Hi, everyone. This is Dare2Teach. Tomorrow, I am going to an elementary school for an interview regarding a Kindergarten Paraprofessional position that I applied for at said school. However, I do have a concern regarding the interview. For those of you that don't know this, already, I am a MALE, but I have a female-dominant name, and I think one of the reasons I got selected for an interview was because the Principal assumed I was a female. This is not the first time that something like this has happened. Last year, I applied for a Special Education Paraprofessional position, and when I got selected for an interview for that position, the interview panel seemed shocked that I was a male, as they were probably expecting a female. Needless to say, I didn't get the position, despite a wonderful interview. (Please do not perceive me not getting the position because of being a male as discrimination. There were certain duties that the Special Education Aide had to perform that I would have been uncomfortable with. anyway. Some of the duties were not listed in the job description, and I didn't even know about these additional duties until the interview.) I am concerned about this because I think that no matter how well the interview goes, I will not get the position, simply because I am a male, and you normally don't see males in Kindergarten classrooms. There ARE some males in Kindergarten classrooms, but not many. Do you think that by being a male, I will be at a disadvantage in trying to get the position? Again, I think that I'm getting an interview not just because I seem qualified, but because the Principal assumes I am a female. I want to give it all I've got in the interview in order to convince the Principal to hire me, but I feel as if being a male will be my downfall in not getting the position. Thank you in advance for your advice. - Dare2Teach
Honestly, at my school you would probably have an advantage being male. My principal has made final decisions on close candidates based on one being male in the past. Not saying I agree with this, but some administrators do give males (especially in elementary settings) a bit of an advantage. I do think we need more males, especially in elementary settings, but I do not think gender should be considered during the application and interview processes.
Here, you’d have an almost unfair advantage as a male applicant. You’d have to prove yourself to be a blithering idiot to not get the job.
I was asked to put my salutation in the job application. I also go by a nickname that sounds masculine, which is on my resume. - Dare2Teach
Then I don’t understand your initial concern. If you put “Mr.” on your application, I do not see why they would think you are female. I must be missing something.
While my nickname is on the resume, I DID NOT put my nickname on the application. Also, I think that the person reviewing applications must have ignored the "Mr." part, and immediately assumed I was female based on my name, alone.
Do you have a male sounding middle name? If so, why not put both first and middle name in all of your paperwork. Maybe that would help along with the Mr.
Yes, I do have a male-dominant middle name. I was only asked to provide my middle initial in the job application, though. Even if I put my middle name on my resume, though, I don't even think my resume would be looked at since on most job applications I have applied for in the past, most of the information on the application was directly from my resume. - Dare2Teach
I agree with many other posters that being a male will not hurt you in this situation. Best of luck with your interview! Let us know how it goes.
One of the worst experiences I had as a parent and educator was almost 25 years ago. I was dropping my son off for kindergarten and there was a male sub. Some of the parents took their little girls home because they weren't going to leave them with "that man". I really hope that things have changed over the past quarter century. Go into that interview and prove to them why you are, hands down, the best person for the job.
Hi, everyone. This is Dare2Teach. I want to thank you all for your thoughts. I appreciate your feedback. I had my interview today for the Kindergarten Paraprofessional, today. I met the principal of the elementary school, who was very nice. The principal explained to me about the position, what happened to the original paraprofessional (which I won't explain because it's too personal), and asked me some questions, such as my familiarity with the content in Kindergarten (mainly writing), and about situations that might happen in the classroom, and how I would handle said situations. I even asked her what her thoughts were on having a male aide in the classroom, and she said that she would love that idea. Except for an IT person that comes to the school a few times a week, the school has no male faculty/staff. After the interview, the principal told me that I should receive an email or phone call later today regarding my standing for the position. I even gave her a hand-written thank you note at the end of the interview. I just received an email from her, and unfortunately, I was not given the position. However, I did apply for another paraprofessional position at another school in the same district the other day. (The position was posted the same day I applied.) So, even though I was not given the Kindergarten Paraprofessional position, at least I will be in consideration for an interview for this next position. I don't know the specifics about this paraprofessional position, though. Once again, I want to thank you all your support, even though I came up short. Maybe this next paraprofessional position that I applied for will be the one for me. - Dare2Teach
Unfortunately, I do not have a teaching license. I have also considered substitute teaching, but I'm not sure if I want to go that route. Like I said, I applied for another paraprofessional position, so we will see how that goes. - Dare2Teach
