Attain a Teaching Position
in Secondary English

Congratulations. You have made it to the job market. That says a great deal about you. Now as a graduate of WMU's program-the third largest in the country-you are already a top prospect. As you go through the whole job seeking process remember that you are not simply "qualified," "capable," or "able to do the job" but, instead, you are "the best they could possibly hire," "a professional expert and leader," "truly outstanding," "a teacher with a personal and professional vision." I constantly get feedback from employers that students prepared in our program have an excellent background and a state-of-the-art knowledge of English teaching. Never be shy about what you believe in, about how good you are, or about the quality of your preparation. Put your values and professional knowledge out where people can see them. This is the approach most likely to get you a job and to make you the kind of new teacher-leader schools are looking for. Think how hard you have worked and how hard you will work in your new job and you can begin to recognize how lucky the building/district/community will be that gets to hire you!

Plan that your job search will take a full year. During this time you will be substituting, looking into graduate programs (especially WMU's MA in English with an Emphasis in Teaching!), reading EJ and other professional books, attending professional conferences, participating in NCTE and other professional computer bulletin boards, staying in touch with fellow students and profs at WMU, and, above all, doing the hard work of looking for the job you really want. If you get hired right away, it may even be to your disadvantage in the long run! The year of looking for a job, of learning how to get the position you want, is an incredibly valuable and important part of your education and preparation for the profession. In future years it will be worth a great deal to know that you need never be stuck somewhere you don't want to be. You can always get a job elsewhere. Information about the Michigan Teacher Certification test is available on the MTTC website.

Resumes

Getting advice on resumes can drive you crazy: everyone says something different and everyone is sure they know best. Be aware that education resumes are significantly different from business resumes-many resume "experts" don't know what a teaching resume should look like. Here is my advice. By the way, it's 100% right!

First, you don't need a resume; you need several resumes, targeted to fit the different types of jobs you will be applying for. You need a different resume for middle school and for high school. You need a resume focused on working with "at-risk" students. may want a resume focused on traditional suburban schools, one for rural areas, one for the "inner city." You might want a resume targeted to alternative schools, religious schools, charter schools, or other specialized institutions. You need versions of your resume that allow you to apply for specialized positions in theater, journalism, mass media/speech, creative writing, etc. as appropriate to your interests. You need resumes that accent your minor or double major or that play to joint or interdisciplinary positions in say English and Social Studies, or English and Spanish, or English and Communications, etc. You may want a general resume that tries to capture all the above for jobs you know nothing about. While many elements may appear in common between your resumes, the changes in focus and content that you make to target your resume to the position are critical to landing the job. Obviously you need to have these different versions on your own computer disk so you can play with them for the specific positions for which you are applying. Work hard on your resume: it is the most important document in the job search.

You might begin the process of preparing resumes by making one enormous rough draft, a "throw in the kitchen sink" 5-6 page version of your resume and then use it as a starter for developing your more succinct targeted resumes. Even when you streamline it, the single biggest mistake you are likely to make is to have a one-page resume. One page is not enough for secondary English teaching positions. I suggest the very nice strategy of a single piece of 11x17 paper folded into an 8-1/2xll facing page with your name, address, and phone on the cover, the resume on both of the two inside pages, and references on the back cover. This realy gives you four pages on a "one page" resume. Be conscious of how you use space; don't crowd things together, or leave big open areas on the sides or in margins. You can use some bold face and perhaps more than one font, but be careful to keep the look simple and easy to read. Use the form of your name you want people to call you and leave off middle names or initials (as well as on the cover, your name should appear again at the top of the first inside page). Job seekers need to have a phone answering machine.

The first category on the resume is "Objective." The objective is one of the most important parts of the resume; the second biggest mistake you are likely to make is to say something like "To find a position as a Secondary English Teacher." Duh. Instead you want to use the objective to target your resume to the specific job, to demonstrate your values and commitments as a teacher and as a person, and to show that you are prepared to be a professional leader to the other teachers in the building/district where you will be hired. Work hard on your objective and find ways to coordinate it with comments later on in the resume about student teaching, prior accomplishments, interests, and so on. Coordinate the objective with your cover letter and speak to it at your interview and your primary values and philosophy as a teacher shine through the whole hiring process. Throughout your resume use the current professional language of English teaching in order to accurately express your commitments, values, and vision, such as "student-centered," "process writing," "voice," "skills in context," "cultural literacy," "multicultural," "canon," "objectives," "assessment," "portfolios," "empowerment," "cultural studies,", "critical pedagogy," etc. Your objective should not be "To find a position...," but "To create a... classroom where..."

After the objective the next category on your resume should be "Certification." List your areas of certification in Michigan and use the official Michigan alphabetic code. (Secondary English is "BA.")

The next category should be "Education." If you graduated from WMU's program, you have a bachelor's degree in English (not in Education). You can describe your English major as "in the Secondary Education Curriculum," but if you have listed your certification above, this is not necessary. In addition to the institution, degree, and date of graduation, you could list by course title relevant, significant, interesting, or graduate level course work taken. Listing a few course titles can help the resume "prove" your objective, cover an area that might otherwise appear weak, or demonstrate a knowledge or interest relevant to a particular position. If you have entered a master's degree program be sure to say so. Since you are going to be a secondary school teacher it is important to list accomplishments and interests in high school-this provides you with an excellent opportunity to show competence in a variety of relevant areas from academics to extra curricular, potential for coaching, etc. (Ignore the routine advice about not including high school-a resume for secondary teaching is different.)

If your gpa is less than 3.5, I would simply not mention it. You can, however, list a gpa for your major or for English Education classes if that is substantially higher. If you have been on the Dean's list, you should say so. If you have won any awards or published any creative works either in college or high school you should probably mention them. You can assume that people know that WMU uses a 4.0 scale. For many prospective employers gpa's are not a big deal.

The next section should be "Teaching Experience." Start with subbing and/or any major, paid teaching experience. Next list "intern teaching." List the titles of classes you interned in. Assume the reader knows that you had full charge of normal teaching responsibilities, but describe with enough detail and professional language some of the special/unique things you did as an intern to give them a flavor of your approach. "Show" don't "tell," as they say. For example, rather than saying you "developed curriculum," give specific titles and activities. Do the same for your 301/302 participations. In this section list any other teaching experiences, such as summer camps, volunteer work, etc.

The next section could be "Work Experience." Any form of employment or volunteer work that demonstrates an interest in working with children or young people is relevant. Unless there is something impressive and relevant to the classroom mention other work experience only briefly, if at all. Having been a waitress will not get you a job as a teacher and any employment unrelated to teaching must be only a small part of the final resume. If you paid your way through college, you can say so.

You can have other categories on the resume including "Awards and Honors", "Professional Activities and Memberships," "Coaching Experience/Interests," "Volunteer Work," etc. Under "Professional Activities" list your NCTE and MCTE memberships, and for middle school be sure you are a member of the National Middle School Association. List professional conferences attended, possibly recent professional books read. Don't forget a category for "Personal Interests" especially as they relate to teaching or adolescents (also any international travel or foreign languages are good to include).

At the end of the resume (on the back side of the folding version) list all of your references including their titles, addresses, and-most, important-phone numbers (even though disturbingly few districts actually check references).

Third biggest mistake: a spelling error in a resume or cover letter.

Post your resume on your teaching web site. Burn your site onto a CD-ROM calling card and enclose with your application letter. (For information on creating a teaching web site see Applying.)

Here is a sample resume from a former student, Shannon Mortimer. (Requires Adobe Acrobat to view.)

Cover letters are wonderful opportunities to reveal who you are as a person and a professional to a future employer. Don't be perfunctory, simple, generic, or short in a cover letter. A personal, passionate, and professional cover letter may be a crucial factor in getting you an interview. Like your resume, the cover letter needs to be targeted to the specific job. If you don't know enough about the job from the advertisement, call the school and talk to the principal before you write the cover letter. Your cover letter should be at least a very full page and can go to two pages. Talk about the kind of teaching you believe in, about experiences that are important to you and how they effect your commitments and philosophy, about what you hope to keep learning about in the future. Don't assume that they have the resume in front of them-go over the relevant high points of the resume again. It is important to come off as academically/intellectually strong and as interested in and caring about students different from yourself, "at-risk," or whatever. Show them that you are a good writer by being both personal and professional. Don't be shy about offering to bring new ideas, new energy, new strategies to the building you will come to work in; this is the very reason why new teachers are hired. Be specific about the approaches to English teaching that you would like to share with others. At the same time express an openness to continued learning and growth. The vision you are setting forward in the cover letter should find its echo in the resume, and vice versa.

Whenever possible, personally deliver your cover letter and file to the principal or personal director (not their secretaries). It is worth driving across the state to make such a delivery; try to get a "mini-interview" at the same time. Ask for tours of the school, chances to talk with other teachers and students, ask about attractive things about the community. Throughout the job seeking process be aggressive about contacting people, on the phone and especially in person. To you it will seem like you might be irritating them or being "pushy;" to them it will seem like you are eager, responsible, energetic, dedicated, and ready to work.

There are important resources at WMU's Career Services including workshops on writing resumes and interviews, credential files, and, most important, the Bronco Jobs Plus internet-based service. Register for the service by accessing the web page, http://JOBS.dosa.wmich.edu. When you register your resume with Bronco Jobs Plus it becomes available to any potential employer browsing the internet. Even if you plan to create your own file (as I recommend below) and send your own materials, it is a good idea not only to register for Jobs Plus but also to set up a credential file early in the job search. Occassionaly such files are explicitly requested by a potential employer. This needs to be done in person at the Career Services office on the first floor of Ellsworth Hall. (Be sure to retain your own copies of materials placed in the credential file as they do not return them.) During intern teaching seminar you should also be provided with a registration packet. When Career Services receives a request by a school district for names of qualified candidates in secondary English they simply print resumes off of the Bronco Jobs Plus and send them on. Prospective employers post openings through Career Services, both directly on Bronco Jobs Plus and through publication of the Career Services JOBS Bulletin. The bulletin is available to review at Career Services free of charge. However, so that you don't miss any postings, I suggest subscribing to the bulletin and having it mailed to your home. Even though they are not specifically targeted for education students, resume and mock interview sessions are valuable; be aware that applying for an English teaching job differs in some ways from applying in business or other fields. At Career Services be sure to pick up the very useful pamphlet The Job Search Hamdbook for Educators (published yearly by ASCUS, call (708) 864-1999). There is a bulletin board in the hallway on the first floor of Ellsworth where new positions are posted. Deveta Gardner (387-2745) is the career services person assigned to help education students. Don't hesitate to ask for her help. She is also working on ideas for how to use an education degree as a step toward employment in business and other fields outside of education.

Rather than having Career Services send your credential file for you (at $5 a pop), I recommend that you also create and maintain your own credential file and customarily send it out yourself. Have your letters of reference sent to you and pick among these letters to create the overall effect you want. Sending the file yourself will not hurt you with employers-the vast majority will not even notice. Career Services at WMU uses only open files anyway, and all they do is put a cover sheet on the file and send it in their own envelope (an "open file" is one where you can see the letters of recommendation and any other materials the file contains). The credential file you send also needs to have a copy of your certification and some version of your transcript (employers are usually satisfied with a xerox copy-Career Services provides a nice form for you to use for your transcript, the "Undergraduate Course Record Sheet"-keep a copy for your portfolio and your own packet of materials). Don't forget that you also want to have your teaching certificate! Include it in your packet. To get your certificate apply to the Michigan Department of Education, Teacher Certification Office in Lansing, costs $125.

Your letters should include your mentor teacher, an English professor, an education professor (perhaps the one who teaches your intern seminar-be sure s/he sees you teach), and another person that knows about your potential for teaching (another teacher or administrator in the building where you did your intern teaching may be a good choice-Be sure to have such people observe you during intern teaching). An outstanding letter from a student (from intern teaching, for example) is a nice addition. Letters from past employers or family friends that do not know you in a teaching/learning context are probably not very useful. If any one of these letters does not make a strongly positive effect, don't use it. You can include the final or midterm evaluation of student teaching-both those written by your mentor and by you, if you want. The mentor's final evaluation of student teaching can take the place of a letter if it is complete and well written. Be aware that if a letter from your mentor teacher is not included you may need to explain this at some point. (Everyone recognizes that not all mentor teachers are perfect-so a simple explanation of a "conflict in styles" will be sufficient if everything else in your file looks good and you can speak about intern teaching in a positive and engaging way.) The Final Evaluation of Intern Teaching written by your mentor will automatically go into your placement file unless: 1) you don't sign the release form, or 2) you specifically request Career Services to put the Final Evaluation into the "Inactive" part of your file.

Always send your whole file, never just your resume and cover letter alone. This is true even when they ask only for resumes. The more schools have from you the better; and if your file is for some reason "incomplete" it can cost you the interview. Be extremely kind to people who write letters for you-thank-you letters are appreciated. Recommenders need time to write, but if you have a deadline or one comes up, let them know. You need to keep your references informed about what is going on in your job search. When your resume is finished be sure to send a copy to all references and recommendation writers. If they get a phone call they need to be ready to speak about you and know where you are in your search. For example, if there is more than one district interviewing you they can convey this to the hiring committee in a discrete and effective way.

These days you need to have a beautiful, complete, and clearly organized ELECTRONIC teaching portfolio, published on the web. First, all schools are looking for teachers that know how to use technology well. Creating an interactive teaching web site that also serves as your portfolio is a basic requirement for teaching these days. You can present your portfolio as a web address, you can burn it on to a CD ROM or even a CD ROM calling card, and/or you can go to your interview with a laptop computer to show it off. See my page on creating your teaching website for further explanation and examples.

Rather than organizing your portfolio in the categories of the midterm and final evaluation of student teaching (as the College of Education recommends), I suggest organizing it to address the different strands of Language Arts teaching. Thus you might have a section on "Teaching the Writing Process" (with subsections on "Prewriting," "Drafting," "Editing," "Publishing" and even "Teaching Grammar in Context"), on "Teaching Literature" (with subsections on "British Literature," "American Literature," "Multicultural Literature," "Poetry," "Thematic Approaches" etc.), "Speaking and Listening" and so on. Include sections on special interests relevant to English teaching, such as "Journalism," "Creative Writing," "Speech and Debate," "Yearbook," "Drama," "Family Life Education," "Business English," "Interdisciplinary Teaching with Social Studies and History," depending on your interests and background. You could have a section on "Classroom Management," "Classroom Climate," or "Positive Discipline." You could have a section on "Professional Activities" that foregrounds your membership in MCTE and NCTE (for middle school be sure to be a member of the National Middle School Association), attendance at conferences, professional reading, etc. If you coach or have interests in particular extracurricular activities these could also be highlighted in a special section. I suggest a brief, two or three sentence statement of your philosophy of teaching at the beginning of each of the sections or subsections and a statement at the beginning of the portfolio that combines all of these. All of these can be separate pages on your web site.

All the materials in your application packet, resume, letters of recommendation, teaching certificate, unofficial transcript, etc. should be included again in the portfolio. Pictures are worth a thousand words-photos of you with students from preinterning or interning are invaluable. Samples of outstanding student work done under your guidance should be included. Streaming video clips that capture moments of your teaching and/or student response on the web site are impressive. Interviewers usually do not have the time to read papers from courses at WMU, but succinct lesson plans, smart-looking handouts, tests or other materials you have created for the classroom are relevant. (On the other hand, it is very important to keep all your English and education papers and course material for future reference; be sure you have a clearly organized system of file folders that you can draw on in the years to come. You can build these materials onto your web site.)

I believe that the primary beneficiary of the portfolio is you. Your portfolio helps you bring together your preparation and focus it toward the kind of teaching you want to do. It gives you confidence, helps you recognize how much you have accomplished, and just how lucky the district will be that gets you. To what extent the portfolio is part of the hiring process depends somewhat on you. At the interview you should take the initiative to pass it around and speak to/demonstrate specific things in it. If you leave it with the interview committee it may be ignored unless you have really drawn on it during the interview (any thing you really want the interview committee to see should be separately copied and handed out by you to all members of the committee). Some places will ask to see the portfolio, and it is very useful at job fairs. Some places may not know much about these portfolios, they may not ask for them, and may not know what you are talking about when you bring them up. Be prepared to educate or drop the issue depending on the reaction you get.

The applying process really begins before you graduate; often students end up finding jobs through connections made during interning. Network with other teachers and administrators in the building, inviting them to your class during the last weeks of intern teaching to watch and give you pointers. Stop in and meet the personnel director at the central office. Provide him/her with a resume and also invite s/he to stop by and see you in action. Remind other teachers that you will be on the market and ask if they have heard of any openings. If your mentor is happy with you, be sure s/he says so to administrators and others who have a lead on a job elsewhere.

Right after intern teaching-maybe even before it is over-start examining Bronco Jobs Plus and begin applying. Apply to every conceivable opening. Don't rule possibilities out until you have multiple offers! Teaching jobs can surprise you; sometimes something in a place or institution you would never have considered turns out to be ideal. If there is something right up your alley, and where you want to live, make a personal visit to hand-deliver your materials right away. Follow up with letters/phone calls on a regular basis. Don't be defeated by the impersonality of large districts; they simply require more persistence. Alternative schools and special programs for "at risk" students are often looking for new people and new energy. Peterson's Independent Secondary Schools and Paterson's American Education are books that lists private schools across the country (available in the Career Resources Center, 1st floor Ellsworth). They are valuable resources in applying to many very interesting schools. Always attend job fairs. Although they can be a depressing experience, a real "meat market" as they say, I have known many students to get jobs through these events. Employers take them seriously and be prepared for real interviews. WMU's Teacher Placement Day is in April. MSU, CMU, EMU all have teacher placement days that you can attend-plan to hit several. Career Resources has a book that lists recruitment fairs in states across the country. Enthusiasm is key at job fairs-and have smart and colorful handouts from your portfolio to leave with interviewers. Job fairs are a good opportunity to look into working in other states. Teaching in another part of the country can be very exciting and facilitate your personal growth and education. The Career Resources Center also has a book, Teacher Certification Requirements in all Fifty States (Boydston, 1995) that has the information you need if you are thinking of going to a different state. You can also get this information more quickly from sites on the web. Try: the University of Kentucky's 50 States Certificate Requirements, Academic Employment Network's Certification Requirements State by State, or Phil's Place, a website of educational resources, which also has a page with links to teacher certication requirements.

The Michigan Teacher Network Educator Job Listings posts jobs for districts of your choosing across the state as well as to a variety of national sites recruiting teachers. This site also has links to pages on resume writing and interviewing. The Regional Education Applicant and Placement Program (REAP) allows you to apply to many participating districts with just one application.

The NCTE has job announcements on its web pages listing some current positions.

SchoolSTAFF is a for profit site of the Education Career Company where districts seeking teachers and teacher applicants can get connected.

Definitely consider applying to international jobs! There are many opportunities for English teachers both in American style schools abroad as well as teaching English language (ESL). Begin by checking out the excellent web site for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. This site includes job listings. Many overseas American schools hire through either the Overseas Placement Service at the University of Northern Iowa (319) 273-2081 or the International School Services (recruitment centers in Boston and New Orleans), PO Box 5910; Princeton, NJ 08543 (609) 452-0990. For the Department of Defense schools call 1-800-736-0008. The major publication for overseas educators also posts job listings: TIE (The International Educator); Overseas School Assistance Corp.; P.O. Box 513; Cummaquid, MA 02637; 508-362-1414. You can look at the Teaching Overseas Handbook and check ISS Directory of Overseas Schools for names and address (both at the Career Resources Center). The Peace Corps is always looking for English teachers. Japan is an excellent place to look for opportunities teaching English abroad; look at the JET website. The McDonalds of English language institutes, with franchised schools world wide is the Wall Street Institute; they also are always looking for English teachers (connect to their "jobs" link). You may have more freedom now that any other time in your life. Take advantage of it!

Following the usual methods is important, but not enough. A great number of students land English teaching jobs by making "cold" contacts at schools where a position has not yet been advertised. A very good approach to is to go to the Michigan Schools Directory listing the addresses and phone numbers of all the schools in Michigan. (The same information is available non-electronically in the Michigan Education can copy this book at the Career Resources Library or purchase your own copy by calling MDE at (517) 482-8464.) Using this on-line directory (or the book), call all the school secretaries in the area you decide to concentrate on and ask them if they know of any openings coming up for English teachers-they may have heard of something even before the principal does! When you find a "hot" possibility, call the principal, hand deliver your file, and stay in regular contact. I know a young woman with a 2.6 gpa who had three offers in no time by using this approach. [ By the way the Michigan Department of Education has a good web site with lots of resources beyond the directory.]

Be aware of the hiring schedule of districts. They may do their most intense looking in the late spring and early summer so that is the time to be sure to be ready and active. On the other hand, hiring goes on all year long. At the time of a sudden opening if you are the one who happens to be there, you may be the one to get the position. Schools also do a good deal of hiring at the last minute. After a summer of frustration, you may suddenly find yourself with opportunities the week before school starts or even during the first couple of weeks of the new year. Make your presence known and obvious always and especially at these times.

As you go through the job hunting process you should be continually refining and improving your materials, skills and strategies. If you don't have a position after a year (very unlikely if you are following the Carey-Webb plan!), you need to thoroughly reexamine your materials and approach. (You aren't still using a one-page resume, are you??? You are making plenty of cold calls, right???) At this point there is also another option to consider: a professional employment agency or job placement service (also called "third party recruiters" and "head hunters"). You can find phone numbers of such services listed on the Want Ad pages of the Chicago papers. As these services continue to grow Career Services may have some information or suggestions. I know several people who have gotten jobs with the help of a placement service, but they had to promise to hand over their first child in exchange (Actually, you pay a percentage of your first year's income...).

This is the crucial event that all of your job seeking efforts have led up to. Never turn down an interview, even if it involves travel and expense for you or is for a position you are virtually certain you don't want. Interviews help you clarify your own values. You learn a tremendous amount from them, and the experience is invaluable. Treat all interviews with enthusiasm and respect.

You need to do several mock interviews before the real thing. These should be done with fellow students, family members, and, best of all, with people who resemble potential employers, teachers or administrators. Take advice but also trust your judgment. Video and audio taping mock interviews is a good idea (I did it, and it helped me). Write up questions that you are likely to be asked and get practice answering them until you can do so directly, clearly and simply.

The subject of the interview is you. You are the expert on that topic and know more than anyone else present (parents do not usually attend interviews). Thus you should be confident and knowledgeable. Dress up, but be sure that you still look like a teacher.

Interact personally with the interviewers. Use their names, tell them they asked a good question, learn about their interests/values/ideas. Throughout the interview it is best to give shorter answers that directly respond to the question asked and then offer to say more if they would like you to explain further. Be able to use specific examples from intern or other teaching experiences. They may not remember what is on your resume, even the big obvious things, so don't hesitate to repeat the resume: "As I mention on my resume, I have..."

If a question stumps you, remake the question into something you can answer: "What I hear you asking is... And to this I think... Did I answer your question?" Bring handouts to the interview to demonstrate different kinds of teaching you can do. When a question might tie to these handout say, "I brought something along that might help me show you what I mean..." Bring up your portfolio before they ask to see it. In this way you are also taking some responsibility for determining the way the interview will proceed-if you have also shown you can listen well, this strategy makes you look like the kind of confident teacher they will want to hire.

The interview is a very important time to use professional English teaching language. Know your stuff, both in theory and practice! Review your course books before the interview. During the interview talk about a book you have read, an article in the English Journal or Rethinking Schools and explain how you modified and ran with the idea in some part of your intern teaching.

Have three or four "success" stories from your intern teaching ready to tell (and perhaps illustrate with samples of student work). You might be asked for an example of how you worked with a student different from yourself, how you overcame and managed to reach a resistant learner, how you got along with a difficult colleague, etc.

Have clearly thought out ideas about what you want to teach, both individual lessons and whole units. Be able to talk enthusiastically and in detail about specific works of literature relevant to the teaching assignment. When asked how you would teach something be sure to first set forward your goals and objectives, address the need to investigate students' prior knowledge, and discuss appropriate ways to evaluate and assess what your students have learned. Bring up literary works that are in the canon and works that are not in the canon, showing your interest, knowledge, and skill with both.

You are very likely to be asked the grammar question. The right answer is, "In the context of student's own writing." Then explain how the teaching of grammar fits into a process writing approach and depends on an authentic assessment of each student's writing and skill development. Talk about the importance of good writing skills and segue into the need for developing voice, cultural literacy, critical thinking, etc.

You may be asked about a personal challenge, interest, or experience; have some answers ready. Be able to talk about why you decided to go into teaching and where you see yourself five years down the road (earning a master's degree, active in the professional organization, etc.).

You will be asked, in one form or another, a question about classroom discipline. The key pieces of the right answer include: 1) I emphasis prevention rather than reaction-good lessons with relevant content are less likely to lead to discipline issues in the first place-if discipline issues arise it is a clue to reexamine the way I have structured the lesson-I notice things quickly and adjust/react before they build; 2) I attempt to assess if the student understands the assignment, knows what s/he is supposed to be doing, sees why the assignment is meaningful; 3) A simple set of classroom rules that is clearly understood is helpful; 4) I almost always try to take care of discipline issues myself by talking with students privately rather than sending them to the vice principal; 4) If a discipline issue persists good communication with parents and vice principals is, of course, important.

You will be asked: "Do you have any further questions?" This is a crucial opportunity to impress your interviewers. I suggest two types of questions: 1) What kind of direction do you see your department (to a department chair) / school (to a principal) / district (to a central office administrator) going in? What kind of new teachers are you looking for? This question not only shows that you care about what they care about, it also provides you with very valuable information-information you would obviously like to have as early in the interview process as possible! (Nonetheless, all schools want to see themselves as moving in positive directions, as being professional current, as being more student-centered, as attracting energetic new teachers.) 2) I would like to continue to attend English teacher conferences, will there be support for my own professional development? Is there support for graduate courses I might take? What kinds of professional development opportunities might there be?

For further ideas about what kinds of questions you might be asked check out the NCTE Interview Questions for Preservice Teachers.

Expressing interest in extracurricular activities or specialized courses is a good idea. If you coach, fine, but English teachers can do just as well if they will work on the student paper, yearbook, creative writing magazine, speech or debate team, coach drama, direct plays, become involved with student government, etc. By the way, if your first job assignment does not have exactly the classes you most want to teach, don't fret about it. Once you are in a school it is usually possible to begin to change your responsibilities and move toward the specific courses you want. Often classes that you didn't think would be your favorite turn out to be great experiences.

Don't be surprised if you are asked to write something before or after the interview; bring an erasable pen and perhaps a small spelling dictionary. You may be asked to model or demonstrate your teaching with the interview committee or with actual students. In general, the more hoops they have you go through, the more interviews and the more carefully they follow-up with references, the better off you will be when you work for them. A district that does a careful job hiring is a district with its priorities in the right place.

After the interview send a warm, personal, and correctly-spelled thank-you note. If all goes well you are likely to be called back for a second interview. If there are new people you may have to repeat a few things from the first interview because it is sometimes hard for interviewers to keep all the facts about each candidate straight. Try to learn about the culture of the school and the interests of your future colleagues. Second interviews are typically more relaxed, yet it is important to continue to be confident and professional. If you are taken to meet the superintendent that's a good sign-get him (always men, alas) talking about the future directions of the district.

Never bring up salary or benefits until after the offer is made. If they start talking salary, listen carefully for a few minutes, then interrupt or comment that you are more interested in talking about how they view teaching, about what the students or your colleagues would be like, etc.

If your interview does not lead to an offer, call the interviewer back and ask if s/he would be willing to share with you what they saw as the strengths and weaknesses of your application and interview. They may be able to give you useful advice and even leads on other jobs.

This is the moment you have been waiting for. If it is a job you want, the pressure to say yes right away is incredible. Nonetheless I am convinced that you should never accept an offer right away, even if it is for a match made in heaven. Give yourself at least a few days to think about it. Make them sweat. (They made you sweat.) Doing so will be very helpful to your reputation and respect as you arrive in your new position. Of course, you ask for time to think about the offer by telling them how delighted you are to receive it, how exciting it would be to be in their district, and so on...

If you have serious reservations about the job, I still advise waiting before you say "no." At the least it shows respect for the effort and interest they have taken in you. Talk to several people you trust to be sure you are making the right move before turning an offer down. After thinking about the offer for a few days, share your reservations honestly with the person who made the offer and ask if there are other people you could talk to address your concerns. If the job is really not right for you, don't take it. A better job will come along.

After receiving the offer (and before accepting it) it is a good idea to get the name of the districts' benefits officer and met with or talk with this person to go over the benefits package and salary carefully. It is less stressful to talk to a such a person than to the people who have been interviewing you.

If you are lucky you may be in the position of multiple offers or offers with other interviews still ongoing. As much as someone who has made an offer wants to rush, the key for you is take your time. As I have said, making an offer wait is OK. With an offer in hand you are in a strong position to contact any other job that you have been looking into and let those people know where you stand. Might their interest in you be serious? How much time will they need to make their decision? Don't hesitate to use the offer as a bargaining chip to get an interview or speed up a process elsewhere. Hold off the offer as long as you can-though eventually you need to be clear what is happening, "I have an interview with another attractive position in a couple of days, and I will get back to you immediately afterward." Play both possibilities along as long as you can.

While, of course, you want to have a signed contract, a verbal offer is an offer. Open the champagne.

When you start your new job you are the principal's darling. Use that very special position to good effect. For example, you are more likely to be able to order new books as a new teacher. Seek out the advice of the veterans, but also keep your channels with the principal open. Focus your first year on your classes and avoid extra duties. Bring your enthusiasm to your colleagues by turning their negative stories about students or classes into questions about how to improve your own teaching (If I have a student (or class) like that what are some things I could do?). Listen to students to find out who the good teachers are, and take the time needed to culture the friendship of the people in the building you respect. Teach what you believe in, and send letters to parents telling them what you are doing and inviting their participation. Some teachers phone all their students parents just to introduce themselves-a great way to start off! Don't send kids to the vice principal or let them out before the bell rings!

Be sure you have your copy of First Day of School by Harry Wong ready to hand. There is no better resource for new teachers wanting to start class well, establish discipline, and high expectation.

The first year is about not drowning-if good things happen in your room even once in a while celebrate your accomplishment. Stay in touch. Let me know how I could have prepared you better! If you hear about job openings for English teachers, tell me. I'll try to send along another fine WMU grad!

Created by:careywebb@wmich.edu
Revised Date: 7/02