Career Fair, Sat Jan 12 2018

I took the chance to be present at the “Winter Recruitment Fair” at the district office this morning.

I learned a lot about the kinds of vacancies the district is looking to fill, from teachers (several were signed on today) to cafeteria to maintenance to bus drivers and other departments. A list of current vacancies was posted at several tables, and you can see the current lists by clicking on a tab for which type of job: https://www.fsusd.org/jobs

I saw many people circulating at the information tables; some then proceeded to interviews in other locations, and I was told that people who had been signed on the spot left with a certain backpack that also served as a signal for “Yay – there’s another success!”

I’m well familiar with teaching jobs, but I also got a sense of some of the jobs in other departments that I hadn’t known much about. For instance, bus driver jobs usually have a two- or three-hour shift in the morning, then another in the afternoon. If you have some free time on your hands but don’t want full-time employment or like mid-day breaks (and you like youth), consider applying there (although there is quite a delay while licensing and safety requirements are being met). Likewise, most cafeteria service positions are only a few hours in the middle of the day. For some people, part-time work is not enough. For others, it might be ideal. If you’d like to inquire, call the main number and say, “I’d like to talk to somebody about jobs in (such-and-such) department.” You may have to wait for a return call, but persist until you reach someone who can give you a good description of what it’s like to work there (probably one of the managers). If I weren’t already a substitute teacher (for other districts now), I think I would myself enjoy being a regular in one of these work environments. I’m a social person, and these look like good places to be while earning a modest income.

I also got to visit with (or meet) many people who work in the backbone of the district; principals, managers and other administrators.  I didn’t retain many names, but I’ll be learning these one at a time. I’m gaining confidence that this is a solid, well-run organization. Not that there aren’t any problem areas, but as I was saying to someone I visited with, if you focus on building on (and expanding) the strong areas, the problem areas usually shrink, without even having to focus on them very much.

That kind of mirrors my experience as a teacher in the classroom.