20th September 2020

How To Write A Great Cover Letter For Teaching Roles

Your cover letter is often the first time a potential employer will hear about you, so it’s vital to use it to show your skills, experience and suitability for each role you are applying for. Unlike a CV, cover letters are individual to job applications – writing a separate cover letter detailing your experience for each position you apply for will ensure you have the best chance of landing that dream teaching role! If you need help with the basic layout of a CV, check out Prospects advice here.

INTRODUCE YOURSELF

Your cover letter should be in a standard letter format, with your contact details in the top right. Like your CV, you should use a clear and easy-to-read font. It’s fine to address your letter ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ in this circumstance unless you happen to know the name of the person you are writing to. There’s no need for any fancy formatting! Often an education recruitment agency will reformat your documents to their own format anyway when submitting your application to an employer. As you are writing directly to an individual about yourself, your cover letter should be in the first person. This gives you the opportunity to sell your skills and experience as a great match for the job role. Introduce yourself and give the basic information about which role you are looking to apply for and where you saw the job advert

DRAW COMPARISONs TO YOUR CURRENT EXPERIENCE

Review the job description and match your skills and experience to the role you are applying for. The main body of your cover letter should include two or three examples of how your previous experience, achievements or professional accomplishments support your application for this role in particular. Pick out skills from the job description that you can match to specific examples from your own experiences to help the employer picture you in the role.

Here are a couple of examples from some recent applications to us:

“Managing the Languages Department for the last three years has helped me develop organisational skills and provided me with the confidence to work independently and take initiative.”

“I have a passion for ICT and computer science. I am extremely enthusiastic about a school such as yours focusing on technology integration in the classroom and real-world and would welcome the opportunity to contribute to the success of your ongoing improvements”

In both of these examples, the applicant has taken the time to compare their real-life experience with the role that they are applying for, helping the employer to visualise them in the role!

SHOW YOUR ENTHUSIASM

Use the final paragraph to reiterate your interest in the position – you can also state your interest in meeting the employer in person! If you know the name of the person you are writing to, sign off with ‘Yours sincerely’, if you don’t, use ‘Yours Faithfully’

Bear in mind that employers are likely to receive more than a few applications, keep your examples short and to-the-point.

Register your details with us and one of our consultants will be in touch – we can advise you on all aspects of moving to the UK for a teaching career, from drafting a cover letter to arranging accommodation when you get here!