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My girlfriend is going to be attending the Wake County School District job fair in a few weeks. Has anyone gone to this in the past? How early did you get there? How was your experience?
I went in April. Get there early. They hand out numbers, and then you go in to schedule your interviews based on which number you are. If you are in the first 100, then you will be able to schedule more interviews than if you were number 350. Does that make sense? Bring tons of resumes, dress nicely, and have an idea of which schools you are interested in. Also, don't expect too much. Unless you are a sped teacher, you might leave feeling a little deflated. I am an elem teacher and there was a lot of competition. Good luck.
Well rumor had it that the number one person was in line at 5ish. I went to the Chapel Hill-Carborro one after the Wake job fair and knew I had better be there early. I was one of the first 10 there and arrived at 6ish.
I went to the Dec and April job fairs. The December job fair is much less crowded than the April. Both times I was there super early. I arrived around 5:30ish and was number 30 something for the April job fair. I felt they were a waste of my trip from NJ and as a result, I'm teaching in another county. Too many broken promises.
Like previous poster stated, unless she is SPED it is very competitive.
I was at the spring one, as well, and it was crazy! I got there at 7:30ish, and was in the 300s. Luckily, I got ONE interview, and I got that job! I don't think the fall one will be that crazy (but who knows), but as the earlier poster said - get there early, have plenty of resumes and a good game face, and know what you're interested in. Also - be prepared to go around and look at tables for information on openings - don't just rely on the brochure they give you. I was one of THREE social studies teachers hired at my school -- and they didn't have social studies listed as an opening.
I agree with the get there early comment! I had NO idea how crowded it was going to be when I got there it is basically like herding cattle haha. Be prepared to stand in line for a long time. Know who you want to talk to. "do your research" I had 4 interviews that day but they were so spaced out that I had to wait around for a while. They have snacks which is nice since the day is so long. I checked the wcpss.net website before I went to see who had openings. I think December will be better than april since so many more people graduate/move in the summer. Tell her good luck!!
I went to the middle school one in the spring, while my wife was at the elementary one. Yes, getting there early is important. Have your game face on; I was a little surprised to see teachers trying to cut in line and push past others. I would suggest sending your resume in advance with a cover letter to any school in which you might be interested. That way you might be more likely to get an interview when you get there. Like somebody said, don't just go by the postings they list; most schools had way more openings than the ones listed. Some couldn't officially post them or hire for them yet because somebody's paperwork hadn't gone through etc.
By the way, we both got jobs in Cary/Apex that day. Many other teachers got called days or weeks later with offers. Math, science, SPED, foreign languages, etc. have an even better shot. Good luck.
I agree that the December job fair isn't as fierce as the one in the Spring. Definately make sure you're dressed to impress. Everyone will be wearing suits. Get there in enough time to look over the job fair layout map that they give you to find out how to get to your choice schools quickly because interviews go FAST! And don't put all your eggs in this basket because only a few people walk away with any real job prospects!
I went to the one in Johnston County in June and it was more crowded that I expected. My advice is to be CONFIDENT and get right to the point in the @5 minutes you have with each principal/vice. princ. And SMILE the entire time(even if you don't feel like it after waiting 2-3 hours in line to get in).
Oh---and don't bring your kids. I was amazed at how many people brought their kids....not a good first impression IMO.
BTW--I am a 2nd year teacher(in my late 30's) from New Jersey and I got 4 offers from the job-fair I went to in June.....so the jobs are there...however, as I said, I was in Johnston County, not Wake.
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