Career Corner

In the wake of the spring Education Interview Day on our campus, I am reminded of, and wish to remind you of, the importance of writing thank-you letters to interviewers. I am sure that all of you have heard it before, and it seems minor, but in cases where multiple candidates have similar qualifications and experience, the thank you can make a difference.

Some time ago, at a career services advisory council meeting, someone on my staff asked the members from the employer side how many of the candidates they interviewed sent thank yous after the interview. The employer members agreed that the percentage was below 20% and likely closer to 10%. As a career services professional who implores candidates to write thank yous, I was floored. These employer members were not from the education field, and I suspect we educators do much better. Nonetheless, I doubt we reach 100%.

When I talk with job seekers about thank yous, the most-asked question today is whether email is acceptable. There are diverse opinions on this, so ask your education administrator friends and your local career services personnel. My response generally is that the immediacy of email makes it desirable, but the temptation of email's informality is its downfall. Proper email etiquette is a subject for another day, but most employers prefer something else. I emphasize the "most," because I do occasionally run across a recruiter who says that email is perfectly acceptable, if not preferable (usually because it is NOT paper). I often advise sending an email immediately after the interview and following as soon as possible with a hard-copy thank you.

There are some employer surveys that say that handwritten thank yous are preferred. This preference is predicated, of course, on the legibility of one's handwriting. In my own job searches, I generally send handwritten thank yous, but I have to work at making sure the recipients can read them! If there is some doubt, a typed thank you letter should be perfectly acceptable.

If you failed to mention some detail in your interview that you would like the recruiter to know, the thank you is a great place to mention it. Likewise, if you would like to reiterate some pertinent piece of information, do it. Always mention your continued interest in the job.

If you need an example, there are plenty on the Web. I usually refer candidates to Job Choices from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), which many career centers have for distribution. Job Choices has excellent samples of all the types of letters one would use in a job search, so if you do not have a copy, contact your local university career center for a copy.

We have a local resume-writer who posts flyers on our campus and offers to write letters, including thank yous, for a fee. Ignore those. You are an educator; show your potential employer that you understand the etiquette and know how to write your own.

--Kent McAnally,
Director of Career Services,
Washburn University, on behalf of AAEE

Posted by AAEE at 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Students preparing for careers in education are often exposed to the latest technology in universities and are urged to help soon-to-be employers learn about and engage with new technologies once on the job. Knowing about the latest technology is certainly important, not simply from a classroom standpoint, but also for knowing what our students are experiencing and engaging with outside the classroom.

My first exposure to Second Life came at the annual conference of the National Association of Colleges and Employers in New York last summer. I was amazed at what I learned about Second Life and similar virtual worlds. All kinds of statistics were tossed out about the percentage of young persons who were involved with virtual-world systems and avatars. When I returned to my office in good old Kansas, my office staff members were as blissfully unaware of Second Life as I. I did encounter a couple of colleagues who had some familiarity with it.

The whole concept is a little creepy to me; perhaps it is just a little more sophisticated than my comfort level. Members of Second Life and similar virtual worlds create "avatars," virtual representations of themselves, which populate the virtual world. One can create an avatar in one's own image, or in whatever image one imagines oneself. Avatars may have the ability to fly. Avatars may have jobs in the virtual world. Avatars may purchase "land" in the virtual world, even their own islands, and build "structures." I understand that some universities are conducting classes in these virtual worlds. [I am painfully aware that I am an old fogey. My main question is, "Why?" And I'm sorry: "Because it's there" is not sufficient for me.]

Most of the teacher preparations educational institutions in our state have career fairs or interview days to which candidates from outside our institutions are invited. These events provide face-to-face contact between job candidates and any number of potential employers. Granted, transportation and lodging costs become factors for candidates from outside the state or from remote areas. Further complicating the situation in Kansas is the fact that there is a large part of southwestern Kansas that has no four-year colleges. In that case, travel for recruiters is costly and problematic. Traditionally, this is also a geographic area to which candidates are not widely attracted.

On March 4, 2008, the Kansas Educational Employment Board (KEEB), which is a web-based recruitment program sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education, conducted a virtual education career fair to be hosted on Second Life. Ten school districts from the state participated, conducting real-time "visits" (similar to electronic "chat" or messaging) with candidates via their avatars. According to the demo video on the website, "approximately 9" candidates participated. You can get more information about the fair and watch the demo video at http://www.kansasteachingjobs.com/page_add.cfm?PID=16.

Now that the dust has barely settled from the first Second Life virtual career fair, KEEB has two more fairs coming up - one for the entire state and the other only for the southwest Kansas region. I am not sure whether the KEEB fair on March 4 was a real "first," but it was certainly a first for our area. Knowing the technology exists may be important. But is this something that will catch on? Will there be a time when candidates outnumber districts? Or was the first experience a predictor of success? Are our future teachers using Second Life? Future iterations will, of course, answer these questions. But in my mind the burning question remains: Why?

--Kent McAnally,
Director of Career Services,
Washburn University, on behalf of AAEE

Posted by AAEE at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

At some point in the interview process, you are likely to be asked about your weakness(es). This is the question that seems to be most problematic to candidates, and is the one I get the most questions about.

There are two possible approaches to this answer, in my opinion. One is what I call the "traditional approach," and the other is what I call the "realistic approach." I believe that one is better than the other based on my conversations with employers, but I will give a brief description of each and let you decide.

The traditional approach is what we recommended over the years: pick something that might appear to be a weakness and turn it into a strength. I have never been imaginative enough to figure out a lot of ways to do this, but here are a couple of examples:

"I'm too much of a perfectionist. Sometimes it takes me a little bit longer to complete assignments or tasks because I want them to be perfect before I submit them."

"I take on too many projects; I really just don't know how to say no and don't have enough time for myself."

In both cases, there is a hint of weakness. The perfectionist takes a little more time completing tasks. The too-many-projects lacks time for life balance and may be overextended. On the other hand, making sure tasks are done correctly is a good thing; I want people who do things correctly. Busy people get things done; I could depend on too-many-projects to work on the things I need done.

In my discussions with employers, I get the impression that they think they have heard all the answers in the traditional approach. The preference now seems to be the realistic approach. In this scenario, the employer wants to see that the candidate has done the "soul searching" necessary for identifying real weaknesses and is honest in sharing what they are.

So how do you mitigate the impact of sharing a "real" weakness? You must also tell the employer how you have addressed or are addressing the weakness you share (or weaknesses - let's hope they don't ask for a handful) and the improvement or progress you have made in that area. I will present a great example shortly.

The weakness question may come in different forms. I often ask in mock interviews, "If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change?" This form of the question seems to confound some of my interviewees, but it is simply a weakness question.

A few years ago, I invited an employer to conduct a mock interview in front of an audience as part of a professional development program with a student applying for an elementary teaching position. When he asked the weakness question, it was phrased this way: On a ten-point scale, what are you a "6" on today that you would like to be a "10" on in a couple of years?

The candidate took the realistic approach. Her response was that she did not feel that she was very good with science. You could immediately see the 75 pairs of eyebrows in the audience rise. But she continued. "I have talked with my supervising teacher, and she has shared some materials that I can use to develop lessons and units in my classroom next year. I have joined a science teachers' organization, and I will be attending their conference this summer. I have contacted the local natural history museum and arranged to check out some of the 'kits' they have available for teachers to develop units around. I am taking steps to improve my abilities as a science teacher."

After the interview was over, there was a time for questions, and of course some of the audience members asked about her answer to this question. The administrator responded that he had absolutely no worries about this teacher. She had identified what she needed to work on and was taking the steps to improve. "In two years," he said, "she will be the best science teacher in my building."

The realistic approach does work, and, as you can no doubt tell, I believe it to be the better approach. Do not work yourself into a corner with it; always show how you are improving on your weaknesses. Employers know we have weaknesses, and they want to know that we are doing the self-analysis to identify what ours are. Showing that you are taking steps to improve is essential to making a positive impression, but more importantly, it is essential for developing your personal and professional goals and development plans. And THAT is the real reason for the question.

--Kent McAnally,
Director of Career Services,
Washburn University, on behalf of AAEE

Posted by AAEE at 2:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Perhaps the most common interview starter is the request to "tell me about yourself." It is also one of the most confusing parts of the interview for many job seekers.

My favorite corny comment about "tell me about yourself" is that the interviewer really does not care who your third grade teacher was. My point is that the interviewer is not looking for your life history. One of my colleagues has said that a good way to start is to mention your hometown - where you are from. My opinion is that this is still missing the point of the request.

Some of the best advice I have heard or read on this topic came from a column in the Kansas City Star newspaper a few years ago. The gist of the column was that your response should focus on the job. The point of the interview is, of course, to help you and the employer make a decision about whether you are a fit for the job.

With that in mind, I believe the best approach is to speak briefly, and I emphasize the brevity, about some things that make you the right fit. While the employer may ask for more detail later or may have questions on the list that you answer with your initial "about yourself" response, this is an excellent opportunity for you to provide a preview. In this situation, the candidate has more control over the content than at any other time until the end of the interview, so take the opportunity to make a sales pitch.

If you can't talk about your third grade teacher, what should you cover? I think a very effective approach is to begin with information about your degree. Is there anything unique about your program? Have there been particular highlights? Mention any specific workshops or other training you have had outside the classroom.

Talk about your experience. Include your student teaching or internship, any relevant work highlights.

Preview what your strengths are, with brief examples. Many employers will ask more about your strengths later, but this is a great time to give an overview.

Talk about your passion for the position and for education as a profession. Show the employer that you are interested not just in the job, but in the particular employer as well - tell why.

Because we know that many interviews begin this way, you have the opportunity to rehearse your response. Take the opportunity. Know what you want to say and how you want to end without the "tailing off" (usually ending with a halfhearted "so...") or repetition I hear so often.

This sounds like a lot to talk about in just a minute or two, but an autobiography is longer and less relevant. "Tell me about yourself" really means "give me a preview of why this is going to be a great interview and why I want you for this position."

--Kent McAnally,
Director of Career Services,
Washburn University on behalf of AAEE

Posted by AAEE at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)