❌ Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good when trying to figure out what to do post-teaching.

Time box your exploration process. Remember, your first corporate job outside of teaching doesn’t need to be your forever job or career. Focus on finding a job where you can learn and acquire marketable skills. And it doesn’t have to be EdTech…

❌ Don’t reinvent the 🛞.

Many teachers have done what you are trying to do. The best people to give you advice on what to do next are former teachers who have already transitioned into roles that you are interested in- especially those who are more than one year into their transition These individuals will provide the best insights and advice to help your transition- not just be effective, but be more efficient. Job searching is a time suck, spend your time judiciously!

❌ Don’t hide 🙈 the fact that you’re a teacher.

Stop pretending to be who you are not. You shouldn’t feel like you need to hide the fact that you have been a teacher. You won’t be able to. Instead, show people you are a damn good teacher. But….

❌ Your resume should NOT lead with the fact that you’re a teacher.

Stop trying to translate your titles or skill sets in teaching into corporate lingo. Instead…

✅ Open the resume with your skills and your competencies that are related to the types of corporate positions you are targeting and then present your work experience and related accomplishments.

Use a clear, relevant headline at the top of your resume. Adjust for each job. Feed them what they want to hear, not what you want to say.

✅ Focus on conducting the ground war, not the air war in your job search.

Networking will almost always yield better results, and opportunities, than just submitting a whole bunch of resumes. Gives you a chance to tell your story too.

✅ Fall in ❤️ with the process and build systems.

You don’t know when your job search is going to end. So build systems and fall in love with the process. Set daily goals and hit them. You will never really be able to answer the question “how is your job search going?” until you have an offer. Be concerned with what you can control.

✅ Prioritize building a strong and compelling presentation of yourself before launching the job search or networking effort.

Invest in this first. A 💩 resume, LinkedIn profile, or job search strategy will just lead to frustration. Button these things down first.