Teacher Fairs: Worth It?

I had always seen job fairs advertised at Troy, but I never attended one. I always went and searched on the State Department websites as well as County sites.

So when I was cruising around the Orange County website, I saw them advertise a teacher's fair. Since I was STILL looking for a job in July, I signed up right away.

 

There were 2 time slots, a 8:00 am and an 11 am. Since I did not want to get lost in the morning downtown traffic, so I opted for the 11 am.

Now, if you are considering going to a Teacher's Fair, please be smarter than I am! This event had on the spot interviews, and they would either offer you a contract or put you on a waiting list at the end. So by going to the later fair, a lot of the jobs were already taken.

But for those of you who, like me, have never been to a job fair before, here is what happens:

You find the school or event hall and begin looking for signs.
Mistake #2 was that I parked near the front of the school, assuming it was near the job fair. I should have stopped and looked for signs, because it was a trek!

 

And not the good kind of Trek

Once you find the correct building, you enter and they will have a check in desk. They find your name on the computer and make sure your certification is in order, or is at least pending approval. Then they give you a list with every school there, where that school's table is located, and what positions they are interviewing.

So you go down the list and find your subject area. In my case, there were only 2 music positions listed, an elementary school and a middle school. I went to the elementary schools table first. The principal was interviewing someone (there were waiting chairs in the back for everyone who wanted to wait for a free principal), but I saw the sign with all of the positions listed and saw that the music position had been crossed out.

 

Dejected and sure there was no way I could find a job, I headed to the middle school table. To my great relief, they had several positions crossed off but the music position was still open. This meant the principal was keeping the sign accurate, as well as hiring people on the spot. She was open, so I sat down and she asked for my resume right away.

 

The most important part of looking for a job is to have several copies of your resume on hand, especially at a Job Fair. 

I gave her my resume, as well as print out of my transcript since I had no teaching experience. She was very pleased, and we went ahead with the interview. Now, at the end of interviews, I always know they are going to ask me questions, and it is best to have these planned so that you look prepared. Mine questions for her were:

1. How and how often are teachers evaluated in your school?

2. How many other people are you considering and when are you planning to make your decision?

3. How large is the program, and are there classes other than music that the band director will be expected to teach?

She told me she wanted me to meet with her Assistant Principal, and so we met at the Middle School itself a few hours later. After meeting a lot of administration, they called my references and after they got ahold of some of them, they offered me the position. I went on the county site and officially applied for the position, and now I get to set up my classroom tomorrow. 

So while it may be July, do not give up. The band I will be directing is a large program, and one of the top rated groups in the county. And I only found it because I happened upon it at a job fair.