Career Specific Networking for Educators

As educators, teachers have many opportunities to network in the community.

Tutor

There are opportunities to tutor privately, in after-school programs, as well as through franchise learning centers.  To tutor children in a specific subject area, most programs will require you to have a state license and teaching certificate.  So that means that all of the tutors working in the program will be teachers.  There will certainly be people like you there who are not teaching full-time (yet).  But, there will also be full-time teachers who want to earn a bit more money, retired teachers who had been with a school district for years, and parents who may work within a school setting as teachers, principals, administrative assistants, etc.  Tutoring is a great option to use your skills and gain experience as you continue to network for a permanent teaching positions.

Substitute Teaching

If there is a particular school system or several school systems that you would like to teach in, complete the paperwork to get on the list to substitute teach.  If you apply to substitute for a school that you attended, you will probably get pushed up on the substitute list.  As a substitute, you will be a familiar face to the administration when you hand in your application for an available full-time position.  You will also have the opportunity to learn of openings or potential openings before they are posted to the public. 

Religious Organizations

If you are interested in working at a private, religious or parochial school, consider joining the religious organizations with which they are affiliated.  For example, if you want to work as a teacher in a Catholic School, attend mass and pick up a bulletin.  What kind of volunteer opportunities are available? By volunteering with organizations within the church, you are showing commitment to the values and goals that the school holds dear.  As you volunteer and network, be certain to make your career goals clear.  No one will know that you are interested in the 4^th grade opening, unless you make it known.

Continuing Education Seminars and Conferences

You may not need the credits yet, but attending continuing education seminars and conferences allows you to network with other teachers and administrators.  Check your state’s website and see if there are local seminars that you could attend.  If the cost is prohibitive, call the sponsor and ask for the student rate.  Attending a seminar is a great investment to network with other educators and administration, while demonstrating a commitment to becoming a better teacher.

Happy Networking!

Career Specific Networking

Career specific networking involves networking with people at places that are closely related to the career that you wish to break into.  These are events, associations, part-time positions, and volunteer positions that will help you get your foot in the door for the career that you want.   Along the way, you may also gain skills and experience that will make for a great conversation during an interview.

Think about what makes your career unique.  Are there national or state conferences you could attend? Are there volunteer organizations that could help you hone your skills?

Are there similar or related part-time jobs you could apply for while you look for a full-time job? Don’t immediately discard a job for which you consider yourself over-qualified.  Getting your foot in the door is half the battle.  Getting to network with people in the industry is a bonus.

Consider this, when I applied for my first job after law school I sent out 300 resumes and cover letters.  I got one phone call and one interview.  The interview was for a paralegal position, not an attorney position.  I was disappointed, but I went to the interview anyway with a positive attitude and high hopes for a job offer.  During the course of the interview, the attorney that I was interviewing with explained that this was a paralegal position, but only until I got my bar results.  Upon passing the bar, if I was to be offered the position, I would be an associate with the firm.  I was ultimately offered the position and accepted.

If I had disregarded the “paralegal” position, I never would have known that my interview could turn it from a paralegal position into an associate attorney position. 

Moral of the story?

Don’t miss out on an opportunity.

Career specific networking takes commitment, drive and most of all a positive attitude to take advantage of these opportunities.  These are opportunities to network, not resignation to a different career. 

As long as you are willing to work for it, career specific networking will work for you.