I'm working on letters of rec for my colleagues who were laid off by the school board this week. Seven people have been cut just from our English department, over twenty school wide. I spoke to one of them this morning and gave him some tips for professional networking. He asked me to send them as links and I thought they might be useful for people beyond my own site.
1. Make sure you are on Linked In. http://www.linkedin.com Add everyone you know in education. You can ask for recommendations on Linked in too. These are usually shorter than typical letters of rec and can range more broadly. If you have former students on it they can write you recs too. If you have parents of former students they can recommend you and of course colleagues.
2. Visual CV: http://www.visualcv.com/www/indexc.html I've seen some resumes on here that look very impressive. Use the URL for your visual CV as your link on your twitter bio.
3. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ Look up the hashtag #edchat and follow people who use it that look good to you. It's not easy to build a network on short notice, but it's time to start. If I had to find a new job right now my twitter network would be my best resource. (See also hashtags related to your subject area, #engchat, #sschat, #scichat, #mathchat.) I'm @JenRoberts1
4. Of course you probably already know about edjoin http://www.edjoin.org/
5. Network: Most educational conferences have a vendor area. Many vendors are looking for teachers who want to work with them to create materials. The largest ed tech conference in the world will be in San Diego at the end of June. Walk the vendor hall with your personal card and promote yourself. You don't need to be a tech expert, just an experienced teacher willing to learn about their product. Often you can get free or discounted admission to conferences if you offer to volunteer.
Thanks Jen!!
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