10 tips for new teachers to help you stand out on a staff

It’s dog eat dog right now in the teaching world, especially for new teachers. We all have the same goal… to lock in that ever-elusive, permanent job at the school of our dreams (or any school for many people).

These are my top ten tips to help you stand out from the rest of the competition and get you on your way to securing that dream teaching job.

I’m going to split this into two categories. The first for new teachers who have managed to find temporary/contract work at a school, working towards permanency (tips 1-9). The second, however brief, is for (new) teachers who are starting in the trenches…the substitute teachers list (tip 10).

Okay, let’s begin…

1. Get involved

Without exaggeration, getting involved in your school is the most important piece of advice I can give you. It gives you a leg up in countless areas. The main area being that it shows your administration you are willing to go the extra mile for the school and for the students.

I have literally been picked for full-time employment because of my willingness to coach and volunteer, versus my counterpart’s flat out refusal to participate in any sort of extracurricular. Their lack of willingness to contribute lost them a job. Let that sink in.

Principals want (new) teachers who will coach sports teams, chaperone class trips, organise/lead a school club, volunteer to supervise school dances, etc.…anything that falls outside the realm of “Instructional hours”.

I’ve coached football, basketball, volleyball, rugby, and badminton. I’ve volunteered for intramural sports, class trips, class dances, and school functions. Finally, every school I’ve been contracted at, I’ve started and supervised a fitness club which met every school day at 6:30 am.In the peak of my school years, I was putting in 14 hour days at the school…zero down time. This worked out to (on average), and additional 3 work weeks (120 hours) of unpaid work during a semester.

I know countless teachers are in the same boat as me, as this isn’t anything special, but for a new teacher…it really does stand out.

The other thing about getting involved in your school, is that it allows the students to see you in a new light…not just the strict version from the classroom, but also the spirited side!

You gotta be in it to win it, folks. Put in the time and effort and you will be rewarded.

2. Be prepared, but not too prepared

I know they say, “Preparation breeds success”, but they weren’t teachers. The first mistake I made as a new teacher was creating a plan for my first month and committing to it. So I guess a more accurate quote might be, “plans are meant to be broken.”

After one day of teaching, I knew my plan for the month would be thrown off…and not just by a day or two. I came in with very high expectations (which is good) for my class as far as the pace I could work with, but soon realised I needed to be a little more realistic with my timing. This is not a bad thing. There is lots of time to cover content in a school year (however, tougher with more advanced courses).

Be prepared for a few days at a time. I try to simply have an idea of where I want to go and an idea of (roughly) how many days I’d like to spend on it. This tactic allows you to have an extra instructional day, or work day, or review day…or a couple if need be!

If you are worried about not having enough time, something you can do to preserve a few instructional days would be to move unit exams to be a part of the final exam. Simply mark that section of the final exam as whatever unit exam you passed over during the year. My students enjoyed this, as it was seen as studying for only one exam, rather than several.

Don’t set yourself up for stress, you’ll have enough of that already. Have your lessons ready to rock at any time, this way if you’ve got some down time, you have the capability to make use of that time.

3. Know your stuff

Pretty self-explanatory. If you show up to a class and deliver a lesson you’ve only skimmed, you’re gonna have a bad time. Remember, you’re the expert in the room…be the expert. Live your subject. Become a master of it.

Not only does this make for smooth lessons, but it also give you, the teacher, a tonne of confidence as you deliver that lesson. In turn, this reassures the students that they are in good hands, and you are someone who knows what’s up.

Students respect this. It’s been a “get out of jail free” card for me a few times when I’ve made a mistake on the board. Usually, it’s a student who finds it, so I acknowledge it, fix it, apologise, and move on. Kids are great about it. Regardless of how good you know your stuff, people make mistakes…having a god track record helps your reputation.

4. Ask other teachers for resources

Teachers are the world’s greatest thieves. Might as well contribute to the title!

Some may see it as lazy, but I see it as smart. Why re-invent the wheel?

If there is an amazing lesson being taught next to you, and you’re struggling to come up with how you want to deliver that same content…ask for it! Unless that teacher is having a REAL bad day, they will be more than happy to outfit you for your class. This gives them a nice little confidence boost as well, knowing another teacher has liked what they’ve seen in your class.

I can count how many lessons I’ve made, on one hand. I was fortunate enough to have my legendary co-op teacher, Paula, supply me with the resources from all of her classes.Lesson, notes, assignments, quizzes, reviews, and exams…everything.

Regardless of this supply, I still take any chance I get to expand what I’ve got. I grabbed all of the common math files while teaching in Australia and I ask any teacher I work with who has similar style to me if I can grab a copy of their files. There is no such thing as having too many lessons. It keeps you prepared for any situation.

5. Ask your Administration to watch you teach

Having the courage to ask your Principal to come watch you teach some of your classes will vault you ahead in a few ways. It shows your Principal you are not afraid to do what you do with an audience, it shows you are willing to accept constructive feedback, and it shows you are actively looking to improve your teaching methods/skills/abilities.

Another benefit of asking the Principal to watch you teach is the new, powerful reference you’ve obtained. Now that they have seen you teach a class, they can honestly and accurately provide you with a reference letter and/or be a reference on your resume (to speak about teaching abilities).

The Principal is someone you want on your side, and this is one of the most substantial acts you can do in making sure they will go to bat for you.

6. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes

Mistakes are going to happen. That’s life. Like any mistake, you learn from it and move on…and hopefully don’t make that mistake again. Mistakes in teaching are no different, they are inevitable. A couple times a year I’ll fudge up an equation or a question on the board…I just know I will. Most of the time I will catch my mistake before it goes too far, but sometimes the students will catch it. In either case, don’t try to defend what you did…just own it. Admit to your mistake, sincerely apologise to your students, hope that you didn’t damage your reputation, fix your mistake, and then carry on.

That should be the only time you make that mistake. If it isn’t, you’re doing something wrong and you need to reassess your life.

Students like to see the “human” side of teachers, and owning up to a mistake shows that side. They will appreciate your honestly and the efforts you make to correct things.

7. Have patience

Patience is an important trait to have as a teacher…or with anything in life for that matter. This is amplified as a new teacher. Teaching and operating your own class is going to seem like pulling teeth for a long time. It takes time, mistakes, and experience to grow into a well-rounded educator…and all of those require patience.

Without patience, you will lose your mind. You’ll feel like you’re just spinning your tires, not advancing how you would like to advance. This is normal. You’re not going to be an expert when you first start teaching. You’re likely not going to be an expert by the end of your career either, but you’ll be a lot damn better than you were in year one!

As long as you find yourself evolving year-to-year (not making the same mistakes over and over), you’ve been successful, and you’ve improved your abilities. That’s all you could ever ask for…Rome wasn’t built in a day!

8. Take care of yourself

This is one is easy... or at least I’d hope it would be.

Teaching is hard. Really really really really really hard. It also consumes a large portion of your time in a day. Sometimes we, as teachers, don’t make time for ourselves in our busy schedules. I know we love our students and would do anything for them, but c’mon…You’ve gotta take care of Number 1 (yourself, not peeing).

Make it a point of keeping one of your weekend days open for what YOU want to do. For me, this day is Sunday. Unless it’s a fire, I’m not doing school work on the weekends…but I’m pretty good at taking care of my school business during school hours. Regardless, keep at least one day for you to just do you. Whether that be watching football on a couch for 9 hours, yard work, going to a movie, shopping, shaving your back hair, or playing with your dogs…do something you enjoy.

Also, the teaching season is a long and arduous endeavour. Keep yourself ahead of the wear and tear. Take care of your body! Exercise, run, left weights, go for a long walk, do some Jillian Michaels DVD’s…use your imagination! And remember, stay fit and have fun!

9. Be yourself

Students can tell if their teacher is “fake”. Seriously. They talk to me. I know these things.

On day one of EVERY class I teach, I spend the hour just talking to the class. I start with an intro, and quickly dive into a full-on life story…no jokes. Life. Story. They love it. I’m not there to hide anything from them (within reason, of course…we all have our secrets).

I want them to know that the man standing in front of them for the next 5 months is a real person. I want them to feel comfortable in my class, and that starts with opening up to them. It creates a nice level of trust right away, as they see you for you…not someone who is just there to control what they do all day.

While you’re teaching, if it feels natural to make a corny joke about something you’re teaching, make that joke. If you feel like you need to be dancing a little while you walk down the aisles of your class, dance a little. If you find comedy in memes, post those bad-boys on every wall of that class.

Don’t let a classroom setting stop you from being you. You are a freaking legend.

10. Be a better substitute teacher than anyone else

For this one, I refer you to a previous post, “5 tips to be the best high school substitute teacher you can be”.

I would emphasise the importance of the “Talk to people…important people” point within the read. If you ever want to get off that substitute list, you’ve got to let administration know that you want to teach full-time.

I hope you've found value in what you've just experienced, please let me know your thoughts, or if you've got tips of your own!

and as always...

You got dis. I believe in you. You're all Rock-stars and Legends and I love you.​

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