Newsday helps LIers find jobs-seach advice

How do I get a foot in the door for a teaching job?

Is it OK to send resumes to companies that have no job openings posted? If so, to whom should they be addressed?

These are a sample of the queries Newsday has received from readers who've responded to our invitation to submit job-search questions, many of which will be answered by employers, recruiters and job-search experts.

Starting Monday, for the five days of Jobs Week, we'll run some of the questions and answers in the paper and online.

Here's one dilemma from Leslie Seilback, 29, of Commack, who took a year off to stay home with her baby and recently received a master's degree in education.

Some school districts aren't even taking resumes for substitute teachers, said Seilback, who also has degrees in psychology and organizational psychology, so her question is: "How can I get a job teaching if I can't even get a foot in the door subbing?"

Advice for her from Tarek Pertew, marketing director, MyWorkster.com, an online social recruitment site based in Plainview: "Dropping off resumes is a dying business, and it should be. You need to get in the face of people, shake them up a bit and say, 'Look what I have to offer!' . . . Start networking online. Join education groups on LinkedIn. Become part of the conversation. . . . You have a specialized background in psychology, and coupling that with a degree in education makes you one heck of a candidate to not only teach your subjects, but manage them as well. Make sure decision makers know this about you."

Advice from Kerry Wilkie, Hampton Bays, a former teacher and co-founder of UntappedAbility Job Matching Service for former stay-at-home moms: "Sometimes the schools in the top Long Island school districts have an overabundance of substitute teachers because those are the desirable schools. . . . Submit your resume to a school where there is more of a need for educational support. . . . If you have a Facebook page, make sure it represents the type of educator the school district is looking for - they do check them! Visit olasjobs.org/longis land, which is an online application for educators."

Advice from Thomas J. Ward Jr., director of the career development center, Adelphi University: "Target your search by expanding your network in your local school district. If you have not already, join the PTA, volunteer at school events and get to know teachers and administrators.

Generally speaking, employers are not willing to take chances. They are only dealing with candidates who have been referred to them or with whom they are familiar. . . . Explore educational opportunities in private schools and nonprofit organizations. A helpful resource: longislandschools.com.

To submit your own job-search questions, check out newsday.com/jobquestions.