Again, I appreciate the feedback and I will ignore the "martyr" slag for the purpose of having a productive conversation. I have been applying for jobs that pay half my salary and have not been successful. Schools only want to hire "fresh" Ph.Ds for entry level jobs-if they can't get away with only using adjuncts. The job market is very small and positions sometimes lose funding even if there is a successful candidate. Is it any wonder that I feel hopeless and unable to leave my current position for zero opportunities in a career that I've invested decades in? And no, it's just not financially possible to just walk away. So I will continue to spend 1-2 hours writing each cover letter and another hour or so re-pasting my resume line by line into the HR system of every position that I apply for. Since you seem to be so knowledgeable what are your suggestions for cover letters regarding having worked at this particular company? I've tried funny, sad, apologetic, salesperson, serious (mostly) approaches. Anything I can think of. Does it make any difference what I say, or if I should even continue to try?
16 replies (most recent on top)
@O5NTwpg-Vogt. Wow, are you a martyr or what? What I read is all your excuses for not taking charge of your career. Sometimes you have to put on your big boy/girl pants and take a job that pays less and prove yourself again. Sorry you feel stuck.
@O5NTwpg-Uncc I appreciate your candor and honesty, though I could really do without the self-righteous condescension in your post. "Was it worth it?" Well, let's see. I haven't yet defaulted on my mortgage, car payments, or been late with any bills. I have continued to provide healthcare for my family, some of whom have serious medical issues. I haven't been on unemployment yet. I have gotten to stay to help those students get something good for their money. As I said, I have been applying for jobs for a year and a half or more, trying to get out. I cannot afford to just quit because of the many financial responsibilities that I have. You must be young and single and not have as many financial responsibilities. How would it make any sense at all just to quit and go on welfare and into bankruptcy? Is that good for society? Do you really hate DeVry that much? Those students need a chance to learn something and they are the only reason I show up. It would be unethical to dump them off onto underpaid adjuncts who don't always return emails. It's not a question of "intestinal fortitude", but financial solvency. I have been trying to get another job but no one will hire me. I can't afford to throw away my family's health coverage and take some random unskilled job. I am not turning a blind eye to poor practices, as you claim. I am fighting an uphill battle for quality from the inside. Some day, they will lay me off. I may or may not personally survive that experience. Until then, there is a two-front war: sending out resumes and cover letters, and keeping good content and experiences in the classroom
@O5NTwpg-Uncc a bit harsh, but unfortunately true. That goes for all colleagues though, not just faculty. I waited too long and now that I'm out, trying to get in at a real school or place of higher ed has been impossible. I regret ever working at this place because it did more harm than good.
I empathize with all remaining teachers at Devry. Sadly, you haven't had the intestinal fortitude to cut your ties with them and take a job--any job--to get out of there. I watched Devry kill Keller's good reputation and said goodbye in 2010 without a safety net. I'm now far better off financially after a lean two years. You may now have to pay the price for not leaving earlier. What you have shown is that you're willing to turn a blind eye to poor practices in order to keep your job. Was it worth it?
@O5NTwpg-Qwuo, no one has blamed the teachers. But there are more than just teachers that work at this organization. The complaints I have heard from students are across the board from faculty, registrar, student services, finance, etc. There are good and bad apples in every department.
The problem with our education is that we didn't evolve with the times. DeVry stood out as a technical institute for a long time because there weren't that many and the quality of the programs we had were good. When they decided to try to mimic a traditional university with an online twist in the beginning, it was ok because there again not many schools had online programs. We attracted non-traditional students who wanted to go back to school. But now we don't offer anything special anymore and it's made us overpriced because there is no uniqueness to the school. Students can go to a traditional university because a lot of them have started offering online classes and programs for a cheaper tuition. If they want nursing classes, a lot of community colleges offer the programs at a fraction of the cost of CCN. When you add that to the sketchy business practices that management has taken us to, it's no wonder that our credibility has deteriorated.
For those of us working here, even in the last few years, the changes have been dramatic. I started using Adtalem on my resume as well and got a few hits while getting none with just DeVry on it. It's just sad that the name has turned to a bad joke because of the lack of leadership or bad leadership that isn't getting better.
Colleagues/staff/faculty having to deal with the issues of going elsewhere when their current or former employer has a bad reputation is wrong. Don't expect them to help with job placement if you are part of a lay off either from what I have heard from former colleagues. The company claims to try to help those who get laid off - they do not.
@O5NTwpg-Qzyq, thank you the reply and trying to give some hope. I and my colleagues go out of our way to make our classes relevant and interesting for the students...so where does the term "lackluster" come from? I personally have nothing to do with their finances--I just try to make sure that they get the knowledge and experiences that they came for. The costs are not anywhere near as insane as a brand-name Tier 1, some of which are charging more than $200k for a bachelor's. If the market doesn't value the brand of the degree, it's not for lack of effort on our (full-time faculty's) part on my campus. Yes, we are all frazzled by the continual layoffs and most are looking for other jobs. Yes, the Hamburgler walked away Scott free to drive another company into the ground, and now we are paying for his choices. Our best hope is that the company sells off our operating unit to another school. But it's not lackluster in the classrooms on our campus. It's the overall reputation damage from all of the settlements, and prejudice from hr people...the same prejudice that we are facing now in our own job searches. Working here seems to have marked us as unemployable pariahs through no fault of our own. Like we are collateral damage in someone else's conflict. We are paying for someone else's mistakes. Every college has some excellent teachers and some lackluster ones. Some students don't like a particular teacher because of style or personality. We're not all bad and we keep on trying for the people who are counting on us. It's not like we have a choice at this point anyway, but what are we supposed to do, just phone it in so that the performance matches what everybody thinks they know about us? Not on my watch. That's not why we are teachers. I am not defending the mistakes that were made or new ones that they come up with. I am defending myself, who started working here decades ago when no one stomped on DeVry Institute because it knew its place and didn't try to compare itself to universities. The place slowly changed around us, and we were too busy running classes to notice our careers becoming unrecoverable damaged because of other departments. Don't blame the faculty...we are trying!
I was not getting any call backs on any jobs with DeVry on my resume. I changed it to Adtalem and all of a sudden I had gotten several hits. My hope that when I explain that yes that was DeVry that my interview will be good enough that they can look past that, realize that I was just working here, and not part of the management machine that has basically ruined the DeVry name. I would suggest using Adtalem on your resume soon though before they have a chance to ruin the Adtalem name too (it's only a matter of time). I left the organization because of their dishonest and repugnant ways, and I have never regretted getting out of there. I can actually sleep again and not have the nagging guilt of being part of an organization that screws students over.
and @O5NTwpg-alcw, teaching a skill isn't wrong, but charging an atrociously high amount of money that students may never be able to pay off for a lackluster education IS wrong.
If I could get hired elsewhere, I would. I have been applying almost nonstop for other jobs for the past two years. No one will hire me because I work at DeVry. I suffer from anxiety and depression due to the fact that I feel that my job will ultimately be downsized to nothing. Though I hope that I am the last one to go, I just don't see how the decline in enrollment and profit will ever change. When that happens, I won't be able to pay my mortgage, car payments, bills, etc., and will not be attractive to any other employers. It's like I personally will be punished for the mistakes of the former leaders. I have only ever tried my best in my job, trying to help other people learn. If I am downsized, I am not sure that I will be able to keep going on. I will just be a failure. I've probably said too much
Company motto: "Welcome to DeVry! Unfortunately, restructuring has resulted in the elimination of positions. Affected colleagues were notified by their managers yesterday."
This Adtalem/Devry sounds like a mess of an organization. Sooo glad I never got chosen for the role I interviewed for in Downers Grove!!
Leave the organization, I did, it's a train wreck that is about to happen. From top to bottom it's the MOST unethcal orgaization I've ever seen for both employee's and students. My FT friend told me that each dept now has 'watch list' for employee's, Who does this? I know it's hard to find a job with DeVry on the resume but keep trying.
Seriously, Knock it off with the "evil" cr-p. If you really feel that what you're doing is wrong, leave. Do it today. Do you not have the moral conviction or backbone to stand behind what you say? Are you not a good person? We really could use the headcount. Quit now. The rest of us will be doing the best we can until we can get other jobs. Please tell me how teaching students a given technical skill or general education class is wrong. How is helping someone wrong. Are you such an elitist that you think people shouldn't even try to do better for themselves? Maybe you are evil then. If that's what you think and you work at a school you should leave immediately. You didn't think it through, did you. All of this negative talk is one of the reasons that the rest of us are having a hard time getting new jobs. You are hurting our future employability every time you slag the school on one of these boards. There are good people in this company, trapped now without any other possibilities of employment in the industry due to all of this bashing that goes on. Sometimes I do think that suicide is my only current career option, but then I remember that I am here to help other people learn and grow. Please leave so that I can keep my job--I certainly haven't been able to find a new one yet. As long as I am here I will be delivering knowledge to those who asked for it. Yes, 8 weeks is too short, yes, the automated class scheduling software wrecked schedules and is stupidly awful at what it's supposed to do. But I am going to try my best anyway. If you can't do that then get out.
@O5NTwpg-8xnl You're right. I apologize. Perhaps I should have chosen my words better. I know there are many conscientious objectors within the ranks. I am among them. Nevertheless, when one considers the amount of damage our company's greed and negligence have done to students, investors, employees, families, and the industry in general, the word "evil" still comes to mind. It may not be the best word, but it isn't exactly wrong. I certainly didn't mean to offend my brothers and sisters in arms who fight alongside me, trying to do the right thing in spite of our so-called "leadership".
@O5NTwpg-2yvn As a current colleague I am not here to shill. I have no reason to. I hate this place and the direction! Practice awareness: when you write "evil organization" you immediately forfeit about twenty-five percent of your credibility and attract the White Knights . There are a lot of people trying to do right here, they are being stepped on by mgmt. Attributing evil is fairly harsh against victims of happenstance.
TL:DR, use your words.
Adtalem Global Education is the new guise of the evil organization formerly known as DeVry Education Group. The name is supposed to mean "to empower".