Oh no.
As some of you may recall, I went through the interview process for Teach for America about a month ago. I did very well – or so I thought. Today, I got my official rejection letter. Crap!
Up to now, my panicking has been minimal. I really, really thought TFA was going to come through and everything would be peaches and cream. I have a few other applications out, but none of my feelers are returning anything. I graduate in less than a month, and…nothing. Nothing. My applications are going unnoticed, my resume is lining trash bins across the state, and a cold cold hand is squeezing my heart like a horny frat boy would squeeze a boob. Good god, I can’t even form a cogent analogy!
I am so damn frustrated. And so damn terrified. Someone hold me.
I too got rejected for every single job I applied to shortly before graduation. I hit quite a few lows. If you just keep plugging away and doing good job hunting something will come up.
Do everything you can to get an interview. Sending resumes is pretty much the bare minimum in a job hunt. Write a nice cover letter for every position you apply for (and tailor it to each). Do some cold calling of places you’d like to work. Use any possible connection you have through family or friends.
Create a professional website that has your resume on it, plus other stuff you’d like to show off. It will help you stand out from the crowd and make a good impression. Plus, monitoring the traffic gives you a chance to see potential employers perusing your resume.
I believe my website helped me land my current job.
Hey, you got farther than me! I didn’t even make it past the first round, and I thought I was a definite shoo-in from the start (not to toot my own horn or anything :D).
A lot of people that I thought should have got in didn’t, and a lot of socially akward people, whom I never thought would be accepted in a million years, did. I don’t know why. I try not to think about it. The initial sting of rejection hurts the most, especially if that was something you were really depending on and expecting. You’ll get over it, though. If you’re interested in teaching, keep looking- there’s lots of internships and pay-as-you-get-credentials programs. I’m going to apply for one in Sacramento that sounds really great; the whole Teach for America fiasco doesn’t even register with me anymore. And if I get rejected for this new place, I’ll move on. You just have to keep your chin up and keep trying! Good luck!
This is prime time for finding teaching jobs. A lot of districts are having job fairs, and if your apps were sent to schools, that may be why: they want to handle it wholesale rather than sift through individual applications.
I’d google around for that. I went to one at a university where I interviewed with Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Austin, and more.