katherinegibson

Your Career• 3 Min read

18th April 2017

What makes a great teaching CV?

What not to include on a teacher resume or teacher CV

1. Incorrect spelling and punctuation are a top turn-off. If you have not proofread your CV you are asking not to be called in for an interview.

2. Do not hand in a thesis. Try and keep your CV to 2 and at most 3 pages. Stay concise and provide details that matter to Headteachers and Principals.

3. A generic approach that does not address the skills and experience required for the role you are applying for.

4. Being over-familiar and bragging on your CV.

5. Terrible fonts and borders. Keep it simple.
Image result for bad cv mistakes

What should a teacher CV look like?

  1. Be brief and make sure the information you include is highlighting the important skills and experience and training you have.
  2. Make sure your CV clearly states your qualifications and dates of attainment.
  3. Use a cover letter or a personal statement on your CV to identify why you are the right teacher for the role available and back this up with your experiences and abilities.  Look for the key essential requirements you need to complete the role.
  4. If you are a new graduate include information of your teacher placements. The important information is what year levels you taught, what additional roles you may have taken on including extra-curricular activities and what subjects you taught if you are a secondary teacher.
  5. Include experience abroad as this will highlight your adaptability and self-reliance.
  6. Make sure you highlight relevant professional development and additional roles where you have worked or volunteered in the community and with young people.
  7. You can include small quotes that highlight your achievements and mastery. Try to have quotes that are specific rather than fluffy statements like “ it was a pleasure to have XX in the classroom.”
  8. If there are large gaps in your CV you should address this eg. 2015-2016 Travel throughout Europe and South East Asia, so that the person assessing your CV does not assume you were on the couch binge watching Netflix.

Should a teacher CV include a photo?

There are different schools of thought here but a photo does bring your CV to life and will stand out in a pile of CVs. Some teachers include some images of their student work or them interacting with their students but you want to keep the CV simple, clean and professional. It does not want to look like a project.
Image result for CV photo

Who should provide a reference for your CV?

Include up to date referees that have SEEN you teach. Mentor teachers are perfect if you are a student teacher and Principals and more senior colleagues are suitable if you have experience.  Ask your referee’s before putting their details down and provide contact numbers and email addresses as well as their name, role and the school they work at.

Where to get feedback on your CV

It is always a good idea to get feedback on your CV from more experienced teachers. They may see areas you could highlight more or have forgotten to include, like the netball team you coach or they may suggest you use more concise educational language like ‘pedagogy’ in your CV. They will also likely find a spelling mistake you missed.
We provide a CV template for all teachers that want to work with us and guide our teachers through the process of creating a great overseas teaching CV. We also offer interview preparation and ongoing professional development to all our teachers, through our partnership with Creative Education.
If you want to teach in the UK, get in touch today to view our latest roles or look into our sponsorship options!

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