Teacher Resume Example—Samples and 25+ Writing Tips

O Captain! my Captain...

You’re about to learn how to seize your dream job by making your teacher resume just as extraordinary as you.

This works for a new teacher resume as well as experienced teacher resume.

It all comes down to what you show and how.

This guide will show you:

• Good teaching resume examples that get jobs.
• How to ace your teacher job description on a resume.
• How to write resumes for teachers that get the interview.
• Expert Hints and examples to boost your chances of landing teaching jobs.

Teacher Resume Sample—Experienced Teacher Resume

1. Choose the Best Teacher Resume Format

First off—

You must cope with the recruiter’s low attention span. They’ll only spend about 7 seconds looking at your resume.

So, make sure your teacher’s resume is easily scannable and reader-friendly.

• Go for the reverse-chronological teacher resume format. This way you’ll bring your experience and key achievements to the front.
• Choose simple and readable resume fonts. Aim at anything between 10–14pt. Write simple headings. Embrace white space.
• Stick to a one page resume unless you have a lot of experience.
• Make sure you begin with a teacher resume summary or career objective. Move on to experience, and then to education.
• Add a teacher resume skills section, list all your certifications, mention your additional activitiesand hobbies.

Expert Hint: Save your teacher resume as a PDF file. It will be readable to ATSs (Applicant Tracking Systems) and its formatting will stay intact.

2. Start Your Teacher Resume with a Career Objective or Summary

This section of your teacher resume is as important as the first impression with your students.

It sets the tone for everything that follows.

You need to come across as a personable expert from the start.

The question is—

How to do that in a summary for a teacher resume?

This simple formula will help you nail the resume summary every time:

1. An adjective
2. Job title
3. Years of experience
4. What you can offer and how it will help
5. Your biggest achievement

Here’s what it looks like in practice:

English Teacher Resume—Summary

What if You’ve Got No Experience?

If you can’t put much experience on your resume, go for a teacher resume objective. Those focus on your achievements and explain why you’re a great fit.

Teacher Resumes—Objective Examples

Look at the below examples of resume objectives for various teaching positions:

Career Objective—Substitute Teacher Resume

Career Objective—Teaching Assistant Resume

Expert Hint: Your objective or summary should come first on your teacher resume. BUT you can write it at the very end—when the rest of your educator resume is ready. Just pick the juiciest bits and write a snappy intro.

3. Write the Perfect Teacher Resume Skills and Job Description

Your teaching skills and experience are the single most important reason why you will (or won’t) get hired.

So—

Make sure you give the recruiter everything they need by scattering the relevant skills throughout your entire resume.

Here’s how to do it right:

1. Go through the job posting.
2. Identify the sought-after teacher resume skills and duties.
3. Make sure your teacher resume bullets cover them.

Teacher Job Description—Sample of Resume

Expert Hint: Double check your teacher job description for action words. Use strong verbs, avoid repeating the hackneyed responsible for formula.

One important thing—

Your teacher resume job description must be more than a laundry list of responsibilities.

It should list your achievements. In other words, it must show how good you are at performing your duties.

And remember—

In the 21st century, a number is worth a thousand words.

So, quantify your experience and achievements. Use percentages, hours, or numbers of students taught.

Now, take another look at the highlights in the teacher resume bullets above. Find your skills there.

Prune them, and leave the essence. What you’re left with should look something like this:

Teacher Resume—Skills

• Lesson planning
• Curriculum development
• Classroom management
• Preparation of learning materials
• Learning project supervision
• Rapport building
• Teaching methods
• Teamwork
• Testing and assessment skills
• Mentoring
• Knowledge of industry-specific exams
• Tech-savvy

The list is long and impressive, so it’s easy to go overboard. To avoid this, limit yourself to 5–7 key skills relevant to the position.

Put them in a separate teaching resume skills section.

In an interview, you’ll be able to go through each item on your teacher resume skills and back it up with examples from your experience section.

Pick different skills for an English teacher resume than a music teacher resume.

Preschool Teacher Resume—Skills

• Early childhood learning methods
• Age-appropriate activities
• Safety and sanitation policies
• Creativity
• Interpersonal skills

Elementary School Teacher Resume—Skills

• Adaptability
• Imagination
• Communication
• Mentoring
• Leadership

Art Teacher Resume—Skills

• Knowledge of art history
• Knowledge of different art genres
• Ability to communicate abstract concepts
• Painting and drawing techniques
• Creativity and open-mindedness

4. Turn Boring Education into a Reason to Hire You

As a teacher, you know the value of education.

So, don’t take this section for granted. List your coursework and relevant activities.

Make the education section on your resume work for you.

High School Teacher Resume Example—Education 

Expert Hint: Take full advantage of your educational background. Especially if you’re a new teacher or preparing a first-year teacher resume and your experience is limited.

5. Add Relevant Certifications to Your Teacher Resume

Learning is a lifelong journey.

So is teaching.

Prove you’re keen on self-improvement with teacher certifications on your resume.

Create a separate certifications section, like so:

Teacher Resume Examples—Certifications

Certifications

2014—California Teaching Certification
2012—ICF Certified Business Coach
2010—DELTA
2009—CELTA

Expert Hint: Your teacher resume will be twice as effective if you write a cover letter. More than 50% of recruiters expect you to submit one, but less than half of applicants do. Outsmart the lazy ones.

Key Points

Writing a good teacher resume is pretty easy once you know how to do it right.

• Start with choosing a teacher resume template that’s right for you. An experienced teacher resume needs a larger experience section than a new teacher resume.
• Tailor your resume to a specific job offer. Make sure your teacher resume skills and experience bullets reflect the requirements from the job ad. If there’s no job ad, check out the school’s teacher requirements.
• Don’t waste space. But don’t clutter it either. Make as much as possible of the one page you have. Use white space to your advantage.
• List your certifications. They show your teacher qualifications and your willingness to develop professionally.
• Add some extra info. Your interests do matter. Make sure they fit the position and make you an interesting candidate.

Any questions on how to write a great educator resume? Do you have useful advice on writing different teacher resumes (math teacher resume or middle school teacher resume)? We’d love to hear from you. Leave your comment below.