In the past three years as a Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator, I have been involved in over 24 interviews for new art and music teachers in our 16 schools.I have seen great interviews, some truly horrific, and everything in between. With this series of shorts, I hope to help you get that dream position and avoid the nightmares.
First off, Here’s some good news. Unless there is some disqualifying reason…there’s a job for you, especially if you can relocate.
There is currently a teacher shortage, with more open positions and fewer people choosing the profession. This puts you as a job seeker in a much better position than what existed 2-3 years ago.
The bad news for us music people is there are usually a limited number of jobs per building vs. other subjects. We have a high school with 9 English teachers and only 2.5 music teachers. That's one band director, one choir director, and a shared string position. So, if your dream job is to be a high school band director, we will at most have three positions available, ever, district-wide vs. almost 30 teachers in English. I have been in my district for 20 years, and a high school band position has been open only four times since I was hired. That is why flexibility with relocation can increase your options.
This is an excellent time to talk about honesty.
Be honest. What is your dream job?
In 72% of states, Music Teaching Certification is some form of “All-Things Music K-12”. That is a very broad certification, and many undergraduate music education programs, especially the schools that are working on a conservatory, are very specialized. Those students are often trained on a primary instrument on a Choral, Band, or String concentration. So, although they graduate Certified to teach all things music K-12, they are probably Qualified to teach a much narrower group of students. So be honest in your expertise when you are applying.
Be honest about the grade level of the student and the grade level of music you would like to work with. Elementary is different than Middle and is different than High. The hours are different, the skill set is different, the expectations are different, and the students are different.
Be honest with what you like to teach and who you want to teach it to.
Early on, I interviewed for a middle school string position, but I very much wanted to teach high school band. I got the job but ended up declining it because I couldn’t see myself happy or my students successful with me in that role.
Looking back, I wasted everyone’s time. This is different from interviewing for a position you want and turning down an offer after getting a bad feeling about the school during the interview. You are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. More on that in another video. But in this case, I probably shouldn’t have even applied. I wasn’t being honest with the process.
Once you have an idea about the position you are looking for, be honest about where you want to work. Can you see yourself working in a city? Do you wish to raise a family there? I don’t mind the city; I grew up visiting Philadelphia almost every weekend, but my wife, not so much. She doesn’t want to live there. So that’s out. Can you see yourself in a rural setting? I’ve worked in urban, suburban, and rural schools and found rural schools to be a more difficult fit-for me. Middle-income suburban was my butter zone. Not too affluent and entitled, but also, the schools had enough support and resources to sustain a program in a place where we were comfortable raising our kids.
All of this leads to something that seems to come up in every interview, which is this intangible idea of “Fit.”
Does this person “Fit”?
When starting to look for that first/next job. What is the best fit for the school and students? What is the best fit for you? With everything, there are exceptions.
RENTING:
I have heard and even advised student teachers about entering the workforce to take any job. The idea is a new teacher probably has limited connections, limited experience, and needs money, so if someone says yes, great. They are in. Also, from the employer’s end, they might desperately need someone. I have had vacancies where it was hard to find any candidate, especially mid-year. We were happy to get anyone certified, sometimes even emergency certifying teachers in some cases. They might not be the right fit for us; we might not be the right fit for them, so if that is the case, we are hopefully renting, not buying. They will stay with us, gain some experience, and then leave for their dream job later.
Renting can be mutually beneficial if the candidate is suitable. This position might not be their final landing spot, but we have a great teacher while they are here. There is nothing wrong with leasing a McLaren for a few years, even if you have to give up the keys.
Renting can even be a win-withe district and can lead to a dream position later. If someone is good in a Middle school position and their dream is High school, when that job opens, we have an excellent candidate in-house who can transfer over. Renters have become buyers. They THOUGHT their dream was high school choir but fell in love with teaching elementary strings.
Renting is also a risk. It is dangerous. The nightmare scenario for the district and students is if the renter is a squatter. They are a terrible fit, unqualified or underqualified, and won’t leave. I would rather keep a position open than hire someone who isn’t a good fit for the role. I would rather leave a position open and have a 30-day problem than hire the wrong candidate and have a 30-year problem.
I was renting in my first two positions. My first job was as a “teacher on special assignment,” which was great since my “special assignment” was at Philadelphia’s Performing Arts High School. But that could have changed at any time, so stability was suspect, and as I said, my soon-to-be wife wasn’t eager for city life. The next gig was a rural High school and elementary school band that added Elementry, then middle school strings. It was OK, but looking back, it was probably not the best “fit.” Eventually, I found my current district, which, like Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, was just right.
So what do you think you want to do, and where do you want to do it? Be honest with yourself and start from there.
Once you have established that, next time, we will go over how to find open positions and how to increase your chances of getting an interview, so if you are interested in that and enjoyed this, please like and subscribe to the blog, and YouTube channel.