what not to do when applying for a teaching job

The other day one of my students needed to take a break from work so we headed up to the office to do some shredding. My kiddo shreds a variety of things such as old tests or memos or whatever needs to be done away with and it just so happened that on this occasion, it was resume shredding time. The following is a list of things I noticed that you should not do:

1. I don't care if you are an elementary teacher or not, don't send your letter of interest and resume in on kiddie-themed paper. You may love kids, but you're still an adult, so present yourself that way.

2. Don't misspell the name of the school or the name of the person you're sending your resume to. Attention to detail? I think not.

3. Don't use incorrect grammar and punctuation. After all, you're supposed to be teaching kids, not needing to be taught.

4. Don't include a photo (no matter how cute it is) of you, your family and your dog on your letter of interest. No offense, but no one cares. And if your family is so important that you need to share them with a potential employer, then you may want to consider being a stay at home parent.

5. Don't continue to apply for positions at a place where they obviously don't want you. If you've been thank-you-but-no-thank-you'd the past 5 times you've applied, save yourself the embarrassment (I can promise you the folks in the office - and those of us shredding your resume again - are wondering if you'll ever get a clue) of being turned down. Again.

Good luck in your search for employment.