Credential+Files

When you register your resume with your university job services it becomes available to any potential employer browsing the internet. Even if you plan to create your own file (as we recommend below) and send your own materials, it is a good idea not only to register for but also to set up a credential file early in the job search. Occasionally such files are explicitly requested by a potential employer.

Students at Western Michigan University set up their career files in person at the WMU Career Services office on the first floor of Ellsworth Hall. (Be sure to retain your own copies of materials placed in the credential file as they do not return them.) There are important resources at the Career Services Center including workshops on writing resumes and interviews, credential files, and, most important, the [|Bronco Jobs Plus] internet-based service. Register for the service by accessing the web site.

During intern teaching seminar you should also be provided with a registration packet. When Career Services receives a request by a school district for names of qualified candidates in secondary English they simply print resumes off of the Bronco Jobs Plus and send them on. Prospective employers post openings through Career Services, both directly on Bronco Jobs Plus and through publication of the Career Services JOBS Bulletin. The bulletin is available to review at Career Services free of charge. However, so that you don't miss any postings, we suggest subscribing to the bulletin and having it mailed to your home. Even though they are not specifically targeted for education students, resume and mock interview sessions are valuable; be aware that applying for an English teaching job differs in some ways from applying in business or other fields.

At Career Services be sure to pick up the very useful pamphlet, //The Job Search Handbook for Educators// (published yearly by ASCUS, call (708) 864-1999). There is a bulletin board in the hallway on the first floor of Ellsworth where new positions are posted.

Rather than having Career Services send your credential file for you (at $5 a pop), we recommend that you also create and maintain your own credential file and customarily send it out yourself. Have your letters of reference sent to you and pick among these letters to create the overall effect you want. Sending the file yourself will not hurt you with employers-the vast majority will not even notice. Career Services at WMU uses only open files anyway, and all they do is put a cover sheet on the file and send it in their own envelope (an "open file" is one where you can see the letters of recommendation and any other materials the file contains).

The credential file you send also needs to have a copy of your certification and some version of your transcript (employers are usually satisfied with a xerox copy-Career Services provides a nice form for you to use for your transcript, the "Undergraduate Course Record Sheet"-keep a copy for your portfolio and your own packet of materials). Don't forget that you also want to have your teaching certificate! Include it in your packet. To get your certificate apply to the Michigan Department of Education, Teacher Certification Office in Lansing; it costs $125.

Your letters should include your mentor teacher, an English professor, an education professor (perhaps the one who teaches your intern seminar-be sure s/he sees you teach), and another person that knows about your potential for teaching (another teacher or administrator in the building where you did your intern teaching may be a good choice--be sure to have such people observe you during intern teaching). An outstanding letter from a student (from intern teaching, for example) is a nice addition. Letters from past employers or family friends that do not know you in a teaching/learning context are probably not very useful. If any one of these letters does not make a strongly positive effect, don't use it. You can include the final or midterm evaluation of student teaching-both those written by your mentor and by you, if you want. The mentor's final evaluation of student teaching can take the place of a letter if it is complete and well written. Be aware that if a letter from your mentor teacher is not included you may need to explain this at some point. (Everyone recognizes that not all mentor teachers are perfect, so a simple explanation of a "conflict in styles" will be sufficient if everything else in your file looks good and you can speak about intern teaching in a positive and engaging way.) The Final Evaluation of Intern Teaching written by your mentor will automatically go into your placement file unless: 1) you don't sign the release form, or 2) you specifically request Career Services to put the Final Evaluation into the "Inactive" part of your file.

Always send your whole file, never just your resume and cover letter alone. This is true even when they ask only for resumes. The more schools have from you the better; and if your file is for some reason "incomplete" it can cost you the interview. Be extremely kind to people who write letters for you--thank-you letters are appreciated. Recommenders need time to write, but if you have a deadline or one comes up, let them know. You need to keep your references informed about what is going on in your job search. When your resume is finished be sure to send a copy to all references and recommendation writers. If they get a phone call they need to be ready to speak about you and know where you are in your search. For example, if there is more than one district interviewing you they can convey this to the hiring committee in a discrete and effective way.