The last time I taught band was in 2016. I taught for two years as a junior high director/hs assistant. In those two years, I will say, we were seeing successes. I then had to relocate so my husband could finish his degree. I had not passed my certification test and for a while, was pretty unsure what I wanted to do career wise. All that to say, I'd like to know advice on "getting back in the game", especially for someone who is not yet certified (I am currently working on that). Is there anything that can make me stand out (we did get a 1 on stage at UIL my second year)? Good references, and a good interview? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
I've worked for districts/schools that cared a lot about work gaps, and others who didn't care at all. Frankly, those who parse every detail of a person's work history with the idea that super consistent employment is the only acceptable life history . . . they're not always the folks you want to work for. That kind of judgmental assumption might permeate everything they do, not just in hiring.
In today's world, people leave the profession and return for all sorts of reasons, and may even come back from other types of work more prepared and with better insight than their first tour of duty in education. There'll be a school out there that will take time to understand your life story and give you the opportunity you're seeking.
With two years experience 6 years ago and not certified I would get certified and then apply almost as if it's your first job. There will be a lot of openings but very few places will even consider you until you get finished. Too many certified teachers in the pool to worry about one that might be later.
If you won't be certified by July then I would get a private studio going in the districts you might want to work in and that way next year you have a network of folks to start with.
Others have said it, but Step 1 through 5 is get certified. No question. When I was adding an assistant position many moons ago, I had a great candidate that I wanted, but was teaching at a private school because he had a performance degree. Was told that the only way they would consider him was if there was no certified candidate at all. I pointed out that one of the certified candidates (honestly we only had a few) was someone who had bounced around the area because he had a tendency to mess with the MS girls - never the official reason he left, always one of those 'resign and we won't press charges' type things. Asked the sup if I would have to hire that guy over the uncertified guy I wanted. The answer was, 'Yes'. Luckily we got someone else that was good, but not my first choice.
I will say that getting certified should be your top priority. The last couple of times our MS director position opened up, we had over 50 applicants in just a few days of it posting. My MS principal told me to just ignore anyone who wasn't certified, because the district wasn't interested in taking the risk on their status when we had so many other applicants.
The resumes that stood out to me showed a history of success and diverse experiences.
You're going to have a difficult time. It's not impossible, but you have a number of MAJOR "red flags" on your resume.
1. Limited experience. You've taught two years in the past ten. That's not a positive for many employers. Do you have other employment during that time?
2. Not certified. That flag speaks for itself. You've also had six years since you were employed to finish your certification and you haven't done it. That is a red flag on your dedication as an educator, to be honest.
3. Unsure what you wanted to do career-wise. Why would a HBD take a chance on someone who may decide mid-year to walk away? What if you choose that starting a family is more important than being a director after this year? It's LEGALLY not allowed to be a point of contention, but frankly it is, especially in the good-old-boys parts of Texas.
If you're serious about being a band director, step one is to get your certification passed, and as soon as possible. Don't make excuses. Find a way to take and pass those two exams. While it's POSSIBLE to get a job if you're not certified, the OTHER red flags on your resume make people leery of taking a chance on you.
Step two is to be willing to relocate. If you're not in a major metro area, you're going to need to plan on working at a "less than optimal" situation for a band director. You'll be a split JH/HS assistant again, or working for a very rural school. If you're in a major metro, consider applying at one of the central urban school districts that tend to have more job openings on an annual basis. Many suburban jobs have literally hundreds of applicants - they can have their pick of employees, and aren't going to take risks without someone talking them into it.
Good references will go a long way to getting you an interview. Your objective right now is to get your resume looked at and not immediately discarded due to its major flaws. Maybe be willing to teach privately for a year or two and tech drill? Show that you're willing to put in the work to get your foot in the door?
Best of luck to you - but you've got a tough hill to climb to get into the profession. Regardless of the teacher shortage, there are MANY MORE band directors out there seeking employment than there are positions available. If all of the music colleges in Texas that sent a performing group to TMEA in 2022 graduated only ten band directors a year, there's over a hundred new faces in the industry every single year. There aren't a hundred retirements - and some of the bigger colleges graduate several times more than that number. UNT, Baylor, and UT each are closer to half a hundred than to ten - not even considering UTSA, SHSU, SFA, PVAMU, UH ... and then smaller schools, and *then* out-of-state move-ins, then ...
Final piece of advice: consider teaching elementary for a year or two. That gets you on the district's radar as a music person and you can move up into a band position when it comes available again - or at the least starts building up a positive resume with music positions.
I truly appreciate the honesty. I know I didn't do myself any favors being out this long and being super indecisive. I have been employed since 2016, at the same place, just not in a teaching capacity.
You already mentioned the toughest flaw there - the certification. A lot of districts won't even let you interview someone who isn't, so try and get that fixed as soon as you can!
Otherwise as long as it's stated that's why you left, this year I think you have a pretty good chance of getting a job if you have some flexibility. The number of job openings so far this year is insane. Apply for anything that looks interesting, and don't overlook small schools!
I would wager that most people who are looking for a job will find one this year. It's a mass exodus from the profession, retirements, or people looking for greener grass!
