If your job search isn't going as quickly or as smoothly as you wish it would or thought it would, you might want to take a look at what is holding you back.
Do you have a resume that speaks to the job you are applying for or for the job you are trying to leave? If you don't use the right amount of keywords from the job description in your resume and cover letter, you're going to run into problems.
You also need to be careful about applying for any old job you see that you think you "might like" instead of being strategic and laser-focused on the job you want moving forward.
You may need help, so consider enrolling in the DIY Jumpstart Your Job Search 2.0 Program to learn everything you need to know about the job search process and how to set yourself up for success.
Or you may benefit from sitting in on the Masterclass I just recorded recently on "How to Leapfrog from the K-12 Classroom Into the Career of Your Dreams."
If you have questions about anything offered in today's episode, email Kitty at kittyboitnott@gmail.com. She will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
If your job search isn't going as quickly or as smoothly as you wish it would or thought it would, you might want to take a look at what is holding you back.
Do you have a resume that speaks to the job you are applying for or for the job you are trying to leave? If you don't use the right amount of keywords from the job description in your resume and cover letter, you're going to run into problems.
You also need to be careful about applying for any old job you see that you think you "might like" instead of being strategic and laser-focused on the job you want moving forward.
You may need help, so consider enrolling in the DIY Jumpstart Your Job Search 2.0 Program to learn everything you need to know about the job search process and how to set yourself up for success.
Or you may benefit from sitting in on the Masterclass I just recorded recently on "How to Leapfrog from the K-12 Classroom Into the Career of Your Dreams."
If you have questions about anything offered in today's episode, email Kitty at kittyboitnott@gmail.com. She will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Are you a teacher who's feeling stressed out and overwhelmed. Do you worry that you're feeling symptoms of burnout or are you sure you've already gotten there? Have you started to dream of doing some other kind of job or perhaps pursuing a whole different career, but you don't know what else you're even qualified to do. You don't know how to start a job search. You just feel stuck. If that sounds like you, I promise you're not alone. My name is kitty Boitnott. I'm a career transition and job search coach. And I specialize in helping burn out teachers disliking deal, not only with the stress and overwhelm of your day-to-day job, but to consider what other careers might be out there waiting for you to join me for teachers in transition. In some episodes, I'll be speaking to stress management techniques and how you can manage your stress on a day to day basis. In other episodes, I'll be talking about career transition. What tools do you need to be successful in a job search when you're moving from one career into a totally different track. These are questions that you need answers to, and I can help you find those answers. My name is kitty. Boitnott welcome to teachers and transition.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to episode 121 of teachers in transition the podcast and the YouTube channel YouTube channel. My name is Katie Boitnott. I'm the owner of point, not coaching LLC and the founder of teachers in transition. I specialize in working with burnout teachers who are ready to make a change in their career, but don't know how or where to start. I'm also a certified stress management coach. However, and so in my podcasts, I, I offer alternating topics each week, one week I talked about stress management and on alternating weeks, I talk about career transition strategies. This week, we're talking about career and what I want to offer are some red flags that you should be looking out for in the event that you are, uh, in the process of looking for a new job. And it isn't moving along as quickly as you thought it should. You're not getting the kinds of calls for interviews that you thought you would, um, you still like, maybe something's off, but you don't know what it is. I speak with teachers almost daily who run into that particular issue. They been applying for jobs for a while. They thought they'd be snapped up because they know they have a lot to offer. And yet, uh, application after application goes in and hardly ever do they hear back? Not even a thank you for your interests kind of message. So what do you do when you have done the work you've written your resume, you've got your cover letter ready? You thought you had everything in place. What can you do to course correct in the event that maybe things aren't, as they say, you don't have everything handled the way you thought you did, because usually if you're not getting the kind of response that you think you should be getting as a result of applying for different jobs, the number one thing I usually look to is to check out the resume. And here's the reason why most teachers make the mistake of writing their resume based on their experience. And why wouldn't you? I mean, that's what a resume is supposed to convey right? Or experienced. The problem is unless you are looking for another teaching job, your resume that summarizes all of your teaching experience is unlikely to be speaking to the job that you may be applying for and what you are going to need to do to fix that is to take another look at your resume and compare it to the job description that most suits what it is that you think you'd be happy doing and make sure that you've used keywords in your resume. That match what's in the job description. A lot of teachers don't know that they need to do that. And yet, if you don't do that, what is happening as you upload your resume into the job portal or the company portal, it automatically goes into an applicant tracking system. Now, every company of any size at all, has an applicant tracking system. The only places that you're going to be able to get around it, our applicant tracking system is a very small startup company where they may have a hiring manager is the actual guy who's starting the business, or they may have hired somebody to be in charge of hiring, but they haven't gotten to the point of initiating an applicant tracking system. That's the only way that you can be sure that you are not being sent straight into an applicant tracking system. And the applicant tracking system isn't is a computer program. And it's set to look for keywords from the job description, and if it scans your resume and your cover letter and your application, and it doesn't find the key words from the job description in the ratio that it's been set to look for it, it'll kick you out. You'll go into the black hole of resumes, never to be seen. A human being will never even see your resume because you aren't a match. You know, think of it as, uh, uh, dating a dating site. When you upload your profile, the computer system in the background looks for matches for you and pops up profiles of people who might be compatible based on the input that you put into your profile. It's a very similar thing. Based on the input that you put into your resume, your cover letter in your application, the applicant tracking system is determining, are you a good fit? Are you compatible to the job that they are looking to feel unless you've consciously translated the skills that you have as a teacher into the language of the job description, chances are, you're not a good fit. Now that is an easy fix that you have to know that it's an issue before you can fix it, right? So that's what I'm sharing with you today. If you're applying for a lot of jobs and you're not getting anywhere, you need to take another look at your resume. Does your resume sound like a person who has the skills and knowledge and disposition and abilities that happens to be in that job description? And you're going to need to tweak your resume every single time you apply for a new job, because every job description is different. So a one and done resume in today's world. Won't cut it. You have got to have a template to work from, but you've, you're going to have to, whether you want to or not spend time tweaking, changing, creating a different resume for every job you apply for the same as two for your cover letter. And don't make the mistake that a lot of people make, which is the regurgitating in the cover letter. What is already in the resume. You should not do that. That is a waste of the purpose of the cover letter. Your cover letter should explain why you're interested in the job, why you think you'd be a good fit for the job. And you may even have to address why you think you would be good for the job, even though you don't have that specific experience. And in the case of teachers who are looking to make the leap from the classroom into a whole different type of career, you probably need to mention in the cover letter, why you're looking to make a change in your career at this particular juncture, beyond that, the other thing that you may be doing, that's not a great idea is that you're applying for anything and everything that you think you might kind of sort of be qualified to do your search needs to be more targeted than that. You need to take some time in the beginning of your search, thinking about what is it that you really want to do with your career? What are the skills, the aptitudes, the gifts that you have that you can turn into, not just another job, but a job that you can really enjoy a job that you will thrive in a job that you will grow in. And if you're applying for just any old thing, that's another reason that your job search may not be progressing the way you think it should. Now, this symptom of a job search gone awry is you're applying for lots of jobs and you're not hearing from anybody. You're not getting a call about an interview. You're not even getting a telephone interview. That's a symptom, that's a sign that you need to be changing up what you're doing. And if this goes on for long enough, it may be time for you to hire a coach, or you can invest in a program similar to the one that I just rolled out a week or so ago. I do it yourself. Jump start your job search program, where you can learn every step of the way, what it is that you need to do to be successful in your job search for only$297. It used to sell for$497 and I'm offering it now for only$297 with a payment plan,$77 in four equal payments. It may be that you need that kind of help structured, help, help figuring out exactly what you need to be doing. Step by step by step in the jumpstart, your job search program, to do it yourself version, you get all 15 modules that are included in the original, the, the main jumpstart program. You get all of the modules and you get all of the resources that the PDFs, the templates, the directions, video tutorials, for every aspect of your job search, what you don't get is any kind of personal support. If you decide that you want that. At some point, you can upgrade to get that kind of help, that it may be that you don't want that kind of help. You just want the information. Just show me what to do. Show me how to write my resume in that program. Show me how to write my cover letter. Show me how to create a stellar LinkedIn profile. What do I need to know to start networking properly? And how do I prepare for an execute an interview with poison, ease and confidence so that I can lock down the job, but you can't get to the point of the interview. If any of the other parts of your job search or awry have gone awry like your resume, doesn't speak to the job description or your cover letter. Doesn't explain why you're so interested in this particular job. You need to keep the focus on what can you do for them so that when they receive your application, they are intrigued by what you may have to offer, and they want to learn more. That's what a job interview is all about. We would, we need to know more about you. So I hope that's helpful for those of you who may be listening. Who've been applying for jobs left and white with no success so far, it it's your resume. It's your cover letter. It's your lack of understanding that just applying for any old job, isn't the right approach. It's like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what might stick. It's not a good approach. So if you have questions, please don't hesitate to email me@kittyboitnottatgmail.com. If you would like to take a look at the, do it yourself, version of the jumpstart, your job search 2.0 program that I just outlined quickly in this episode, I'll offer the link to that. I have a, an ongoing masterclass that is all about what you need to know. I'll include, uh, a link to that. What you need to know about how to leap from the K-12 classroom, into the career of your dreams. It's a free a webinar masterclass that you can watch. And at the end, there's a promotion of the, do it yourself, version of the jump, start your job search program. I want you to be successful. And so that's why I'm offering these resources for you. And that's it for today. So have a wonderful week and I'll see you next week.
Speaker 1:So there you have it, an episode of teachers in transition. I hope you enjoy the information and I hope you'll plan to come back. Please subscribe to teachers in transition so that you can be alerted of future episodes. And let me know if you have any questions or topics that you would like me to specifically cover in a future episode, I'm more than happy to help with individual questions as well. So email me at kitty boy, not at boys, not coaching.com. If you are interested in finding a new career or just enjoying your life more, this is the place to start. I'm kitty Boitnott and this is teachers and transition.