{"id":1779,"date":"2024-06-06T07:50:25","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T11:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/?p=1779"},"modified":"2024-05-31T10:52:29","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T14:52:29","slug":"mark-grant-a-proactive-approach-to-landing-his-first-college-teaching-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/imgmark-grant-a-proactive-approach-to-landing-his-first-college-teaching-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Get An Adjunct Job with A Proactive Approach: Success Story from Mark Grant"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Transitioning from a successful career in project management to teaching college can be both exciting and challenging. After earning his doctorate, Mark Grant took a proactive approach to starting his academic career. He shares his success story and how he incorporates his career-worth of field experiences into the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>Watch the full podcast with Mark Grant.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ep. 21 | DigitalEDU Dialogues | Mark Grant, Advice for Adjuncts\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WIVxPjpcqV8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Cold Calls to Decision-Makers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mark\u2019s proactive mindset began with direct outreach. He didn\u2019t wait for job postings; instead, he reached out to deans at local colleges. Drawing from his experience in sales and cold calls, Mark knew the importance of making a personal connection. He shares, \u201cI\u2019ve never had a problem doing cold calls. \u201cI\u2019ve had many different roles. One of them was as a business development person. So I\u2019m used to calling up existing customers and saying, \u2018We\u2019ve got something new for you. Can I talk to you about it?\u2019\u201d Mark applied this same approach to his job search.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Crafting an Organizational Behavior Class<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mark\u2019s next move was strategic. Leveraging his PhD in organizational behavior, he decided to create an organizational behavior class. Not just any class\u2014a full-fledged 300-level course complete with assignments, case studies, and carefully chosen textbooks. Armed with this well-prepared course, Mark confidently introduced himself as \u201cDr. Grant\u201d when contacting colleges. He recalls, \u201cI\u2019d call everybody up and say, \u2018This is Dr. Grant. I\u2019m looking for a job as an adjunct. Could I come in and speak with you for 20 minutes about the course I developed?\u2019\u201d To his surprise, nobody hung up on him. Instead, they welcomed him for interviews.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Real-World Application in the Classroom<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mark\u2019s teaching philosophy centers on real-world application. He emphasizes critical thinking by connecting learning objectives to practical scenarios. In his classes, students don\u2019t just memorize facts; they learn how to apply knowledge in real-world settings. Mark sets clear expectations, providing students with a roadmap for success. His course expectations page outlines what he does and doesn\u2019t expect, along with the rationale behind each expectation. By imparting his day-to-day expertise, Mark ensures that his students gain valuable skills beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Grant\u2019s proactive approach serves as an inspiration for aspiring college professors. Whether you\u2019re an adjunct or transitioning from another field, take a page from Mark\u2019s playbook: reach out directly, create something valuable, and apply real-world experiences in your teaching. By doing so, you\u2019ll not only land your first job but also make a lasting impact on your students\u2019 education.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, as Mark says, \u201cNobody hung up on me.\u201d So go ahead\u2014make that call and create your own path in academia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Transitioning from a successful career in project management to teaching college can be both exciting and challenging. After earning his doctorate, Mark Grant took a proactive approach to starting his academic career. He shares his success story and how he incorporates his career-worth of field experiences into the classroom. Watch the full podcast with Mark&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/imgmark-grant-a-proactive-approach-to-landing-his-first-college-teaching-job\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Get An Adjunct Job with A Proactive Approach: Success Story from Mark Grant<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,26,12,1],"class_list":["post-1779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-how-i-teach","category-online-teaching","category-professor-services","post_format-post-format-aside","entry"],"acf":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}