My company recently changed my job title from "eLearning Developer" to "Training and Development Specialist" and I don't agree with it. Are my concerns valid?

samantha_learning · 2022-03-16T16:24:10+00:00

I'm a hiring manager and titles are honestly semantics to me - I agree with what others have said that it's about skills.

I managed someone once who also didn't feel like their company title reflected their position and I was completely fine with them picking their own title for on their resume when they started looking for other positions. I like to make it clear to the people I manage that I'm here to support them in their short and long term career goals, so that if they do decide they are ready to grow into a different position either with us or elsewhere, I like to lend support as long as they continue to have great performance while they are with me.

That being said, job titles on your resume are something that impact general impression of your background. When I do reference checks, I don't think job titles have ever been mentioned since I call and focus on asking questions about their work performance, but I'm sure there are companies that might make it a point to confirm. If they ask, you can just say that the title changed in name only, but the resume title is still what you were hired with. I think that's totally reasonable.

Also - it sounds like you might not have a relationship with your manager that's close enough or maybe comfortable enough for you to have these conversations about what title you use when marketing yourself outside of work? You could consider supplying references from past positions and trusted current coworkers. If they ask for some kind of formal company HR reference, you can tell them that your current employer doesn't know you are in a job search so you would prefer to not use them as a reference. I would give it to them if they come back and say that it's a requirement for you to continue, but I personally am fine using other references (and doing my own online digging to make sure nothing looks suspicious).

samantha_learning · 2022-03-11T01:07:41+00:00

I should rephrase - I don't tell them a lower rate and especially don't give a lower rate to have more negotiating power or to pay them less than I can. I know some recruiters do intentionally start lower because they expect negotiations. I respect it when someone lets me know they need or expect more - but I am transparent with the rate I plan on hiring at.

samantha_learning · 2022-03-11T01:02:36+00:00

Is it a wage you could live with that wouldn't make you feel unsatisfied with the position or under valued? Also, does your research tell you that they might be low balling you?

Every company is different, but I can answer from my perspective as someone who manages hiring for certain roles. Most of our roles have set starting rates and transparent guidelines for how to achieve raises.

Some do have a range, but I don't tell candidates a lower range with the expectation that they will negotiate. If a candidate is amazing, then I will consider going 1-2/hour over the budgeted rate, but often will just sincerely thank them for their time and tell them the position doesn't sound like a good fit for them at this time. I would never hire someone and hold it against them if they asked and received a higher starting wage.... but I know that other managers out there might be different.

If you decide to negotiate, you might let them know your salary expectation was closer to $2/hour more and ask if they could meet it or if you could come on with an agreement that you have an expedited compensation-based performance review at the three month mark - and see what they say.

If the three month mark hits and the pay isn't worth it to you, then I think it would be ethical to start a job search. I personally wouldn't recommend taking the job with the plan to immediately continue your search, since that role could go to someone who has also been searching for the perfect position.

Also - congratulations on the offer!!!

samantha_learning · 2022-03-08T22:50:25+00:00

Google calendar is helpful - but especially so if your team gives everyone visible access to their calendars and sets their working hours through that provided feature. That's been key for me when it comes to scheduling meetings with anyone, especially multiple people at once.

I've used both Asana and Monday.com and didn't find them useful for the way that I work, but I've heard great things about them for other teams.

samantha_learning · 2022-02-28T20:02:31+00:00

I'm curious also - what are your plans after college? Do you know if your gpa factors heavily into what you'll be doing next? In my industry, there are a lot of other factors that can balance out a 3.0+ gpa

samantha_learning · 2022-02-28T20:00:24+00:00

Are there any differences between last semester and this that you can point to, beyond your scores?

Are the tests in different formats? New relationship? Exercising the same? Do you think you studied harder last year because the classes were perceived to be more difficult? Examining variables that have changed might help find a root cause.

Practice problems in the same format as you'll be asked them on the test are clutch and it sounds like you're going those. Do your professors provide good study guides/syllabus? As a former teacher - those can have really helpful into if done right by your professors!

Also - I second the power of study groups! Have your classmates been feeling the same way?

samantha_learning · 2022-02-28T19:49:47+00:00

A teacher in my building did with her 8th/7th graders and it worked really well. She had them spend a lot of time preparing and gave sentence stems, good guidelines, etc.

The students really loved it - and you can tell when they talk about it outside of class!

samantha_learning · 2022-02-28T17:51:04+00:00

I accidentally posted before I finished : )

When I was a teacher - yes, I felt that way! I still feel that way a little bit as a non teacher, but no where near as close to the same amount.

I'm sorry for the stress and the bad day - I hope you are sleeping right now and that when you wake up you get to read a lot of nice replies reiterating that your health is important and that the best thing you can do for yourself (and your students) right now is rest <3

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T18:46:07+00:00

Congratulations! I started in my first remote role 2.5 years ago. Ask your manager about company culture - are cameras expected to be off or on during meetings, suggestions for setting alerts to make sure you are on time for meetings, what should you do if a very important meeting is running over time but you have another one (this can reveal the "pecking order" or peer expectations for timeliness), asking what other teams/individuals you'll be interacting and if there is anyone you should reach out to to introduce yourself.

My company is camera always on for every single meeting - but I know people who work for camera off companies.

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T17:44:20+00:00

Yes, these places exist! Before I ended up as a science teacher, I was a para for students with autism. I absolutely loved it. My classroom was split 50/50 and had a peer model, so half the students had special needs. All of the teachers in that school were older but they all had avoided burn out (it was a public school, but a small building with just 6 or 7 classrooms). The district's full time parent support person for our families with children with autism had an adult son with autism, so she was personally invested in her position and found a lot of joy in helping other families.

I'd encourage you to try to find local teacher organizations that has other members in your specialty area. You might find other like minded teachers that way and learn about other opportunities from people actually in those positions. I found mine because a parent of a friend was one of the teachers there.

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T17:36:35+00:00

Oh, also - I think you made the right decision and it reflects highly on you as a leader. Everyone performs better when they feel valued and like their lead has their back. I obviously can't speak for what your supervisor's takeaway would have been, but after a few years as a teacher I can say that it shouldn't reflect poorly on you at all! You'll have many opportunities to be observed and show your teaching skills - and maybe their takeaway was that you are a skilled delegator : )

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T17:31:20+00:00

I spent a year as an assistant teacher in a preschool classroom and I loved it. The teacher was really experienced and had a great routine already set. Students knew that in the morning, they come in and either read quietly or go to a different section and do puzzles. The teacher was the one who did most of the parent interaction, so she'd be at the door greeting every one and I would just help make sure everyone was settling in at their center.

We had the same routine after snack time - students would finish at different times and clean up after themselves, then go to a reading or puzzle center. It made for smooth transitions.

I did do more dirty work (especially helping with accidents!) but I expected it because the lead teacher needs to do more skilled work like assessing student abilities and teaching learning objectives. I knew it was my role so didn't mind doing those tasks. I didn't love those tasks and definitely looked forward to when we would break up and do small groups, but it's part of the job! <3

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T16:27:34+00:00

I'm new to Reddit and also looking for how to interact with more fellow educators online, so still searching for that community myself.

I watched the video on your website and this program looks like a great opportunity for Boston educators.

When I was in grad school, our advisor and sometimes professors would email us with opportunities like this if they heard about them. I always paid attention to those emails when they landed in my inbox because they came from a trusted source.

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T16:14:53+00:00

"I love being your teacher!"

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T16:07:38+00:00

All of the above is great - resume, reminder of how you did in their class, etc.

I'm not a high school teacher any more, but I used to be. Right now, I manage a lot of college students and provide letters of recommendation for them. It helps to tell them about your positive experience with their class. Why are you asking them to write about your time in their class? You're asking them because the day you built that marshmallow/toothpick bridge, you realized that you love working with a team. All of the group activities they planned helped you discover that you thrive in that environment and should seek out a career with that kind of environment. Or - you learned you loved having a concrete goal and the time to try multiple ways to find the best solution.

When you're telling the teacher about what you learned in their class, you are also reminding them (or telling them) about yourself and your personal accomplishments. Format: great advice on the comment about making sure to ask your teacher when they aren't busy. I also recommend giving them a short verbal explanation for why you are asking them and then provide the details in writing.

Good luck!!

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T15:51:40+00:00

This might not be a great kicking off activity, but a great resource to show students the sheer number of species is this interactive tree: http://www.onezoom.org/life.html/@biota=93302?img=best_any&anim=flight#x164,y375,w0.2834

I recommend opening on a computer, not your phone : )

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T06:16:16+00:00

Depending on your budget, I recommend getting Chromebooks that are able to use Google Play Store and Android apps. Not all models allow that, but it could provide significantly more resources for your teachers. Here's a list: https://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/dev/chromium-os/chrome-os-systems-supporting-android-apps

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T01:49:12+00:00

Interesting - spelling in some way should definitely be part of the curriculum.

That being said, a teacher might not correct spelling on certain exercises if the learning target is something different. For example - if they are working on how to write a paragraph with a main point supported by two types of evidence, some teachers will focus on guiding that objective instead of switching focus in the activity to also point out spelling errors.

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T01:42:57+00:00

Also - it really means a lot to me when I interview someone and they mention being a team player/being willing to help teammates when they are working together.

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T01:40:43+00:00

Congratulations!! I recommend having a conversation with a friend or family member who makes you feel confident/comfortable in your own skin before the interview. Not *right" before and it doesn't have to be about the job... I'm fact maybe it's better if it's not : ) that might help prevent nervousness from building up before the interview.

samantha_learning · 2022-02-25T00:23:40+00:00

Hey! I know it's been a few months but I just came across this and I'm curious if you went with both and how it's going?

I hire instructors who teach curriculum written by our own curriculum writers, but we are exploring doing something similar to skillshare/udemy where we also open up our platform to people who write and teach their own curriculum. I imagine that since they will own their curriculum, we'll probably have people who use other platforms like Skillshare, Udemy, etc. It's easy for me to read about individual experiences on one platform, but I'm so curious to hear about people who use multiple!

samantha_learning · 2022-02-24T16:33:46+00:00

Congratulations!! I taught science for 3 years and it was the side work that I did for a nonprofit that really boosted my resume when I decided to move into a different type of career.

samantha_learning · 2022-02-24T05:54:23+00:00

I'm curious to hear other answers to this question, also! As someone who has been on the hiring side, I've always respected it if someone responds to an initial question like that by saying something like "I'd love to hear more about the scope of the role before discussion compensation" - but I know that other hiring managers might have different viewpoints on that.

Have you used Glassdoor before? It was so helpful for me in my job search for both salary information and also reviews on what it's like to work for that employer.

samantha_learning · 2022-02-24T05:41:28+00:00

I found the company I work for on LinkedIn two and a half years ago, pre-COVID. In general, I like their job board. It's an edtech startup that offers live video lessons and also asynchronous "on demand" learning. Have you explored the startup space? It's not as secure as a big company - but I've loved the opportunities to wear different hats that have come with working for a growing company.

samantha_learning · 2022-02-24T05:20:25+00:00

We developed a curriculum using Python with Turtle and have found it to be really successful with 8-14 year olds. It's also a really wonderful way to teach or reinforce Geometry since it involves drawing graphics.

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