To sum it up in a few words: stressful, disheartening, and exhausting.
In more words:
Walton County is to the south of me, and none of the Middle or High Schools are less than a 40 minute drive. Here is a map:
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| Barrow in the pink, Walton in the red, and I am the orange dot. |
So, not a preferred school district as far as drive time goes, but I can't be very picky about that.
The job fair was at Walnut Grove High School and it took about 50 minutes to get there. I arrived about 30 minutes into the job fair. I was a little dismayed when I arrived to see how many cars were there. It was packed!
When I went in I wrote out a name tag for myself and went downstairs to the location in which the middle and high schools were set up. There were three schools each, all inside the gym. Each school had a (different) number of representatives doing short interviews. All of the schools had very long lines. It was a little overwhelming and very crowded. I overheard one of the people working say that over 1,000 people were there.
I specifically wanted to see two middle schools who had postings for Social Studies teachers. It took about 30 minutes to see the first school, for a disappointingly short interview. I wasn't sure how to take that. But, I moved on to the next and spent about 45 minutes in line again.That interview was a little longer and more encouraging (although I chose a school which did not have a current opening). The last line I got in was the longest, but one that had a posting. I must have stood in line for nearly an hour and a half. I ended up chatting with the people I was in line with (Chorus, Language Arts, and Math teachers). Again, the interview was short, and I know I could have done better.
Once I was done with the third school it was noon, the time at which the job fair was supposed to be over. Lines were still long for all of the schools and I was exhausted. I went home, and after running a few errands, I took a long nap.
In the end, it was good experience for me, and I think I will have a better idea of what to do (better) next time. I am not sure that I would even want to work at a school which required a 50 minute drive every day, (or so I am telling myself).
On the flip side - there were soooooo many people there! Not all of them were Social Studies teachers, but many were. And, only about half were younger job seekers who are probably looking for their first job like I am. The other half were experienced educators. I am not sure if they have been let go from their current jobs or if they are looking for other opportunities, but either way, it is disheartening that so many people are trying to find jobs when there are so few options.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that more jobs start to open up and I will be able to find a job for the fall.
