How Important is GPA in Getting a Teaching Job?
GPA Question from a new EDU Edge friend (Mark) in Alabama … “I am at the end of my junior year and haven’t really applied myself. Is my poor GPA going to hurt me when looking for a teaching position?”
Mark – Thanks for contacting the EDU Edge. We would love to make you feel better by telling you that your GPA will not affect your job search, but one of the reasons we have been successful in coaching teaching candidates is by providing the ‘straightforward insider scoop’. Unfortunately, a low GPA will affect two aspects of your job search: (1) how your resume is constructed and (2) how a school district reviewer reacts to your resume in the initial screening process. Let’s take a look at each.
First, when you build your resume or curriculum vitae, you will have the choice of listing experience or education first. For most people like you (right out of college with little teaching experience) the choice will be to list your educational background. In Chapter 3 of the Insider’s Guide to the Teacher Interview – Cover Letter and Resume Advice, (a publication of The EDU Edge) the authors recommend that that you should almost always list your GPA if you are right out of school. The reasoning is simple and straightforward, if you do not list it, employers assume it was disastrous. With very few exceptions, the missing GPA is a door closer. This is just the way it is!
Mark, the good news is that even with a poor GPA, sometimes you can show strength in your area of study by listing the GPA specific to your major alongside your overall GPA. You stated that you are in the end of your junior year. Most of the time you are taking a high concentration of electives specific to your major during this time. Soooo hit the books and get that GPA within your major up!
Remember, if you are searching for a position during your senior year, you are going to have to contend with the GPA you have earned to this point. However, senior year provides you with two entire semesters to raise your GPA. It will help you out even if you do not land a teaching job right out of your undergraduate program. It will also improve your chances of getting into the graduate program of your choice. Do not give up the ship! Keep battling for the highest possible GPA right until graduation. It may mean you have to make some sacrifices you were not making previously amidst you friends letting loose during senior year, but this self-discipline will likely help to avoid years of unemployment or jobs you do not like.
The second reason your low GPA will affect you has to do with the initial screening process that occurs when your resume is being viewed by a district employee assigned to rank and rate resumes and application materials. A low GPA will stick in the reviewer’s mind or disqualify you altogether. For this reason we recommend that if you are still in school, please, please do anything you can to keep your GPA up. It may seem like there is no connection between your GPA and the ability to inspire young minds, but employers use this as a telltale sign of your intellectual ability and work ethic. Whether it is fair or not, in education circles, there is an unspoken assumption that in order to lead students, you need to have been a relatively successful student yourself. Do not underestimate the power of the GPA when it comes to applying for teaching positions.
Good luck to you Mark! Get as focused as possible on your classes and program. Get those grades up before your college career is over and you move on to student teaching. And, good luck to all of you following The EDU Edge. Please come back and let us know how it went so we can all learn together.
Yours in a Partnership in Learning,
The EDU Edge
(Please feel free to contact us with additional questions … we’re on Blogger, Twitter, Facebook and you can email us at info@theEDUedge.com. Tell us what interview obstacles you’re dealing with and trying to overcome. We’ll do our best to respond and we welcome dialogue from others going through the same process.)
Teacher Vitae and Resume Suggestions
Resume Question from @deyoungb – Brian D asks, “As far as resumes go, do you have any recommendations on length, content, etc?”
It would be tough to put a whole chapter here in this blog but let’s see if we can help you with your specific question “resume content, length, etc.” First, you have to decide if you are going to produce a Curriculum Vitae or a Traditional Resume. Resumes are characterized by brevity. They are a one to two page summary of your education, skills and work experience. CV’s are longer and more detailed. They are a minimum of two pages and contain detailed explanations of previous academic and professional work. The CV includes educational and academic background about you as well as teaching, research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations and other details.
Our consortium of administrators at The EDU Edge sees thousands of resumes each year. We find that most K-12 educators (especially ones your age – I’m assuming you are soon to be or have just graduated from college) are using a hybrid of a resume and a CV, which includes most of the structure of the CV listed above, but does not go beyond two pages. It includes an increased level of description, but does not read as a narrative such as collegiate level CV’s. This allows potential employers to quickly make their way through the CV while at the same time understanding the nature of the work or accomplishment in each area. We think using this hybrid approach is advisable. Even if you are newer to the field, a two-page document with a high level of detail on your academic, related professional experiences, presentations, awards and affiliations is a good idea.
Additionally, we recommend that you:
· Start your CV with three to four bullet points that provide the highlights of your qualifications to catch the eye of the reviewer.
· Use a chronological approach as opposed to a functional approach.
· Write simple and specific sentences.
· Be specific about your past work and accomplishments.
· Avoid language that generalizes.
· Do not write in the first or third person.
· And finally, do not write in paragraphs. Reviewers have very limited time to scan these documents and they will skip your CV if it is not efficient to read.
Good luck to you Brian! Consider getting The Insider’s Guide to the Teacher Interview. If you like the advice here, there are many more insider tips in this book. And, good luck to all of you following The EDU Edge. Please come back and let us know how it went so we can all learn together.
Yours in a Partnership in Learning,
The EDU Edge
- What to Wear to a Teaching Interview: Top 5 Tips
- Getting a Teacher Interview from Out-of-State: Top 5 Tips
- Top Do’s and Don’ts To Land a Teacher Interview by Connecting with the Principal
- Top Five Substitute Teaching Tips For the Successful Teacher Interview
- Teacher Assistant/Aide Positions: Process and Timing for Hiring
