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I have been working as an art teacher for the past two years. I work in a public middle school. Since art is an elective course, my classes contain students from every grade.
I take care to ensure that the projects I assign are interesting to students of varying levels of maturity and commitment to schoolwork. In the past I have attempted to teach my classes about the history of art, but it is incredibly hard to reach students on an intellectual level when my classes are full of students from different grades and achievement brackets.
As fascinating as I find art history to be, I made the decision to focus solely on the process of creation in my transition from artist to art teacher.
On a scale of one to ten I would rate my job satisfaction as a nine. I am generally very happy with my job. Every now and then the early work hours and crowded hallway environment become overwhelming, and the way arts programs are being cut nationwide has caused me some anxiety.
I do not like the way some parents blame teachers for not being more lenient with children who do not complete their assignments. If I could change one thing about my job, I would bar parents from being able to interfere with the educational process.
The hardest part about being an art teacher is realizing that I have effectively given up on my former dream of becoming a famous artist in my own right. Creative people always have difficulty reconciling their artistic impulses and the realistic need to earn a dependable income. I truly do gain satisfaction from watching students discover and use their artistic talents. I think I ultimately made the right decision.
My teaching schedule allows me to create my own art on weekends and during summer vacations. It is the mental shift that occurs when one becomes a working professional that caused me to feel like I was somehow backing out of my true calling, although I know I am fortunate to still be working in a field related to art. It is my artistic talents that make me a capable art teacher.
Because of the way school years are scheduled, I still get to enjoy my social life and I almost never feel tempted to take vacation days. The work itself is not very stressful. The day-to-day grind can sometimes wear me out, and of course it is on those low days that students choose to be on their worst behavior.
To become an art teacher, I majored in art and education in college. I fell into the routine that I still follow to this day. I would go to class, do my homework, and would then turn to painting as my outlet for whatever I was feeling at that moment. I would end up submitting some of these pieces to my professors as graded assignments. Others were painted just to suit my own whims.
I approach my teaching career in much the same manner. I do not create my own private art with my job in mind, but if I happen upon a new technique or idea I may decide to include it in my future lesson plans.
I was not always fond of the way my college courses approached the educational process. I thought that many of the methods I was being taught conflicted with the way that people naturally absorb new information. Aside from these minor annoyances, I cannot say that I regret my time in college.
I am lucky to have a secure career, and this would not be possible if I had not completed a traditional college education. A public school teacher makes about $40,000 a year where I live. Due to the sad state of the American economy, this is only just enough to sustain a single woman's modest lifestyle. I do not struggle though, and I admit that I cannot justifiably claim to deserve a higher salary this early in my career.
The hardest thing about entering the work force is making sacrifices. I had to give up my late nights out in order to wake up early every morning. I had to do away with my artistic tendency to wait for inspiration to strike; a school schedule demands that students be given daily assignments even if I do not think that they will yield inspiring work. I had to learn to accept that I would not always be completely satisfied with every aspect of my life. When I have the time and energy to create my own art, this internal restlessness has been a great inspiration for introspective pieces.
Teaching is a great job for anyone who has the energy and patience to manage children on a daily basis. In five years I hope to still be teaching.
Career art teacher image from Shutterstock
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Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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