2009 EMU job fair
I went to EMU’s job fair today. Of course, I didn’t find a job, but I didn’t expect to find one there. I just got a mountain of information from a bunch of schools and spent most of my time trying to avoid standing in line. As expected, the lines for Michigan recruiters seemed to stretch for miles, while most other booths had minimal lines. I did talk to some Michigan recruiters, but I spent most of my time meeting with recruiters from other states. My biggest complaint was that some of the recruiters were useless. You’d wait in line for 30 minutes to talk to the representative, and they would arbitrarily take your résumé and give you a tiny packet of information on their school. Then, they would tell you that they are unsure of which job openings they will be having at this time and that you should periodically check their website in the future. Why would a district spend all that money to fly in two representatives for them to just sit there and tell you to go online and research their jobs?
I heard from most recruiters that teaching jobs in my subject area are limited, but I have a feeling they told that to everyone so as not to get your hopes up. I doubt I would’ve taken a contract if I was offered one, because I really didn’t know much about the schools that were there. I was very prepared with all my materials, and I knew enough about the schools I talked to; otherwise, I wouldn’t be interested in a job there. My most promising leads- or at least longer interviews- came from Benton Harbor; Salina, KS; Darlington, SC; and a school placement company called White Hat. For Benton Harbor, I am fully aware that their schools are very low income and 98% black. The recruiters, who were black, even drilled that into me, but I played it off like his threats of how terrible their schools are weren’t dissuading me. He said I answered his racial questions better than most candidates, but that’s because I knew he would ask those kinds of questions. Salina and Darlington were just typical schools that actually talked to me for longer than a few minutes. White Hat itself is not a school but rather a management company that operates a few dozen schools in various states. I was hesitant to sit at their table, because their schools are alternative education facilities for the most poorest and downtrodden of students. But, the recruiter was very interested in finding some applicants. She filled out the application for me and took detailed notes while emphasizing the importance and support that their school has. It sounds like a school similar to Orchard High School but not formatted like the Youth Center. They have schools in several states, but she said they have an opening for my area at the specific school she happened to be administrator for- the Covenant House on MLK Boulevard in downtown Detroit. She said I might hear from her in a week, and they sound like they pay very well since it’s a state funded public-charter school that runs year round starting in July.
I would be kind of disappointed if I happened to find a job here in the area, because I’ve been so set on just moving away. Most of the Michigan schools at the job fair were charter schools, especially the Detroit and Dearborn area, because the public schools in those areas are going bankrupt. Charter schools are themselves no different; they just take students on a volunteer basis and still receive state funding. It was insane how long some of the Michigan lines were just to talk to a recruiter for two minutes. I didn’t get too much useful information, because I was directed to go online by many recruiters, which defeated their purpose of actually being there. I’m glad I went, but I’m still going to continue looking.