Observations from Recent Hires in Music Education
Te job application process can be difficult and confusing for new graduates as they transition into the professional field of mu- sic education. In the fall of 2017 ten newly hired instrumental teachers were inter- viewed across several states including Cali- fornia, Massachusetts, Virginia, Texas, and Michigan. Tey were asked about different stages of the job hiring process including finding job openings, the process leading up to interviews, as well as the interview process itself.
When initially searching for job postings, most people interviewed used state music educator association job boards as their pri- mary source. Others also used the National Association for Music Educators listings, but they mentioned that it wasn’t updated as frequently and didn’t have as many jobs posted as state postings. Te primary ex- ception was the state of California, as every person interviewed recommended “EdJoin” as a more frequently updated listing. Some educators mentioned hearing about jobs from word of mouth, especially if they had a specific city or area in mind for teaching. One new hire mentioned that if someone had a specific county in mind in their area to send their information to a county music supervisor and asking to set up a screening interview. Tis can oſten lead to being rec- ommended for openings when the supervi- sor is notified about them, which is usually before the jobs are posted on state boards.
Most of the applications from the begin- ning stage of the hiring process asked for standard information including resumes, letters of recommendation, teaching philos- ophy, transcripts, and occasionally exam-
Eric Rothacker
ple curriculum. Some jobs asked for more than the standard three letters of recom- mendations and asked for up to four or five. One interviewee mentioned that they occasionally came across applications with personal or “test” questions meant to let the hiring staff gain insight on the applicant. An example was “How will you use out- side resources and connections to support your program?” Most applications went through administrative staff at the school or at the county level. Administrative staff is almost always in charge of the initial stage of hiring, with the rare exception of an arts director or music chair. During the initial stage of applications most applicants were never notified if they did not advance onto the interview. Letters of inquiry had to be sent if they wanted to know with absolute certainty whether they were still being considered.
If applicants were notified that they were being considered and would need to do an interview, every applicant did prior research about the school, music program, and community that might come up in interviews. Typically, the applicants looked up the “feeder” programs if it was applica- ble, any posted concerts from the school, as well as additional events in the community such as fairs, parades, festivals, etc. that called for music program participation. In- terviewees mentioned that they would oſten bring this up on the chance it wasn’t during the interviews both to show the hiring pan- el that they were interested in the program and to make them feel like a better fit for the program to the panel. Applicants would oſten plan time to look or drive around the community if they were unfamiliar with
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NAfME Collegiate
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