I am dying to get my first teaching job, but …

[nafmeadmin]

Lauren,

Touching on a point Dr. Barber mentioned earlier regarding where to look, I highly recommend going to the http://www.omea-ohio.org for job listings (not only orchestra, band as well). That job board is updated constantly with any type of music position from “church organist needed”, to “band camp staff”, to “full or part time teacher wanted” as well, all throughout the state of Ohio. Another website that you can broaden your search to a more “national” search is through the website “teachers-teachers.com”, they’re you can take a look at national job postings in music as well and see if their is something that catches your eye. My sister, who also graduated with a degree in Music Education, playing cello, used both websites and was able to get both state and national interviews and eventually a teaching position. I hope this helps.

Pat Tregoning
Kent State University

[nafmeadmin]

I am a senior Music Education major looking to work in Band. I am also getting ready to apply for student teaching for next year and I have a question regarding finding that “coveted” first job. I have worked on some camp staff’s from the summer and I have contact information of directors, so I can say that I have been networking but I still would like to know…

What would the next step be? It seems that director’s tend to know about “fellow colleague’s upcoming job openings” before other’s do but I just don’t know how to go about the “next step” in applying for a job. I have heard different people give me different suggestions for that “next step” but it is sort of confusing. Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank You!

Patrick Tregoning
Kent State University

[nafmeadmin]

All of these posts are fantastic, and I have learned a lot and have gotten a lot of ideas from reading just this thread!! My only question would be how to deal with the very real challenge of being thrown into a position outside of your comfort level. I am a string player with a lot of band experience, but I feel I would have no idea what to do if thrown into something outside my comfort zone. It is easy to learn about it in class, like strategies on how to handle it, but approaching it in the real world would be completely different. Does anyone have experience with this situation?

[nafmeadmin]

jholcom3 , to answer your question, you can’t be anyone but yourself. You may be petite and softspoken, but perhaps you’re exactly what they’re looking for! Make sure to speak up during the interview and make eye contact. Also, make sure that you ask your questions about the position, as well. Interviews go both ways. Are you interested in a secondary position? I know lots of female band directors, so I know that they DO exist.
As to the question of the one thing that I would know as a music ed grad is what is your teaching sequence going to be? This took me several years to develop with Elementary Music, and I remember how late I would stay up my first year wondering what on earth I was going to teach the next day! It was so stressful; if you get your position early enough in the year, I would spend your summer getting that taken care of. I taught one year of MS Band, and that was much easier to get going. The method book I used was very helpful.
rmcritc: If you end up teaching something you’re not comfortable with, then spend every outside moment you can getting familiar with it. Again, when I taught band, I never had done it before, so I spent a few days during the summer playing instruments, making sure I could play a basic Bb scale and knew alternate fingerings. I still had to brush up throughout the year.
Regarding the questions about how to get an interview: while looking for my first position, I had LOTS of interviews. In my state, we have all openings posted on the DoE site, and I applied for everything I was certified for. I was surprised because I thought that principals would want experience, but with all of the budget cuts going on, they will usually go for first or second year teachers for the position. When I found my position at my current school, I again applied for everything, but only had 2 interviews, and I think it was because I was in my 5th year of teaching. Good Luck!

[nafmeadmin]

My biggest question relates to those who are more or less ‘poor testers’. In my personal experience, I know that interviews don’t always go so well. I get nervous, I get scatterbrained, I always leave the interview thinking, “I should’ve said that! That’s exactly what I wanted to say!” Basically my application is much better than my explanation. Currently I’m a junior music ed major and like the rest of my colleagues from Kent State, the entire thought of graduating is so surreal that one, where do I go (which was answered above, thank you), and how do I convince my employers that I may be what I am in this interview, but on the podium, in front of students, running a rehearsal I am a completely different person?

[nafmeadmin]

mgerhar5 Practice! Practice! Practice! We set up mock interviews with school officials from the area and they ask the questions they usually ask job applicants. Students dress in their best interview clothing and we make it all as real as possible. Student feedback has been very positive. Many said they were asked the same questions when they interviewed for employment after graduation. You can also interview other students and ask them to return the favor. You got good at your instrument because you dedicated yourself to the process of learning. Interview skills can be acquired in the same manner. write a script of really good phrases or positive comments and memorize them. Be positive throughout the interview. Hope some of this resonates with you.

[nafmeadmin]

I share the same fear as many others here, the lack of true knowledge of finding those job opportunities. Though you have already covered this. Currently I’m a senior, the realization that student teaching and finding a career is just kicking in. Everything is just frantic at this point, due to rushing through the past two year as a MUED major (I was passing between science/math based majors for three previous years), I feel as though a lot of important material I may need to find that job might have been lost. The lack of time in this school has severely hindered my ability to build connections. Where I am going with this is, how important are the connections you have with other educators and faculty when applying for the first job? I am just in fear with how crammed I have been trying to complete this degree, I may have passed up a major necessity for actually obtaining the job.

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