Where do I start?
This is the question I get asked most often from teachers wanting to transition out of the classroom.
So here is my advice (in order):
1. Skills assessment
This doesn't have to be anything formal; just a piece of notebook paper will do.
· What are you good at?
· What are you REALLY good at?
· What do you suck at (be honest, no one else will see it)?
This is the MOST critical part of leaving the classroom. Not all teachers are good at the same things, nor do we all get excited about the same type of work. I, for one, love writing assessments. I love writing curriculum. I do not, however, enjoy grading or dealing with pissy kids or their parents. Even though I have some pretty terrific friends, I was not great at building relationships with kids. I work better with adults.
2. Skills mapping
What roles/industries do your skills lend themselves to? That doesn't mean that you can't do something different; it just means if you do choose something that isn't a strength, you will have to do some upskilling before you start applying.
For example - I can write. So I thought I wanted to be a tech writer. Then when I started assessing my skills, I realized that while I could do it, I probably wouldn't be happy doing it. So ix-nay on the iting-wray.
But I love designing lessons and curriculum. Which is one of the roles of an instructional designer - in fact, the more I researched ID, the more I realized I should have been doing it all along!
3. Research
Once you identify roles or industries where you think you will be happy, you need to
DO YOUR RESEARCH.
What do you research?
· Salaries
· Top resumes
· Job requirements
· Industry requirements
· Companies
· Career paths.
You should know EVERYTHING you can gather about that new role before you start applying.
Early in my job search, I was applying to ID jobs in higher ed. I figured, I taught college, I've been in college for most of my adult life, it'll be easy. Then I saw that the salaries were about $20k less than corporate ID jobs.
By the time I was done with my research, I knew exactly what range I should be asking, what I could and couldn't do as an ID, and what I was prepared to upskill. This made a HUGE difference in interviews. Having intelligent conversation about the role is the first step in the door. If you don't know what you are talking about, they will see right through you.
No, thank you - I was done being underpaid. Another one bites the dust.
4. Network
Use the people search on LinkedIn to find PEOPLE that
1. Have the role you like and post content that you find interesting,
2. Work at the companies you have researched and want to learn more about
3. Offer help to people like you
5. Resume Revamp
So many people ask me to look at their resumes, and they have no idea what they want to do. Guess what, I know just by looking at their resume that they have no idea what they want to do. I call it a resume identity crisis.
Notice that in any of the above steps, you may find that you really don't want to do X for the rest of your life.
Why would you spend time working on your resume for a role that you don't really want?
Searching for a job can feel like a full-time job, but it doesn't have to.
If you are slinging spaghetti and applying to every job in your targeted salary range, you are going to kill yourself before you even get started.
No, it isn't going to be easy, and YES, it is going to take a serious investment on your part to actually figure out what you want to be when you grow up.
Only YOU know what YOU are capable of.
Invest in YOU and YOU will thank yourself later.
You got this!