Rising Above the Back to School Blues: Part Two. Start Small Now - Win Big Later

Educator Career Coach
Aug 5, 2025
4 min read

Hello Fellow Educators

In part I, “Rising Above the Back‑to‑School Blues: 4 Tips to Set Yourself Up for Greater Success while Setting Up Your Students for Success”—we share easy and practical ways to use this school year to prepare for your next chapter.

You can catch up on part I here: https://www.broilsconsulting.com/post/rising-above-the-back-to-school-blues-from-career-setbacks-to-future-success-part-i

Today, we’re doubling down on Tip #4 from Part 1.

Tip 4: Explore Part-Time, Temporary and light Project-Based Opportunities as You Prepare for Your Next Career Move

Seek out short‑term, low commitment part‑time, or project‑based work now to make yourself more marketable when you exit for good.

Many edTech and education publishing companies regularly hire part-time, temporary, and project-based consultants—including instructional designers, professional learning facilitators, assessment alignment specialists, and education policy advisors, etc.

While continuing to work your current position:

These flexible roles provide a practical way to:

· gain experience in new sectors,

· strengthen your resume, and

· build momentum toward your next career chapter

Some of these roles often require just a few hours per week—making them ideal for busy educators.

Read the job description and inquire during the interview process regarding the time commitment:
Ask questions during the interview, like:

✓What is the break out of this role?

✓Describe a typical week in this role for someone in your company that excels at this

role? Can you also describe the attributes of someone that struggles in this role?

Etc.,

What you should do now.

Goal:

Start that short-term gig in October or as soon as you're able, so by 2026, you’re not starting from scratch.

Before school gets into full swing, get your resume and cover letter ready.

Once the students return, we all know what happens—your calendar fills up fast, etc...

This is your window. Don’t wait.

Doing this now allows you to:

• Gain experience outside the school system

• Build a stronger, results‑based resume that includes private-sector experience

• Puts you on the fast track—with short‑term roles, private-sector companies often move faster to hire educators with less private industry experience, and if you’re the right fit, they can lead to long-term full‑time work in the future after the school year ends. (if that’s a goal).

Have you gotten a resume makeover.

Your Winning Resume Makeover

Your resume makes the very first impression; make sure it’s a great one.

The same resume that effectively landed your current rolein the school system can hurt your chances for a new career beyond the schools. Why? Because the format, aesthetics and requirements are HUGELY different. Secondly, technology has taken over a large part of the resume screening process.

You may have a B.A., M.A., M.Ed., CAGS, Ed.S., Ed.D., or even a Ph.D. and be the most qualified person in the world, but that does NOT guarantee an interview.

To get an interview, your resume’s content, quality, and alignment with new industry standards must be impressive.

Applicants with less talent and a remarkable resume can gain the advantage over applicants with higher credentials using the same resume used in the school system. It often occurs.

If you don't have a background in resume writing don’t waste time guessing or continuing to use the same resume that hasn't gotten much traction.

✅ A. Getting it professionally done can cost anywhere from $400 to $1500. If it is within your budget, it can be a great investment!

Before you hire a resume writer:

Research and review their credentials and qualifications, ensuring that they have a strong familiarity with both the K-12 and private sector industries.
Ask to view some of the resume’s that they created.
This is one of the critical steps to ensuring that you’re not receiving a generic resume or computer-generated resume.

✅ B. We’ve also created our plug‑and‑play Career Transition Toolkit —designed and priced specifically for educators.

You can also check out our winning resume makeover tips to get you started.

👍🏾 For those of you who’ve downloaded the career transition tool kit. Kudos! You’re already ahead of the game. See tips below.

These are the same tools that have helped our clients land interviews with leading edTech and education publishing companies, nonprofits, and private‑sector firms—applying for roles like:

• Consultants

• Assessment Designers

• Account Executives

• Customer Success Managers

• Learning & Development Partnership Managers

• State Agency Analysts

• Etc., etc., etc.

What’s inside the Career Change Toolkit?:

6 proven, editable resumes (teachers, leaders, support staff)

2 ATS‑friendly cover letters

Interview follow‑up + thank‑you templatesInsider formatting tips and market‑tested language

We’ve created a one of the best plug‑and‑play Career Transition Toolkit designed specifically for exiting and retiring educators

Learn more here: https://www.broilsconsulting.com/careerchangetoolkit

You’ve spent years helping others succeed.

Now it’s time to invest in your next chapter—with strategy and confidence,

not stress and guesswork.

Let’s make this school year about setting both your students and yourself up for success.

You’ve got this. We’re here to help.

Stay Safe. Stay Inspired. Stay Awesome!

Broils Consulting Group

Helping Educators Write the Next Chapter They’ll Love

PS. ALREADY GRABBED THE CAREER TRANSITION TOOL KIT OR FOUND A PROFESSIONAL RESUME WRITER.

Your next move:

✅Apply for 1 or 2 low-commitment project-based roles in the private sector each week.

Start applying next week.
Research show that applying on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, can yield better results,

MISSED PART I? We've included the link below:

Rising About the Back-to-School Blues: From Career Setbacks to Future Success: 4 Key Tips to Set Yourself Up for Future Success: https://www.broilsconsulting.com/post/rising-above-the-back-to-school-blues-from-career-setbacks-to-future-success-part-i