How to Get a Job in Education: 5 Steps to Success

Education remains one of the industries with the highest employment rates. Since the dawn of formal education, the demand for teachers and teaching professionals to tutor students has remained constant or steadily increased, especially in major cities where significant population growth has occurred.

Due to the need for education, the industry has continued to attract many looking to make a career as teachers, administrators, professors, etc. What is so amazing about the industry is that there isn’t only one type of job but several. And the industry also has significant absorption capacity. For instance, in 2019, the education and health industry employed about 35.89 million people, with education jobs accounting for half of the figure. This statistic makes it one of the highest employing industries in the US.

Getting a Job in Education 

If you are looking for employment in the education industry, there are certain steps you should take to improve your chances of getting the job of your choice. Below, we review some of the crucial steps to brighten your chances.

#1. Decide on the kind of job you want 

The road towards a successful and fulfilling career in the education industry has many paths. Not everyone who works in the industry is a teacher. Although teachers represent a significant percentage of the industry, many other jobs and professionals also play key roles in shaping young minds. Some professions that come to mind include: 

  • Administrators 
  • Counselors
  • Security consultants
  • Sport coaches
  • Transport and logistics 

The list is endless, and so are the available jobs. With the rise in IT and E-Learning, there is an increased demand for IT professionals in the classroom. So before taking active steps towards building a career path in education, you first need to decide the job you desire if you haven’t already done so. This decision is important and will influence every other decision you will make moving forward.

#2 Choose the right Institution of Learning 

Before you start a career in education, you also must have the right qualifications. Earning a formal degree from a college is essential, especially if you want to be a teacher. So take your time to find the right college. Colleges that are solely devoted to education are always a good option. There are schools in Michigan, California, New York, and many other states that offer education degrees.

Before you pick a school, do your research to find out just how good the school is. Review their programs, ask former students questions about the school, and look out for their work experience opportunities.

#3 Gain valuable experience

The need for experience can not be overemphasized. One of the key elements to getting hired in education is to gain experience. Many schools and academic institutions only employ professionals who have some degree of expertise in their chosen fields. They do this because, in the field, there is little or no room for errors. Secondly, they frown at the idea of spending valuable time and resources on training recruits.

The next question that may come to your mind is, how can you possibly get experience for a job you’ve not even landed? Fortunately for you, there are thousands of internship and volunteer programs readily available to fresh college graduates looking to gain on-the-job experience. Even before graduation, you can work as a supplemental instructor, tutor, or substitute teacher. The more you engage yourself in the art, the more experienced you will become.

#4 Create a professional resume and cover letter

You may have graduated from college with good grades, and you might be the smartest person in the room, but you still have to prove to your potential employer that you are as qualified as your certificates suggest. This means putting together a quality resume and cover letter that showcases your skills and professional abilities in the best possible light.

Your cover letter should not duplicate your resume. This document is ideal for describing the reasons for choosing a profession, the strengths that will help you succeed in the desired position, and the motivation to join a particular educational institution. If you want to understand what an effective self-presentation looks like, check the substitute teacher cover letter example at www.getcoverletter.com.

A resume is an essential document, and part of the employment process you should never take for granted. If you want to get hired as quickly as possible, you need to make sure that your resume has the following essential qualities:

  • Professional
  • Contain your academic qualifications
  • Personal qualities and skills
  • Work history

Let us review these critical qualities in detail.

Professional outlook

Resumes are impressionist documents. They create the first impression of you in the employer’s mind, and as you already know, first impressions matter a lot. Your resume should contain bullet points because they are much easier to read and digest. The way you arrange dates also matters. Typically, chronological order is best to present a clear understanding of progress and emphasize the most relevant information. 

As for your cover letter, it should not duplicate what is in the resume. It is an opportunity to share information that didn’t fit in the resume to add to your candidacy. 

Both documents should be error-free if you want to impress your potential employer.

Academic Qualifications 

Your resume should contain your academic qualifications. Note the certificates and degrees you’ve earned and the institutions that issued them. The year you graduated from each of these institutions should also be included. It also pays to include your cumulative GPA and any relevant coursework you completed during your time in school.

Personal Skills and Qualities

Your academic qualifications are not the only thing employers are interested in. They also care about your interests, skills, and personal views. They do this because they understand that behind the profession is a human being with fears, hopes, interests, and dreams. Your resume should highlight your skills and hobbies using bulleted points. 

Work History

Where have you worked previously, and what were your duties in that capacity? Good resumes have previous jobs listed in chronological order, and they sell your application even before you open your mouth. Providing a detailed list of your work history will explain to the employers what qualities you will bring to bear on the job should it be given to you.

#5 Use References 

Another way to get a job in the education industry is to make use of references. Start contacting people you know with clout within the industry even before you finish school. Contact instructors, mentors, school mates, and people within your social circle. If you are volunteering at a school, inform them of your graduation date and let them know that you are going to be free to get permanently employed. Networking increases the chances of being shortlisted for an interview. And the more interviews you attend, the brighter your chances of getting hired in the end.

Conclusion 

The education industry is one of the highest employers of labor. As teaching and training dynamics have evolved, the demand for more trainers, teachers, and instructors has steadily increased. This phenomenon has also opened up more vacancies in the industry with the rise of e-learning. The opportunities and positions available to new prospects and applicants are numerous and far-reaching. We hope that with the five steps highlighted in this article, your path to building a successful education career has only gotten brighter and better.

How To Launch A Scalable E-Learning Business

E-learning is a booming industry that’s only set to grow more and more as the ongoing trend of digitization continues to take hold across the economy. Despite the growing importance of e-learning services and the immense profitability which can be tapped into by clever entrepreneurs, however, few e-learning businesses which are launched these days ever endure for long enough to scale themselves upwards.

What’s the secret to scaling your e-learning business, anyway, and why do so many entrepreneurs fail to see their digital teaching efforts take off? Here’s how to launch a scalable e-learning business that will thrive as time goes on.

 

Understand the burgeoning growth of e-learning

If you don’t appreciate the extent to which the e-learning industry is rapidly burgeoning, you’ll never be able to scale your business as it slowly but surely becomes more popular. According to Orbis Research, the global e-learning market is set to swell to an astonishing $275.10 billion in value by 2022, so those entrepreneurs who get started in this field right now could be reaping the financial rewards of their work sooner rather than later. In order to tap into this thriving growth, however, you need to understand that scaling your e-learning business begins with establishing secure foundations upon which the rest of your commercial enterprise can grow.

Establish solid foundations for your business begins with reviewing the simple mistakes that other entrepreneurs have made before you. By reviewing the errors which have caused other e-learning endeavors to crumble and fail, you’ll be well-equipped to avoid succumbing to such errors yourself. Review a list of the top mistakes that e-learning professionals make time and time again, for instance, and you’ll realize that many of these errors could have been easily avoided with a little touch of foresight. Failing to create a company-wide vision which can steer your e-learning endeavor to success, for instance, will make it challenging for you to expand your business if you find commercial success.

Furthermore, your enterprise will only be scalable if it has a way to narrow down its target audience into a selection of consumers who are eager to purchase your services. This means learning how to conduct market research and developing customer profiles is essential towards long-term success, as you won’t be able to learn as you go once your business takes off and you’re swamped with activity. Another thing you need to take care of early on is getting insurance coverage, which will be cheaper if you buy it well-ahead of time before your business fully develops.

 

Learn to cover all your bases

You may think that your e-learning company is immune to legal jeopardy, but the truth of the matter is that any business enterprise faces the possibility of legal action which could deliver financial ruin to your doorstep. That’s why it’s imperative to properly insure your e-learning company if you want it to survive its first lawsuit or angry customer. Tenant insurance and other consumer-oriented plans won’t be sufficient for your business, however, which will need insurance coverage specifically crafted for business endeavors in this industry.

Getting comprehensive general liability insurance for your business is imperative towards protecting yourself from generic legal threats which could become a financial burden on your business’ performance. Furthermore, if you’re really interested in scaling your business, you’ll need to be able to recruit talented e-learning professionals who are invested in the future wellbeing of your company. That means providing your rank-and-file workers with good employer-sponsored health plans which can boost their morale and keep them on their feet in the unfortunate event of a medical accident. Smart business owners don’t view insurance as an unnecessary expense but rather as a lifesaver that will keep their business from succumbing to the first fire or flood which plagues you.

Finally, you need to understand that your e-learning business will only achieve scalability if it’s niche-specific and capable of gaining a leg up on your competitors in that area. Not all industries are ripe for e-learning enterprises, but traditional education, IT, e-commerce, and retail are all good examples of fields which are ripe for e-learning companies to thrive in. This will entail building professional contacts with those in your industry who may not need your services now but could enlist their help later on, so never be afraid to network if you want your business to scale upwards with time.

All of this will be in vain if you don’t have the best workers around to help you expand your company, so reviewing the crucial e-learning skills that your workers should have may help you expedite the hiring process. Invest properly in the right human capital, and you’ll soon discover that scaling your e-learning enterprise is easier when you have talented professionals to help you along the way.