Tips for Educators: Not Promoted, Now What?

Plan B

Once you are initially hired as a teacher or administrator, you may wish to set your sights on a different position in the educational field. This is normal and certainly not unusual. However, your career goals may not always align with the decision makers due to a number of factors.

If you don’t get the position what can you do? Promotions are out of your hands. You hope you have the necessary academic qualifications and experience but you don’t always know. A friend of mine many years ago who was director of HR in a large school district in the US, told me that you should always have a back up plan, a Plan B. You probably will not always be successful in your job searches. So what do you do?

What are your options? Sometimes you may have to go to grow. If you feel that opportunities for promotions are limited or closed to you, you may have to leave your school or district. Get a fresh start. You can also see what you can do to improve your chances: additional degrees and certifications, gain more experience and expand your role and responsibilities in your current position, work with a mentor, speak with someone in HR or a role model about how to improve your chances, know the politics of your current situation (an unfortunate reality of education), etc. if you are place bound, meaning you can’t move from your current location, you may also wish to explore other areas in education or outside of education. You can resign yourself to your current position until something better comes along or until retirement. You can move to different schools in your area to give you new experiences. You can explore opportunities in school operations: finance, athletics, HR, curriculum and instruction, technology, food service, transportation, facilities, safety, admissions, etc. If you have the qualifications, you can look at your local college for opportunities there.

I believe education has a lot of opportunities (I have had 27 different jobs in education in seven states and two countries) for those who are prepared and take the initiative to apply. But be ready for initial disappointment but always have a Plan B!

Dr. Les Potter
Founder of Potter’s Educational Services
A free service for educators
CVS, cover letters, interviewing, and career guidance
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