Career Corner

Emily (Pennsylvania) wrote in about requesting a transfer in the district, especially the timing of such a request. To address this question, I turned to AAEE’s President and President-elect for their opinions. Doug (Colorado; human resources) responded: “In considering a transfer request, you should probably know what the school district does in terms of procedure. Do internal transfers occur prior to vacancies being posted to the outside? Do internal transfers have a small window that you need to be aware of for notification? The discussion probably is never too early but the reality is some supervisors might be upset if the discussion is prior to the work that will be done for planning the next years staffing. Depending on the size of the school or district you may want to consult with someone in Personnel or Human Resources prior to talking to your direct supervisor. This might help in understanding how the process works so no one feels offended.”

For a second perspective, Dawn (Illinois; career services) writes: “Administrators try to begin getting their staff members in place in early spring. Many start their recruiting efforts in January, with the hopes of having schools fully staffed by the end of the semester. If you are certain that you want to transfer, I’d let your supervisor know as soon as possible. Even January is not too early. Certainly, you would want to do so by March, at the latest. Your supervisor, principal and district administrators will all think much more highly of you if you give them plenty of notice in your request for a transfer. One final note: do you have a transfer site in mind? Have you spoken with the principal there? You might want to know that you have options before you make your final decision.”

BJ adds: "In both of these answers, it is inferred that different school districts in different states will have a variety of policies and procedures for internal transfers. If you are in a district with a union, check the negotiated agreement for these policies The teacher's handbook may also be helpful."

Posted by B.J. Bryant at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The New Year is often a time that you begin thinking about changes in the coming year. The holiday break gives time to reflect and often the new year brings about thoughts of a new career direction. For those of you thinking about a K-12 position beginning in August, it is not too early to begin those plans.

Todays suggestion: update your resume --- it should be on your computer and ready to print or upload at any minute. It's a living document that changes every time there is a significant educational event in your career or preparation. Many education resumes go beyond the "1-page" legend. The resume needs to be a good representation of your professional preparation and experience. To me, there are only two guiding principles to creating a good resume: 1) the information should be presented "first things first." What would a school district HR director be lookiing for? Prioritize your information accordingly. 2) the resume should be scannable vertically. In this case, I do not mean scannable electronically, although that's a consideration, too. What I mean is that the reader is first likely to skim through a resume. Then, perhaps go back and read it. So, the information should be presented in a way that a reader can scan it vertically and catch your main points.

I welcome any questions or comments about resumes! Tomorrow, I will bring up another topic.

Posted by B.J. Bryant at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)