Just as every candidate has unique skills and experiences, each job posting has its requirements. The trick to landing a job is to market yourself in a way that addresses a specific school’s current needs. Parts of your work history that you might normally consider irrelevant might actually push you over the edge depending on what the school needs at a particular time.
Even the best written cover letter can fail to land a candidate an interview if it doesn’t convey the school’s values and goals. Every school has a different culture, with their own needs and priorities, therefore a generic cover letter will never be as successful as a cover letter that’s custom tailored to fit the job.
Do your research…
Start off with some research into the school’s culture, philosophy, and student demographics. Different schools promote different values. One school might prioritize its rigorous curriculum, another school might try to foster a better sense of multiculturalism through community outreach programs.
Discuss how you would make a positive contribution to the school’s values by highlighting your strengths that are most in sync with them. It’s important to demonstrate your expertise in your particular field, but it’s also important to show what you can contribute to the school outside of the classroom.
Reflect the job description…
Make sure your cover letter responds directly to the position that’s being advertised. Review the job description thoroughly, and even use its language in your cover letter. If the position requires a teacher who’s willing to participate in extracurricular activities, discuss any past experience you might have conducting after school programs or leading student clubs and teams.
When discussing your experience, explain how you would translate what you’ve learned so far into your future career with the school district by offering up specific examples of successes to support the effectiveness of your methods.
Know your reader…
Your reader may be anyone from the superintendent, assistant superintendent, hiring manager, or the head of HR. Again, always fall back on the job description for specific information to reference in your letter when possible.
At the end of your cover letter, let the reader know you’re looking forward to further discussing the job opportunity in person.
OLAS connects candidates with school district jobs in New York and surrounding areas. Register with OLAS to find various instructional, non-instructional, and administrative K-12 school positions.
Good luck with your pursuit of a career in education! Click here to search for jobs on OLAS.
