With the summer hiring season in full swing, there are hundreds of art teachers jockeying for a few coveted positions. You’ve sent out your resume but you’ve received very few, if any responses and even fewer interviews. What can you do to separate yourself from the pack?
Having recently been part of an interview team, I’ll present five tips that can help raise your name to the top of the pile.
Toot Your Horn
My mom used to tell me, if you don’t toot your horn nobody else will. That was solid advice. Still, few applicants for the positions that we were offering tooted their horn. Yes, they sent a resume but that was all. That is not enough. I personally took the time to search for the candidate’s information on the internet. I was surprised to find information on the web that they didn’t share on their resume. The following tips will go into more detail about these items.
Have a Website of Student’s Work
Websites and blogs are easy to create and free to build online. You should have a blog or website of your student’s work that demonstrates your ability to teach exciting, original lessons. Most interviewers won’t take the time to search for your information. Therefore, you should have the URL of that site in the top, left hand corner of your resume, right below your name and address.
Have a Blog of Your Work
Art teachers are not only teachers but artists. You should have a blog or website of your personal work. Your personal site might also include your resume and a link to your student’s art website. If you use online tools like Pinterest or social media like Twitter, include those links as well. Show the school that you are plugged in. It should all be connected.
Design Your Resume
If you want your resume or your teaching portfolio to stand out, you better include a little pizzaz. Does this mean make it artsy, glitzy and glam? Not necessarily. But a good artist should understand good design and that’s what your resume should reflect. A standard template will get lost in the shuffle. A resume that incorporates good design will rise to the top of the pile. Check out this article by Jessica, A Resume for the Modern Art Teacher.
Stalk the School
Finally, stalk the school you where you are applying. Scour over their website and related links. Then, when you write your cover letter, you can show you’re interested in what they’re doing. This way, instead of asking, “What are the classrooms like?” or , “How are the students?” You can say, “I saw your post about digital cameras. I too believe it is important to integrate technology into the classroom.”
Best wishes in your job search or your new position for next year.
Did you land a new position for next year? Any secrets to share?
Still looking? Tell us about it!
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.
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