British Columbia school districts are hiring educators. There are opportunities in every region of the province, and educators can go to www.makeafuture.ca to find the latest job opportunities. These slides were presented to a group of students enrolled in UBC Okanagan's teacher education program on October 31, 2012. Email contactus@makeafuture.ca if you would like us to come speak to your students about employment opportunities in BC's public schools.

1. Applying for
your first job
in teaching
UBC Okanagan

2. BC Education Snapshot
 60 public school districts - one French school board
 An aging workforce and retirements will lead to
more opportunities in the next few years
 There were more jobs posted on Makeafuture.ca to
date than the whole of last year
 Isolation allowances in rural districts are attractive
incentives to teach in smaller communities

3. BC Education Snapshot
 Seniority is portable, and can be carried over from a
continuing position in one district to a continuing
position in another
 Hiring peaks in June & August
 BC school districts use www.makeafuture.ca to
recruit all employee groups including educators,
senior leaders, business professionals, trades people
and other support staff

4. http://www.bcjobtrendtracker.ca/lmf/forecast
Demand for Educators
25,460 openings in the next 10 years

5. Where is the demand?

6. • FI & Core French
• Technology Education
• Sciences
• Special Education
• Counsellors
• Primary/Elementary
• Math
• Aboriginal Languages
• Arts (Drama, Music, etc)
• Montessori
• Counsellors & Psychologists
Teaching areas in high demand
Demand varies from district to district

7. Preparing an
application

8. Application Documents
Resume, Cover Letter & References
Practicum
and
Teaching Evaluation
University Teaching
Certificate, TQ Reports
Transcripts Portfolio
S Card

9. District
Website School
Job Website
Description
Teaching
Philosophy
Job Posting Tailor your
application

10. Writing Resumes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE-NQAu_qRU&feature=player_embedded

11. Writing Cover Letters
• Tailor the letter to your audience
• Personalize it with concrete examples
• Explain “why you are the best candidate?”
• Use action verbs (e.g. Collaborated; Coordinated;
Planned; Evaluated; Assessed) to describe your
responsibilities and achievements
• Spell Check and Proof Read!

12. Gathering Good References
• Ask for a good reference from anyone who’s
observed and evaluated your teaching
• Ask for a reference letter if possible
• Inform your references ahead of time that
they may be contacted

13. Applying Online on
Makeafuture.ca

14. Discover the latest
career opportunities

15. Search and apply for
jobs. Stay up-to-date
with email job alerts

16. Learn about school
districts, the communities
they serve, and the
benefits they have to offer

17. Compare salary grids
between districts

18. Interviewing for a Job

19. Interviews gather information
used to compare a candidate’s
education, skills and
qualifications with pre-
determined selection criteria.

20. Sample Selection Criteria
1. Subject Matter Knowledge
2. Planning Skills
3. Instructional Skills
4. Assessment Strategies
5. Classroom Management Skills
6. Professional Responsibility - development as a
Professional Educator

21. Interview Questions
• Open-ended questions
– Tell me about yourself
– Why do you want to work for our district?
– What books are you reading right now?
• Behavioural-based questions
– Can you describe a unit or lesson that you created
that allowed for the participation of all learners?

22. Behavioral Based Questions
• Describe a unit you recently completed with
your students and explain the process you
used in its planning.
• Describe strategies you have used to evaluate
your students’ academic progress.
• Describe specific management strategies you
have used in your classroom.

23. What questions to
expect and how to
answer them

24. How do you plan your units?
• Tell a story and consider:
– What resources did you consult?
– Did you ask for help?
– Did you look at the composition of your class?
What’s key:
– You were thoughtful in preparing your units while
consulting a variety of resources and considering
your student composition

25. How do you teach in a classroom?
• Tell a story and consider:
– What strategies have you used for instruction?
– How did you present the material?
– How did you engage learners?
What’s key:
– You demonstrated the use of diverse strategies to
reach all learners in the classroom

26. How do you assess and evaluate
students?
• Tell a story and consider:
– What are the different methods you used to
evaluate and assess student outcomes?
– What did you do with that information?
What’s key:
– You utilized a variety of assessment strategies
– You utilized the results of the assessments to
facilitate student learning

27. How do you manage your class?
• Tell a story and consider:
• What was the worse scenario that you
encountered and how did you deal with it?
 What’s key:
• You demonstrated and employed a variety tactics
when dealing with classroom issues
• You are able to create a climate and environment
conducive to learning

28. How are you developing as a
professional educator?
• Tell a story and consider:
• How have you demonstrated professional
responsibility inside and outside of the classroom?
• Are you a reflective practitioner?
What’s key:
• You demonstrated a collaborative approach to
sharing you knowledge and helping the
educational community as a whole

29. Interviewing Tips
• Reflect on your best lessons,
accomplishments, what you are proud of in
your work
• Don’t just talk about it, show off your
accomplishments with a portfolio
• Use the STAR technique
• Practice, practice, practice

30. “It’s about tapping into your
experiences, challenges and
reflections on your student
teaching, and bringing it to life
in an interview.”
-Janet Stewart
Associate Superintendent, VSB

31. Job Search Resources
• Resumes & Digital • Interviews & Cover Letters
Portfolios – Quintcareers.com
– Linkedin.com • Job Search
– CVmkr.com – Huntsy.com
– VisualCV.com • Pro D
– Pathbrite.com – Teacher Mentorship BC
– Pita.ca

32. Stay in touch
www.makeafuture.ca
contactus@makeafuture.ca
www.twitter.com/makeafuture
www.facebook.com/makeafuture
www.makeafuture.ca/subscribe