Powerful Skills That Make You a Standout Applicant (From an HR Expert!)

This week, Ali and JoDee are chatting with Madeline Beck, a former educator who now works in Human Resources. Together, they’ll discuss the power in hiring teachers for non-teaching roles, why teachers should be active on LinkedIn, and the importance of tailoring your resume to fit the career you want. 

Connect with Madeline:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madelinemariebeck/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelinembeck/

Connect with Ali and JoDee:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachershift
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachershift
Teacher Shift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-shift
Ali’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisimon/
JoDee’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodeescissors/

Website
https://www.teachershiftpodcast.com/

Episode Transcriptions
https://www.teachershiftpodcast.com/blog

Transcript

Ali  0:06  
Teachers are natural innovators, entertainers and problem solvers. They dream of growing old into the profession, teaching their kids kids. But sometimes career goals shift, and that makes opportunities outside of the classroom seem intangible questioning, who am I, if I'm not a teacher? I'm your host Ali Simon.

JoDee  0:29  
And I'm your co host, JoDee Scissors.

Ali  0:32  
And this is Teacher Shift.

JoDee  0:43  
Are my teacher skills really transferable? Well, we're here to tell you it's not a riddle to solve. Our guest today landed in HR, so will not only learn how to transfer skills, but how to be a standout candidate among non teachers.

Ali  1:00  
Madeline Beck is a former teacher that served Title I schools, she transitioned into the corporate world one year ago. Madeline translated so many of her skills from teaching to human resources, and still find fulfilment in her job. Welcome to the show today.

Madeline  1:17  
Hi, thank you. I'm so happy to be here.

Ali  1:19  
We're so honored to have you as a guest on our show. And I really want to tell the listeners a little bit about how we found you. So every week I spend a decent amount of time on LinkedIn, mostly for finding jobs for our Apply Thursday jobs post. But I come across lots of different, you know, people posting on LinkedIn, and someone in my network commented on one of Madeleine's posts. And so this post was just amazing. And I sent it to JoDee immediately. I'm going to tell everybody a little bit about it. So it says "Thinking about expanding your corporate team? Here's why you should consider hiring a former teacher." And then you outlined things like strong communication, adaptability, problem solvers, patience and empathy, organization, lifelong learners, data driven decision making, team collaboration. These are all things that teachers do. And I think oftentimes, we forget that what we do in the classroom is so transferable into other fields. And so I was super excited to see this post. I immediately messaged JoDee who messaged you, and and here we are. So, so welcome.

JoDee  2:29  
Ali and I are always DMing each other on LinkedIn, finding like inspirational posts, or jobs or whatnot. And when I looked at it, it was just so spot on, and I thought, oh, my gosh, this person is so smart. And I love these like, connections that they have made to the teacher community and teachers that have transitioned or looking to transition. And so I thought, oh, there's no way this person is gonna get bakc to me. They're just like, they're gonna think I'm spam or something. But we're really glad that you were highly responsive, which goes with your communication bullet, that you're a really great communicator. And we're really glad that you can be on today to be able to talk about your new role, which is in human resources. And we're going to talk about, we're going to reference that as HR. We're gonna go acronym here. Teachers are really great at acronyms. So we'll be referring to your work as HR. So are you active on LinkedIn? What is your relationship with LinkedIn?

Madeline  3:30  
So when I was teaching, I think I may have had an account, but I certainly never used it. And then when I was looking to transition, it actually became really pivotal for me as I was building my network. So I began using it again, when I was starting to transition. And I have connected with a lot of really awesome people. And a lot of opportunities have been presented to me through, through just a social media website. It's so incredible.

JoDee  4:00  
I did something similar when I was thinking about transitioning. I got more active on my LinkedIn. I had originally started one in graduate school because one of our professors required us to think about how to utilize it to support other educators. How to expand our network. And I remember going on and updating my profile. And I guess, because I wasn't so experienced, every little update I did was notifying my network. And one of my, one of my really good friends, he texted me and he was like, Jo, are you going to leave teaching? Like what's going on? What are you doing on LinkedIn? And I'm like, Well, what how do you know what I'm doing on LinkedIn? Like, are you are you looking at my account all the time. And he like showed me the notifications. And I was like, Oh my gosh. I wasn't connected with really many teachers, but I thought, oh, okay, there's a way to update my profile and get it ready privately, before I kind of make that announcement like I'm looking to transition.

Ali  5:03  
So what I've seen on LinkedIn is a lot of teachers who are looking to transition become pretty active on it. And people that maybe have transitioned and that want to target transitioning teachers maybe offer them like positive affirmations. What I really liked about what you wrote was that it actually seem to be targeting non educators. People in the corporate world to let them know how awesome teachers are. And that's something that I feel like teachers get teachers. Like, it's like Teachers Pay Teachers, but teachers get teachers, we understand it. But the outside world doesn't always understand the value that teachers, former teachers can bring to roles. So yeah, do you want to talk a little bit about what inspired you maybe to start reaching out in that way on LinkedIn?

JoDee  5:51  
Yeah. So it's just like you said that there are a lot of resources for teachers looking to transition. There's a lot of posts, encouraging them. But what I noticed is that, not always in the recruiting world, and just in the corporate world, in general, are teachers viewed as valuable as I think they are. So that was kind of the point of getting the message across to hiring managers and leadership and those who are in those positions to recruit and interview.

I love that we would love to interview more hiring managers to think about how they think of candidates outside of the box. What you traditionally see move from role to role. So how do you think a transitioning teacher matches up to non teacher candidates when it comes to those candidate pools?

Madeline  6:48  
So when you are looking to start applying for jobs outside of the education world, or or maybe not even outside of the education world, but outside of the four walls of a classroom. I think it's really important to, you know, be exploring the different career paths that you can take. But to sort of match those applications and those interviews to the other candidates who may have prior experience in the fields you're applying in. It's important to be, first of all, tailoring your resume. So I think a lot of transitioning teachers, they kind of go into the job search, just searching for anything. I mean, you could really land anywhere. And that was definitely my experience as well. So it's okay to be applying for jobs at a lot of different fields, but to be tailoring your resume, to match every single one of the jobs that you're applying for. In order to kind of make up for what you may lack and experience in a given field, I think exploring trainings and certifications that you can get. I know specifically in HR, there's a Society for Human Resource Management. They offer a certified professional certificate that looks great on a resume. So there are a lot of things you can do to to match up with those candidates who, again, might have experience in the field or may have held the job title before. But it's important to remember that you already have experience with learning new systems and platforms and you have professional communication skills. You have everything that it takes. You're a lifelong learner. You're willing to learn. It's just conveying that.

JoDee  8:35  
You know, you're tailoring it to the job you're applying to. And you may have some of those skills, but you may not have all of them. And that's actually part of growing in your career is you're going to another job, another position because you're looking to grow. Nobody really looks for for staying stagnant, you know? So you're not going to have everything that's bulleted there. And that's okay, because part of it is going into it with what you have. And then also going into it, being willing to learn and grow and hopefully have a good manager that can help you grow in an area that you know, you need to strengthen. 

Ali  9:14  
I actually saw something on LinkedIn of all places earlier this morning, and I wish I would have saved it. But the gist of it was that women only applied to jobs when they meet 100% of the qualifications generally, yet men apply to jobs when they need about 60% of their qualifications. And I mean, I need to fact check this person who posted on LinkedIn. But sounds accurate to me like that is very plausible. And we know that in teaching its female dominant the profession. So I think that there could be a little bit of a correlation that when you're leaving, as women like I was always nervous to apply for a job if I didn't meet every single qualification. In fact, there's been several job postings that I've taken to my husband and I've been like, you know, I could do all of these things, but these three. Do you think that I could still get the job? He'd be like you should just apply. That's literally his response is just apply. So, you know, from the HR perspective, what JoDee said and kind of what I'm echoing, do you suggest that people still apply for jobs, even if they don't meet all of the bulleted points that are on the job description?

Madeline  10:19  
Absolutely. So, and I had written in my notes to say that specifically that job descriptions can be very intimidating, especially when you're new to a field. So there are a lot of things that might be listed in the job duties or the job description in general that are very foreign. So you kind of have to take those bulleted points and break them down to their bare bones. So really, when they talk about in the incidence of HR managing a human resource information system, that seems intimidating, right? I've never touched one of those. I have no idea what that even is. But when you break it down to its bare bones, it's a data management system. And as teachers, we all have experience with those. So the job descriptions, do not be intimidated by them. You can break them down into things that are more manageable to you and things that you likely already have experience in. And if there are things that you don't have experience in, you can ask yourself, if you're willing to learn that willing to be a beginner. And I think any recruiter, any interviewer will respect that willingness to learn as well.

Ali  11:23  
Great, thank you so much for clarifying that, and really sharing that teachers should go for it even if they're not, you know, 100% qualified, and all of those job description points. And I know that I won't let that stop me anymore when I'm applying for jobs. I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about work ethic and habits that you see versus functions in terms of a job? Like, do you see that educators have a strong work ethic? Is that something that they bring to any role?

Madeline  11:57  
Yeah, absolutely. So and I talked about this in the post as well a little bit, that there are functions of the job that can easily be taught, right, by a couple of training sessions and a couple, you know, walkthroughs with somebody else. And then there are things that that just simply cannot be taught. And a lot of those things come from being a teacher, and just the hard work that you put into that. But also the kind of people who want to become teachers in general. So there are things that you've learned from your teaching career. And then there are things that are just inherent in you, that are really evidenced by you seeking to be an educator in the first place. So again, any function of the job that you see in the job description that can be taught to you. And as a hiring manager, from a company standpoint, these things that you're looking for, and people, consider if having the experience already is worth as much as somebody who comes in with a learner's mindset. Someone who's going to be adaptable. And someone who will bring in a fresh positive attitude and a new set of eyes.

JoDee  13:04  
It seems like a teacher is a great candidate, because they are always willing to learn. And they're always having to learn. You get a new batch of kids, you get new curriculum, every single year, there is something that you are learning. And if it's not even about, you know, a student themselves, it might be about you and your repertoire. So that seems like a great reason just to consider a teacher just purely by the fact that they are lifelong learners, and they're willing to amend whatever skills they have or grow them. So I love that. Do you think that there are other strong reasons for people in the private sector, in the corporate world to hire a teacher other than some of the skills that we've talked about already?

Madeline  13:54  
Yeah. So these kind of go into the resume side of things, the transferable skills, right? So there's the inherent, the work ethic and the work habits. But then in terms of the tangible skills that you have, you are able to... I know, we talked about a little bit data management systems. You're able to communicate with stakeholders, right? So parents, other teachers. You're able to make plans to improve. So improvement plans and reporting all of that stuff. You have experienced that already. So there are not only you know, you can't just list I'm adaptable on your resume. There are ways to translate that into into resume points as well.

Ali  14:41  
And we have some episodes specifically about resume building, about using LinkedIn as you know, to network and how to build that up. It's really important to take the time to thoroughly develop your resume and LinkedIn because the only way to communicate your value to someone who you've never met before is with that, you know, email piece of paper. It's not a piece of paper anymore. It's all digital. I think what I'm hearing is that it's worth the time to really think about how your skills would fit the job description to make sure that you're looking for the key words, which we've talked about before. Sometimes what trips you up as a teacher is that you're used to your teacher language. So making sure that you're using the language from that field to include in your resume. So like your data management systems is a great example. You know, break down what those, what those items are in the job description and figure out, how did you do that in the teaching world? And how can you state it in the new world? One thing that happened to me when I looked to transition to a different role out of teaching was that I felt like I could do a lot of things, I didn't really know what direction to go. And ultimately, what helps me is that I found a job that I just felt like I want to do this job. Like I would love to be able to do this job. And so I went just dove right in, spent a lot of time on my resume, on my cover letter, and thankfully ended up getting that role, which then got me my next role, etc. But I'm wondering if you could tell us a little bit about your journey and how you figured out that human resources was the right thing. Because speaking with you, I feel like you could have also gone into a lot of different fields. You're a great speaker, you're very organized. I know our listeners can't see. But you had your, your notebook with your prep and which is which is so amazing. Like not everybody comes to an interview prepared. So maybe how did you figure that out? Because sometimes it's so overwhelming when you don't know what to do next.

Madeline  16:39  
Yeah, so like I mentioned earlier, I was in the same boat, as many other teachers were you kind of get out of the teaching world, or maybe you're looking to transition and, and it is overwhelming the possibilities, but also terrifying as well, because you feel like none of them are available to you. But for me, personally, I had followed a teacher career coach pretty closely as I was beginning to make my transition. And one of the fields that she recommended that is really transferable for a lot of teaching skills was human resources. So I started putting out some applications in this field. And I was able to land a job here in Tampa. And I've been here this same job for a year now. And it is 100% true, though, that all of my teaching skills translated really well here. So one thing about human resources is there's a lot of onboarding new employees and orienting new employees. I was able to successfully transform our company's onboarding and orientation process. And I now facilitate that as well, which teaching adults it's not that different from teaching children and not in an insulting way. But brains, our brains and learners are learners.

JoDee  17:55  
I love that. It sounds like you made a transition, but you also just went in, hit the ground running, and you have established programs. You've established onboarding. You are now owning those changes. And that very much aligns with the way that we approach the classroom. We go, we go in with a plan. We give it all we have. We own our instruction. And we take responsibility for the things that we need to change the things that we have to adjust and what we do the next day. And I just think that's a really great example of how you apply those skills into another form because we've had, or at least Ali, I don't know if you've had this, but I've had teachers existing right now, say to me, I really am thinking about getting into human resources. It was kind of what I went to college for. And then I transitioned to education. And now I don't know how to get back into what I initially started. And so do you think it's actually, if someone's thinking about human resources, but they don't have any of that human resources, stuff on their resume, would you advise them to seek outside organization opportunities, meaning like private sector? Or should they think about within their district connecting with the human resources department, and perhaps building relationships there and applying within a school district?

Madeline  19:25  
So connecting in general, whether you're you're trying to make a transition is always going to be a good decision. So, yes, I think whether you plan to apply internally with the district that you're already employed at or not, it never hurts to make more connections. So while you're there while you have access to those email addresses and phone numbers, reach out. 

JoDee  19:47  
I want to tell Ali, this speaking of connections, because that's what we're all here talking about. So Ali and I went to Southwest, South by Southwest Edu in the spring, and I went to a conference event earlier this week at where I live in Washington, DC. And I'm walking through, and I recognize people from my expanded network, like, very chill, like very normal, like, oh, oh, and I was like, Whoa, you're in Washington, DC. And we were just like, it was like a reunion of people that I've connected with who don't even live here. And I think that shows the power of connections. Because then I, I connected those people with the people I was walking around with. And just from that one little moment, literally walked around this conference for like an hour, two hours, and not only expanded my network, but the people that came with me expanded their network. And it's really exciting to see how eventually, our work starts to align. And we can start collaborating with one another.

Ali  20:49  
I do want to echo what you said earlier, Madeline, which was to consider doing a certification of some kind, or getting some additional qualifications. That's something that we've heard from other guests, that's been very successful. So I had actually a friend of mine, former teacher who's transitioned out and she wasn't getting any hits on her resume. And she started a graduate certificate program in the field she wanted to go into and after she put that on her resume, she hadn't even finished it yet. She started getting interviews. So I think the value, because that highlights some sort of experience in that field for a future employer. So they know that you're taking it seriously, especially if you're paying it to get a certificate or credential. So I really love that you brought that up, because that's something we haven't discussed in a while. And I think it's also a good way to kind of dip your toes in something. Maybe getting a certificate or getting a credential might help you realize that you do really want to go into that field. Or maybe say, oh, you know, I'm glad I did this, but I don't know if this is really going to be for me. So I think it's kind of a double. It can be bonus in both ways. But I'm, I'm glad to hear that you have had such a good experience transitioning into human resources. I really think that our listeners can gain a lot from paying attention to the job description from diving deep into it breaking down those bullet points, just like you would in your own classroom. Scaffolding, breaking things down for students. Do it for yourself, take the time, look up with those different terms that are in those job postings mean, consult with someone in that field. That's really what I was hearing from our interview today is to reach out to someone, maybe in that industry. Connect on LinkedIn. Ask for advice. We've heard a lot of success as well from our listeners about connecting with people and saying, Hey, I saw a job, you know, post at your company. Like could I ask you a few questions or something like that. Those are success stories that we hear routinely on the Teacher Shift podcast. So I'm so grateful for your time today. And really appreciate your expertise and human resources. I want to let our listeners know that if they're interested in connecting with you, they can find me on LinkedIn, under Madeline M Beck and we'll also link that in our show notes. But thank you so much for being a guest today.

Madeline  23:08  
Thank you so much again for having me it was truly a pleasure.

Ali  23:22  
Are you interested in suggesting a topic for Teacher Shift? Being a guest or recommending a guest? Please see the episodes page on our website to make a submission. And if you'd like to write for us, see our blog page. If you liked Teacher Shift, give us a five star rating and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Apple podcasts, Spotify and Amazon music. Today's episode was written and recorded by me, Ali Simon and my co host, JoDee Scissors. Executive produced by Teacher Shift. Produced and edited by Emily Porter. Original Music: Emoji by Tubebackr.