Teach Middle East Magazine May-June 2017 Issue 5 Volume 4 | Page 49

Bella Dear Maryann, Dear Maryann, Hi Maryann, I am finishing my contract and having a hard time finding a job in my home country. I want to go from teaching to working as a graphic designer in London. How can I look the best on my applications? Since working in the UAE I’ve lost weight, got back in shape and feel great. Do you have any advice for sharing what I do with others! Marcia One of the parents of one of my students has a very dominant personality. He wants to sit in the classes, and he always has advice for me in my teaching. He is too critical of me and the other students. I want to file a complaint against him. What should I do? Ms B Dear Marcia, Frustrated, Dear Ms B, Have others asked you for help? If you see a big uptick in people asking for your weight loss advice, start a fast and easy Facebook, group where you can post exercises, cooking tips, and weight loss challenges. It costs you nothing, builds an audience and you can do it without leaving home. If it booms into a group of over 1000, people then you have a strong business and contacts that can make you money. Right now, focus on creating a community. Worried in Khalidiya, First, think of how you applied your graphic design skills to your teaching job. Did you create flyers or design documents for class? What about creative assignments you gave your students? It’s important that you highlight these as much as possible. Most importantly, include this or any of your work in an online portfolio like Behance. Keep in mind that some employers may frown that the last job you worked had nothing to do with graphic design. It is your job to convince them otherwise. You may also want to position your teaching job as an experience that helped enhance your creativity and design skills. Did you take courses? Did the art history of the UAE or Arab culture influence your work in any way? You have everything you need to get the job you want. M Losing it, M Ameer Dear Ameer, Why would you file a complaint? Have you had a one-on-one discussion with him about his needs or concerns? I highly doubt it. This is why he is such a strong presence. He wants to be acknowledged and probably does not know how to articulate his concerns in any other way. You can arrange a meeting with him, and include another colleague as a mediator. Perhaps he has concerns about his child, that you don’t know about – physically, mental, or otherwise. People are critical, mostly, when they fear something or someone. They are subconsciously hoping the criticism will prevent or delay disaster. It looks like someone “who wants to control” but it is far deeper than that. Give the man some space to air his concerns and listen. The most important thing is to make sure another colleague, or school leader is there to keep things balanced. M Maryann Reid, a personal coach and educator from New York can be reached at [email protected] Class Time | | May - Jun 2017 | 47