Why You Should Hire Former Teachers — Careers Done Write

The teacher shortage in the US has been covered extensively and exhaustively by the press both here and abroad. It is easy to understand what is driving this—disrespect of the profession, increasing reliance on standardized testing, and compensation. Compared to other similarly educated, white-collar professionals, American teachers are grossly underpaid. As more educators leave the profession, private sector employers realize they bring highly transferrable skills and knowledge and are excellent employees. 

If you’re a hiring manager looking to fill a role with high-performing top talent, you should consider hiring a former teacher. No, teachers will not have industry experience, won’t know specific software programs, and will not speak in the corporate lexicon. What they do have are finely honed soft skills, which are often challenging to assess during the interview process but are unquestionably crucial to success in any role. Here are ten attributes that classroom teachers have that can make a profound impact on your business:

Communication. Teachers are excellent communicators. They can speak to everyone from children to board members to angry parents in a calm, enthusiastic manner and maintain a cheery attitude, even as they repeat the same thing 700 times a day.

Fast learners. Educators are given new technology every year, trained on it for thirty to forty-five minutes, and expected to implement it with 140 users the following day. And they DO. They will quickly master unfamiliar subjects and competently discuss them after just 40 minutes of preparation.

Break down complex ideas. The profession requires teachers to take complex and abstract concepts and break them down into easily digestible parts. This is a fundamental skill that is sorely lacking in many organizations. 

Scrappy. Public school teachers are accustomed to being overworked and under-resourced, yet they find creative ways to get the job done.

Storytelling. Humans communicate through stories, whether those stories be cave paintings, theatrical productions, or podcasts. Teachers are excellent storytellers who keep people engaged.

Planning. Everything in education relies upon planning, so much so that many planners, both print and digital, are designed specifically for teachers. They are experts at short- and long-term planning and adjusting plans on the fly.

Expertise in pivoting. “Pivot” became an overused word during the pandemic, and no profession more drastically pivoted than educators. Going from teaching in a classroom to teaching exclusively online while keeping students engaged was much more difficult for teachers than for most professions. 

Calm under pressure. Do you regularly deal with any of the following in your workplace: physical altercations, someone sticking a paperclip in their eye, someone vomiting into a trash can, or having to keep a group of 25+ people calm and reassured during a shelter-in-place?

Public speaking. They are unintimidated when presenting in front of a group. They do it all day, every day. And what audience could be more critical than students in a high school history class?

Emotional intelligence/EQ. Companies are beginning to see how valuable it is for their leaders to have strong emotional and intellectual intelligence. Educators know the power of intrinsic motivation. They know that students won’t perform their best if they don’t feel safe in their environment and won’t reach their full potential unless they care about their work. If you need someone to build relationships within your workforce and help your organization feel more cohesive, you need a teacher.