Teaching is a rewarding profession in which its practitioners educate and help shape the lives of, young people. When seeking Teaching Jobs, a prospective educator will of course need to have completed a Bachelor’s and or Master’s Degree Program in Education, finished student teaching, polished his or her resume and perhaps even gone on or been invited to an interview. While all these steps are vital to landing Teaching Jobs, sending out an impressive email to a particular school’s Principal might be the step that helps you nail that job down. The following are a few suggested tips which might make this process simpler and more productive.
Highlight Not Only Your Resume, But Your Portfolio As Well
While a resume is an important tool, any correspondence to a Principal should also feature highlights of your portfolio. Your portfolio should document all the knowledge you have gained and the experiences you have accumulated through the educational and student teaching processes. Many Principals will interpret demonstrated enthusiasm for children and teaching as a major plus to your candidacy. A prospective educator could accomplish this task by submitting photos of themselves interacting with students during classroom instruction and other school activities.
Express Your Vision
Most Principals expect future teachers will be able to clearly explain how their classroom will look, sound and feel. A potential educator’s correspondence to any Principal should effectively communicate how he or she would set up their classroom. Answers to the following questions should be provided: In what part of the classroom will students’ work be displayed? Will instruction or activities be given in groups? What Is your preferred method of instruction?
Display Humility and A Willingness To Learn
While it always appropriate and encouraged to spotlight your accomplishments and academic successes, it is recommended you do not go overboard. It is important to remember, prospective candidates are still rookies who have a lot to learn and many experiences from which they can grow. Most Principals have been in the education field for a long time and often served as classroom instructors for many years. Therefore, a Principal will understand you are not going to be an expert on every facet of teaching yet. With this fact in mind, it is recommended any correspondence sent should also discuss the things you learned, in addition to how you might have improved your skill set during the educational or student teaching processes.
Show Your Preparedness
Do your due diligence by conducting thorough research about the school and school system of which the Principal is employed in prior to submitting your correspondence. Devote a few lines to explaining the reasons you applied to that particular institution and/or school district Prospective candidates should also ask questions. A lack of knowledge and interest will raise a red flag with an experienced Principal and make you appear to be unprepared, disinterested or someone merely “looking for a job.”
Express Willingness To Be A Team Player
With applications to teaching positions on the rise, a prospective candidate might have to begin their career as a substitute. Illustrating that you would be willing to work on a part-time basis initially could display your passion and commitment to breaking into the profession.
School Principals receive hundreds of emails per day. It is important make your correspondence stand out. While you must communicate the aforementioned tenets, the communique needs to be written in simple, straightforward language that conveys only what is needed to be conveyed.
See also: Top 10 Best Online Masters in Teaching Degree Programs
