I'm a Squeaky Wheel

I just got a phone call from a very nice lady in human resources at the college that didn't want interview me. I sent them an email the other day requesting some feedback about my application. I thought it was funny because one of the first things she said was, "I'm LDS too, just so you know". She told me that they had received a number of very qualified applicants, but that I had ended up in the second tier because I have not quite graduated yet (my official date is August 2007; I've been putting that on my resume because I want to be honest) and because I didn't have as much teaching experience, especially local teaching experience. She also told me (I didn't ask) that of the candidates chosen for interview, half were native speakers and half were not, so that doesn't play into things. That made me feel a little better, because I've seen one or two private language schools that specifically want native speakers.

I also thought it was funny because she advised me to tone down my church references a bit. This is hard because all of my job experience is from BYU, both my degrees are from BYU, and my foreign language/overseas experience is from serving a mission. I know this will eventually not be the case, but unfortunately right now my applications and resume have BYU and Provo, UT all over them. I might as well title my resume "I'm a MORMON"! I have my mission on my resume just because otherwise I have a giant hole where there are 2 years with no work or anything. I've thought about eliminating the two jobs from before my mission, since they were almost 10 years ago, but they were good experience and without them I only have 3 other jobs, one of which was my teaching position. Sigh.

So, based on her advice, I'm registering in the applicant pool for part-time or adjunct positions at some of the community colleges around here. I hadn't done that before because they offer no benefits and are usually a semester-by-semester contract. That seemed unreliable to me and I want something I can count on. But, if I am serious about teaching as a career that's probably the best move. It would give me experience and get me some sort of local job, which is also a plus. Now the question is whether I should switch my job search to part-time positions and hope for a teaching gig to supplement it or whether I should keep looking for full-time and only worry about it when a teaching position comes up. It's the beginning of the summer, so I probably won't get anything until the fall if I do. Hmmm, decisions are tough!