[NotAJerry]

It's been nearly 4 months since finishing my M.Ed. and I'm still barely getting nibbles. I've expanded my search outside of my current area (DC) and I'm finally starting to hear back. I'm also coming to the end of my time as a Community Group leader in my church (2 year limit) so I'll have even more flexibility around October.

I've had 1 interview with a top person with DCPS, and a few other interviews locally for jobs that haven't been filled yet, but not nearly as much as I expected with a Master's and 15+ years of work experience. I may have a Skype interview coming up with Stanford fairly soon, so that's something. I'm just asking for prayer that I stay diligent in looking for openings and willing to go wherever an offer comes from.

[Sly Fox]

You only need one job. Praying the right opportunity is being aligned perfectly for you.

[JK37]

Praying for you. The last three months for me have been a great opportunity to hit the reset button. I've never worried, because I know God knows what's next. I've been more diligent in preparing myself for whatever that may be than trying to make it happen myself.

Hang in there, brother!

[jcmanson]

Praying for you. I know it's a stressful situation. It's amazing how many people are looking for a job.

[NotAJerry]

Thanks guys. I'm not stressed/worried at all, but I could see it happening at some point. I've gone from living in Hawaii, travelling all over the world, and even working/living in some pretty great situations around DC to being the guy in my parents basement. I thoroughly enjoyed the M.Ed. process, and would have immediately applied for Ed.D./Ph.D. programs if I could afford it, and I'm actually putting together a pretty good database of companies/school districts that I would like to work for as a reference for the future during the search process.

I just know myself well enough that I can see when things can get a bit hairy, and while it doesn't feel that way at all right now, who knows what another 3-4 months could bring. I've never been unemployed/underemployed for more than a few weeks before.

[Hold My Own]

If you're willing to go wherever and you have a M.ed have you thought about Teachers for America (or whatever its called). I met a guy who's brilliant and got his M.ed from Harvard. I asked him what he was doing with it and he told me he was working for TFA for a few years. I think he has a passion for teaching but I'm pretty sure this is for his resume because I think he's going to end up getting into politics.

Not sure what made me think of that as a recommendation but its an intriguing thought for someone with your type of desire. I also prob thought about it because I just listened to Tipping Point again and that has a section about TFA

[NotAJerry]

I love the TFA program, but I've done enough classroom teaching to know that I'm not very good at it. I'm shooting for something like central office instructional technology or even school level tech resource teacher, if I get in with a school district. On the university level I've looked at instructional technology, instructional design, and research jobs as I feel like those are things I could do well.

[Sly Fox]

TFA is not for the weak at heart. They place people in some pretty hardcore situations. I know a guy who just finished up two years in inner-city Denver and he is completely drained. Incidentally he is headed to grad school right now in DC.

[NotAJerry]

TFA is not for the weak at heart. They place people in some pretty hardcore situations. I know a guy who just finished up two years in inner-city Denver and he is completely drained. Incidentally he is headed to grad school right now in DC.

My classroom time was in a situation that was the rough equivalent of what TFA would be, just without the organization behind it. I know several people that have done it, and City Year, and there seems to be little middle ground on how they handle it. I'm more geared towards the big picture/long term planning and hope to make it easier for those who do things like TFA or The New Teacher Project to have a "winnable" situation.

[NotAJerry]

Starting to get a few bites here and there. I actually had a Skype interview with Stanford. I've heard back on several jobs in the DC area in the last couple of weeks, but no interviews scheduled just yet.

I am hoping that those hold off for another week or so as my back injury flared up into the worst case of sciatica I've had since surgery (18 years ago) last week and I literally couldn't stand up for a couple of days. I'm about half way through a series of acupuncture, massage and chiropractic visits and started to handle stairs fairly well today. I should be somewhat back to normal just in time for interviews and such, if they come along.

[Sly Fox]

Praying right now for you, brother.

[NotAJerry]

Still not walking very well but the masseuse and acupuncturist were able to pinpoint the real problem, which thankfully is a bit lower in the spine than my old injury, and actually was able to drive to DC and make the walk to church today. It's still an excruciating pain, but with my history I'm always willing to deal with pain more than numbness/loss of feeling.

With that said, it's almost right on queue to my last post about interviews. I just got an email to set up a phone interview with DC Public Schools later this week, I should know the exact day and time tomorrow, for a position that is almost exactly what I did for the main project in one of my M.Ed. classes. Obviously, it's still fairly early, but this is exactly the kind of thing I want to do for my preferred employer.

EDIT: Phone interview is 2:30-3 on Wednesday.

[NotAJerry]

The phone interview went exceptionally well and the hiring manager said she would definitely email me by next Wednesday to set up an in person interview.

[Sly Fox]

Terrific!

[NotAJerry]

Oh, she also mentioned that the job listing states they are hiring one person, but she's the one in charge of the project and got funding for two people, so that increases the odds even further. At the worst, I'm getting my name in front of another decision maker with DCPS that should hopefully open some doors for future options. With that said, this job is an easier version of one of the M.Ed. Ed Tech classes I took.

[NotAJerry]

Amazingly enough, after the interview and followup, I was told that I'm overqualified and they want to consider me for the Director position coming open in 3-6 months.

I'm baffled by HR people that seem to ignore the massive change in the economy 4 years ago and how it has changed the quality and quantity of applicants for jobs. Overqualified should be eliminated from the equation until things get better.

[ALUmnus]

Amazingly enough, after the interview and followup, I was told that I'm overqualified and they want to consider me for the Director position coming open in 3-6 months.

I'm baffled by HR people that seem to ignore the massive change in the economy 4 years ago and how it has changed the quality and quantity of applicants for jobs. Overqualified should be eliminated from the equation until things get better.

Very true. I've heard this before, and then never got a call back. Better stay on top of them.

[jmdickens]

Amazingly enough, after the interview and followup, I was told that I'm overqualified and they want to consider me for the Director position coming open in 3-6 months.

I'm baffled by HR people that seem to ignore the massive change in the economy 4 years ago and how it has changed the quality and quantity of applicants for jobs. Overqualified should be eliminated from the equation until things get better.

yep. I have heard this and never called back. You will continue to be in my prayers

[Sly Fox]

Likewise. Praying right now in Texas.

[JK37]

Praying now, too. Hang in there, brother. Remember: (*Jesus Juke warning!*) God knew you'd receive a "no" before you did. He also knows your needs now, and He promises to meet those needs.

It's perfectly okay to aggressively hold God to His word while seeking His will.

[NotAJerry]

I've had some contact concerning positions at ODU, Cedarville, and Liberty, but nothing concrete yet. The community group I lead at church has been placed under the care of a 4th different elder now (our church is just exploding and trying to keep up with that) who mentioned, in the first lunch I've had with him, that he has a friend who works with Adobe in the area of their organization that I would fit in and we've made initial contact there as well.

My back injury flared up again last night, after a week or so of feeling great, to the point that I was completely immobilized and took a nice little ambulance trip to the hospital. The initial cocktail of Percoset, Prednisone and something else didn't do much, but they replaced the something else with a double dose of Dilantin (a single dose is 7x as strong as Morphine) and I could barely remember my name on the ride home.

I'm now on a treatment of Percoset, Prednisone, Flexeril, and Doc-Q-Lace for the next 5 days.

I'm really starting to enjoy how this is all going because these times of uncertainty have always been the times when God takes me in an amazing new direction and I can't wait to see what this one is.

[JK37]

Praying for you NAJ. You're perspective on it is great. I myself have thoroughly enjoyed my four-month respite. As it appears to be soon coming to a close, I am thankful for the extra time with family and spent in relaxation Inhave had over the past four months, as opposed to the hardship of the prior eight.

Hang in there, brother!

[Purple Haize]

MMM Dilantin. Mmmmm. Sorry to hear about the back. Having been thru it myself, I feel your pain. Hope it and the job search work out.

[NotAJerry]

Looks like I've got a Skype interview for two different positions at LU early next week and a Skype interview with a content developer at Adobe the week after that.

All of this while I can still barely stand up. Gotta love when God starts doing things in the most bizarre ways possible, but I still want to get off these meds.

I may have to start a serious search for housing in Lynchburg soon.

EDIT: Scratch that, the LU interviews are tomorrow afternoon.

[BJWilliams]

My wife actually had been searching for a job all summer and she just started working as a caretaker for two handicapped ladies this morning. Her training will be completely paid for