General education instructor skills for your resume and career

In the era of COVID, stress management and adaptability are two critical soft skills that educators must have more than ever.

In the era of COVID, skills with technology, particularly in the areas of remote and hybrid learning, are especially crucial.

A gap year is a terrific way to build a resume. By looking at where there might be a lack of experience like competitions, teaching, administration, summer festival interns, assistantships - they can focus their time and build their resumes well. I also think being creative in these current times, showing that you have experience teaching remotely, making a studio, creating a website, writing an article, and doing research that could be helpful later on. You could also spend the time preparing repertoire to teach or take auditions and make your first recording and video YouTube performance.

For the past several years, it has been clear that employers are seeking graduates with 21st Century Learning Skills (critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration). The four Cs of 21st Century Learning frequently come up during reference calls on my end and interviews for our recent graduates.

I would add that graduates need a strong work ethic, an understanding of professionalism and respect in the workplace, and self-awareness and an understanding of personal needs and limitations both at work and in their personal lives. In these current living conditions during a global pandemic (COVID-19), graduates also need resilience, perseverance, adaptability, and flexibility. These are all skills I would want for our Music Education majors to cultivate, as the climate in K-12 Education is ever-changing. However, I believe these are all skills that would be useful in any new career path.

In the past some employers appeared to be attracted to candidates who were familiar with online or distant education. Given the changing face of the academia, especially over the last year, I believe that skills to work remotely will be especially taken into consideration when hiring instructors of English language, education and literature. As I see it, an ability to develop online courses through platforms such as Canvas, Moodle or Blackboard stand out to employers of the educational sector. Along these lines, experience with video communications technologies such as Zoom will be a plus when deciding to hire an online or distance English teacher.

Additionally, specializations in English literature appear to have dropped, yet positions in rhetoric and composition are still in demand. Therefore, those English majors interested in literature might want to diversify their curriculum and receive training in areas such as technical and professional writing. They might also be interested in expanding their knowledge in second language acquisition or pedagogy to teach English to foreign speakers.