonus if you can speak Spanish! Imagine walking down the hall at an American high school to hear an English class discussing English literature in Spanish. And, worse than that, the Spanish is some bastardized slang Spanish. Come to Texas and you won't have to imagine this scenario. You can live it!

Answer 5

She needs to look at her interviewing skills. Does she have a portfolio? Also, many schools, especially in the midwest where there aren't too many teaching jobs to be had, like candidates who can coach a major sport or club like basketball or cheerleading. When she finally gets a teaching job, make sure she joins her association (usually NEA). The NEA can help protect her position, to some degree, if she is in danger of being non-renewed. Unfortunately, unless you have at least 3 years in a school district, you have no job protection as a teacher. I have been non-renewed at several schools simply to make way for a teacher teaching my subject who also happened to coach a sport or was a buddy of the principal. There is nothing to do but start sending out your resumes and interviewing. Most schools don't decide until August.

Answer 6

keep looking...some teachers will wait until Aug. to resign to keep their health insurance as long as possible and some teachers will transfer as late as Aug. and some schools will not know exactly how many students they will have until after registration day. I have known teachers hired at 5pm the Friday before school started on Mon.
even if the first day comes and no job...offer to do assigned substitute teaching...good way to get to know principal and staff of a school

Answer 7

Have her try getting a teaching job in Florida. Some info here:
http://flteachingjobs.com/

Answer 8

I'm a teacher. Can't really answer your ? with out knowing why she lost her last job.
to others who answered.... just because there are lots of teaching jobs in Texas does not mean we need to fill them with warm bodies....we need good strong teachers!

Answer 9

Look into being a homeschool evaluator. They evaluate the folders that homeschoolers have to do. Combine that with private tutoring and you have good paying jobs

Answer 10

Move to Florida they are needing teachers like a fish needs water.