Application...DENIED

So I recently got a letter from the district that I had just applied for. They thanked me for my interest and then proceeded to tell me that all of their openings had been filled, BUT that my file will be held on record in case there are any more openings. As awful as this sounds, I was actually quite relieved to hear the news. I now have nothing holding me back from getting a job in Salt Lake...except for actually being OFFERED A JOB. It's been weeks since I went to the job fair and I haven't heard a single thing from any of the districts I had applied for. I felt a little scared at the thought of not being offered a job so I took action into my own hands.

I took a day off of work and decided to make my way to Salt Lake on a job finding adventure. After passing through the seven layers of the candy cane forest, through the sea of twirly, swirly gumdrops, and then driving through Sardine Canyon, I made my way to several school districts. As I walked into the first district, I soon discovered I had no game plan. I walked in with my teaching portfolio under my arm and a hand full of resumes and proceeded to ask for the Human Resource Department. After visiting with each district I came away with renewed sense that...well....THIS ECONOMY SUCKS!!!

Most of the districts were focusing on in-house hiring for the next week or so and then they would open their left over positions to the public. Some districts told me that they would open them up to the public when they figured out how many openings they had. Other districts said they would open them up to the public IF they had any openings. That word is very sketchy in the world of job hunting.

I left each district with a lot of good information that I wouldn't have otherwise known unless I had talked directly to the HR representative. I was also able to feel out each district to some degree and realized that some of the school districts I was interested in were quite rude, unfriendly, and a little arrogant. (Ex: I asked a secretary from a certain district out. The conversation went like this.) On the other hand, the districts I had very little interest in seemed to be friendly, jovial, and inviting.

After all was said and done, I think the trip was a success. I'm very glad I decided to do it. I even ended up getting an interview with a school for next week out of it. After such a long day I was able to enjoy a wonderful blind date with a lovely girl (take that aforementioned secretary) and watch my beloved Utah Jazz fall to the Lakers in game 4 of the Western Conference SemiFinals. (tear)

Thanks be to Conrad for keeping me company on my travels. He was the SamWise Gamgee to my Frodo. And after I got turned down on the date, he was the mascot to my douche bag from the video. Cheers!

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood..."

It's been over a week now since i had my first REAL interview with a school district. I interviewed with Logan City School District...again. I had interviewed there last year and was offered a job teaching 5th grade at my old alma mater. I would be teaching right next to my old 5th grade teacher that I had when I went to school there. It was honestly a dream job and I should've taken it, but as you can tell from the "should've" in this sentence, I actually ended up passing on it. Instead I chose to continue in my thrilling career of chemical and sanitary engineering. In other words, continue being a janitor at the local high school. I've been substitute teaching during the day and cleaning during the night for the last year. I don't regret declining the job offer. This year has been a blast and I've been able to accomplish a lot of things (like paying off all of my debt).

Well, LCSD decided to give me another shot at the whole interview process. I realize what a privilege it was to be given a second chance to interview with them. They are a highly sought after district that receive hundreds of teaching applications every year and only end up interviewing about 20 or so candidates. I'm sure after I declined the job last year, it probably didn't sit too well with a lot of the administrators. In fact, I was told that I had "shot myself in the foot" by not accepting the job and that the odds of getting a job with them in the future was highly unlikely.

I walked into the interview a little more nervous than the previous year because I knew I was walking on egg shells, not to mention the fact that all 6 principals from all of the district's elementary schools were interviewing me at the same time in a cramped room. Each principal asked me a question and I answered the best I could. The questions were very reminiscent of the Dwight/Andy interview on The Office. How are you supposed to answer a question like this..."If we were to take a picture or your classroom at the end of the year, what would we see in that picture?" I'm pretty sure I bombed that question, but I gave it a valiant effort and felt satisfied with the interview as a whole.

I walked out of the building with my head held high, knowing I gave it my best shot. The only thing I was unsure of was if I would accept a job if they offered me one again. If I rejected their offer again, that would all but sever any ties I would have with the district in the future. Deny them once, well, i think George W. put it best. Anyway, I've been dealing with an internal struggle as to which path I shall take in life. In essence, do I take the road less traveled?