I have recently applied to multiple schools across the united states to become an Adjunct professor and I find it much more difficult than I had expected. I have created a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and cover letter and sent them to the schools. I have also contacted the schools directly about my desire to teach and many of the schools are not looking for instructors at the moment.
I am curious to hear what others have done to become an adjunct professor. I have a Masters in Organizational Leadership which includes 18 years of leadership experience.
Answers
Have a chat with the Department Chairman at the colleges you want to teach at. Ask him or her what would be a course that would be attractive to students. Create a syllabus for his or her review. The next step will be the Department Chairman will fund your course and send a request to HR to ask for an adjunct prof. to teach the course. This process has a good possibility of you getting the job listed by HR. Stay away from colleges that are for profit and those that have jingle. Contact me direct for more info.
Three ideas. First, contact the ROTC officer at a military friendly university such as Texas A&M or Washington & Lee ; or any university with an ROTC program located in the location where you want to live. The ROTC officer in charge may have suggestions.
Second, maybe your area of expertise is of value to a business school- either undergrad or grad school. Find schools where organizational leadership or its equivalent is taught and contact the professor of that subject for suggestions.
Third, perhaps a community/junior college has a need for your expertise. I mention this because some four year universities/colleges favor those with a doctorate.
Try UCLA extension classes. The are always in need of instructors. This could be a good start for you. Most of your universities and colleges now have extension classes for adults who want to advance their careers or just for personal gain.
You don't mention any teaching experience. Is this clearly described on the CV you created. I'd be happy to look at that for you. Assuming you do have some teaching/training accomplishments on your CV, do they give some indication of your teaching style? It is "possible" that schools are assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that you're experienced in more of a lecture ("here's what you're going to learn - here's what you've learned") model. There is a lot of emphasis today on experiential learning and "gamification." Does this show in your CV/Cover Letter?
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