Step #3 in a Career Pivot – Finding a new direction

On July 11th 2002 I had a near fatal bicycle accident. This got me thinking what can I do different with my life. Like many of us, I had thought about going back and teaching in the public school system.  My son had just graduated from high school and I dreamed of teaching in the local school district.  I pursued that direction.

The first thing I did was get online and looked at the educational and certification requirements.  At the time, I could go back to an accredited university and take about 16 hours of classes, student teach for a semester, pass two certification exams (one for the discipline I was pursuing, Math grades 8-12, and a general exam on professional and legal requirements), and then go find a job.

Another option was to apply to the Regional Service Center in Austin, Region XIII, and enter an Alternative Certification Program.  This program was oriented towards recent college graduates who decided after graduation that they wanted to teach.  It was not oriented to professionals who wanted to give back to the community.  They did not tell that to me but I should have picked up several telltales signs from the application.  They asked for:

• My college GPA.  That was 25 years ago.  GPA?  No one had asked for that in years. I had NO idea.  I had to request transcripts just to find out.
• The names and telephone numbers of all of my previous supervisors.  My first real job was in Chicago in 1976 as a cost accounting programmer.  My boss was in his late 40′s and was a very heavy smoker.  I suspect he was dead. Telephone # for heaven?
• The number of hours of math I had taken in college.  I had no idea but A LOT.  I had a Computer Science degree from the Northwestern school of engineering.
• They wanted copies of my college transcripts.  When they reviewed them they discovered I did not take any English classes at Northwestern.  I was quite clever in college and figured out a way to avoid taking any English.  They required me to take the equivalent of English TAKs test.  This is the exam a student must pass to graduate from a Texas High School.  I have LOTS of funny stories from this experience.

There was no interview but I had to take a online assessment.  Not once in going through this process did I have sense that I would not be accepted.

I volunteered for a layoff in August of 2003.  The severance was generous at about six months of pay and medical benefits.  I had negotiated a deal where in January of 2004 I would come back as a consultant to teach classes.  Night classes for the certification program would begin in January. The Monday after Thanksgiving of 2003 I receive my rejection letter.

What do I do now?  I had made a major mistake.  I thought I would be accepted no matter what. Have you made this kind of mistake before?

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I am in the process of launching a new brand – “Career Pivot”.  The Career Pivot FaceBook Fan page is now available.  If you “like” the page you will receive a free copy of the Baby Boomer Fact sheet with 24 must know facts about the issues Baby Boomers now face. You will see more on this brand in the coming months.

Marc Miller Career Design Specialist