Online Teaching Blog

First, nothing works without commitment. With commitment comes the mindset that sets you up for success. Success then brings the peace of mind that you wanted to achieve. Commitment can sometimes be scary, but as the saying goes, to eat an elephant; you have to bite one piece at a time. So my first piece of advice is to start small and pace yourself. As you a hit a milestone, make the next milestone bigger. This applies to both saving and spending.

So where do you start? Let’s begin by establishing your goals, i.e, goal setting. The main teaching is that your plan of action  should be setting “SMART” goals. These are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.

The day after the ad ran, I eagerly checked the jobs mailbox. Thrilled to see more than forty applications, I decided to allot time later in the week to begin my review.

Before the end of the week the inbox count was up to more than 220. In the next two weeks, 300+ more applications came in. A nice problem to be sure, but how to sort through the abundance? The obvious answer would be to first eliminate those without qualifications, but most – at least on paper – seemed more than qualified to be online instructors.

After this grueling task, it’s tempting to dash off your cover letter (or email) as an afterthought - but resist. This document is where many hiring managers decide whether to read your resume and invite you to interview.

I’ve hired many adjuncts over the years, both in my current role as Director of Online Programs at Philadelphia University and when I was chair of the Communications department there.

I’ve seen a lot of nutty things submitted by job applicants, things that obviously disqualified them from being hired. While those bizarre behaviors are good cocktail party fodder – remind me to tell you about the candidate who removed her tights in an interview and left them in the conference room wastebasket – this piece is about more subtle actions on social media that can turn off hiring managers.