Is Your Teacher Trauma Holding You Back in Your Job Search?
Today, one of my Classroom to Boardroom students received a job offer at her dream company. She called me to celebrate and said, "I'm going to need two weeks to let go of all the stress I've been feeling at school." Thankfully, she will get those two weeks to relax after her last day as a teacher. But the conversation got me thinking, is your teacher stress and trauma holding you back from reaching your next role?
The Root of Teacher Trauma
I taught in Chicago Public Schools for ten years. It was before teachers were trained on student trauma. I knew my students were experiencing trauma frequently; we didn't talk about it or label it. We also didn't talk about vicarious trauma, which is part of why teaching was draining for me. I'm an empath.
Teachers are experiencing an insane amount of stress. I hear daily from teachers who feel like they are carrying the world's weight on their shoulders.
Navigating your job search as a newly former teacher
I recently listened to one of my favorite podcasts, The Brendon Show. The episode discusses how our previous experiences prevent us from succeeding professionally and personally. In addition, he had suggestions (therapy, journaling, talking to a trusted mentor) for helping a person identify and work through the stress and trauma that might be blocking a person from moving forward.
While I'm not a therapist that can help you work through these challenging experiences, I can give you a few reminders as you walk through this career transition.
You deserve a manager who trusts you and gives you productive feedback in a supportive way.
You can learn new skills quickly, even if they are different from writing scope and sequence, delivering a lesson plan, or grading an essay; you are competent in many ways outside of the classroom walls.
You deserve to have a role in which you don't have a peanut gallery (parents, other teachers, or even students) who think they can do your job better than you. You are the expert. You can also be an expert in corporate America (or the startup world).
You deserve to take sick days, plan vacations, and request mental health days.
Investing in yourself isn't selfish. Wanting more money or a shot at a great bonus is ok. Financial freedom is powerful, and you deserve to have it too.
Is your teacher trauma holding you back?
Take a few minutes to think about what stress and trauma you are taking from your experience working in schools and ask yourself if it is blocking you from moving forward in your career transition.
Are you not giving yourself enough credit on your resume?
Is your current role causing you self-doubt in phone screens?
Do you seem anxious or stressed during a long conversation with potential hiring managers?
Is your lack of confidence or belief that you deserve a new career making you feel like a deer in headlights and preventing you from moving forward?
It may be possible that some of the stressors you are currently experiencing in the classroom are blocking you from seeing clearly. If so, do what you can to identify the source and work through it healthily. You deserve a happy, healthy work environment.
