When new members first come to GetFive and begin working with one of our career coaches, our aim is to help them develop a job-search strategy based on proven methodology. The tools members use can propel them toward a fulfilling new job, or even an entirely new career.
Audrey worked as an associate producer for a major television network before making the transition to being an art teacher. Budget cuts forced the school district to cut the arts program and she was out of a job. Suddenly her world was turned upside down, and she was ready for a major change.
When she came to GetFive, Audrey already knew that she wanted to teach art at an international school in another part of the world.
Culturally, she noticed age seemed to be more of a factor in hiring in other countries than it was in America. To get a better sense of what she was up against, Audrey called the U.S. Department of State and obtained a report on hiring practices in countries around the world with respect to age limits. Many people suggested she might be too old to teach overseas.
Nonetheless, she decided to ignore cautionary advice about age restrictions and continued to attend international job fairs.
“I went on the interviews,” Audrey notes, “and at the end of the three days, the first-choice school that I wanted was the international school in Marrakesh, Morocco.” Audrey was offered a one-year assignment that would allow her to develop a new arts curriculum for students in grades K-12, teaching the basics of figure drawing and painting to younger students, and color theory, drawing style, and art history to upper-level students. She had been selected from a pool of more than 40 teachers the school had considered.
Audrey attributes part of her success to coming to GetFive and making the first concrete steps toward realizing that ambition.
“I took what was a fantasy and a dream and made it a reality,” Audrey says.
