There are over three million teaching positions in the U.S., and you know well they’re not the same. Some jobs come with good salaries and wholesome school environments, while others feature everyday stress for little reward. You need a teacher resume that will open doors to good teaching opportunities, and I’ll show you how to write it.
Top Insights:
Numbers are critical when presenting work experience in resumes for teaching jobs.
Targeted resume and the right resume keywords can win you interviews at the biggest companies.
Our expert Marta recommends using resume templates with a well-structured design that appeals to teaching professionals.
I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: “Wow! I love your resume.” Patrick
I love the variety of templates. Good job guys, keep up the good work! Dylan
My previous resume was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful! George
Teacher Resume Example #1—for Experienced Teachers
What makes it work:
This sample teacher resume is suitable for an experienced educator.
It highlights the applicant’s key teaching skills and demonstrates their career achievements.
The information in additional sections shows that they have personal qualities that not only make them a great teacher but also a well-rounded person.
Teacher Resume Example #2—for New Teachers
What makes it work:
This new teacher resume shows an applicant with limited work experience.
They introduce themselves with a resume objective to highlight their knowledge and skills and use resume keywords connected to their profession generously throughout the document.
This teaching resume also features information about relevant credentials to show that the candidate matches the state requirements.
Teacher Resume Example #3—for Career Changers
What makes it work:
While this applicant doesn’t have extensive teaching experience, their teacher resume is filled with relevant information regarding their qualifications.
They also list a past job that involved duties similar to teaching, and mention personal projects that show their keen interest in history.
Take Care of Your Teacher Resume Contents First
Imagine a job advertisement is an exam question, and your teaching resume must answer it. Can an incomplete or irrelevant answer be accepted? Unfortunately, no. You need to provide all the required information, just like your students on tests. Despite nationwide teacher shortages, a generic resume won’t land you a good teaching position.
1. Analyze the Job Advertisement
Let’s see how to write a teacher resume that gives recruiters what they want, step by step. Here’s an ad for a high-school teaching position in California:
Job Advertisement
Join our team as a dedicated mathematics teacher! We’re looking for an experienced educator who can guide students in academic subjects and personal growth. We expect you to plan, implement, and assess educational programs as well as create a supportive environment to facilitate learning.
Responsibilities:
Plan and organize engaging instructional programs to help students reach their academic potential.
Stay updated on new teaching methods and tools to adapt to changing environments.
Utilize technology for effective learning experiences and provide feedback on student performance.
Maintain accurate records of student progress and behavior.
Manage classroom discipline and support extracurricular activities.
It looks very straightforward. Now, let’s meet the candidate who got the job. Below, you can see Evelyn’s professional profile:
Candidate Profile
Evelyn Rivera is an experienced high school Mathematics Teacher with over six years of teaching expertise. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics Education and a California Single Subject Teaching Credential. Currently, she teaches at Citrus Heights High School, focusing on grades 11 and 12 with customized curricula. Her innovative methods have boosted SAT math scores by 8% and improved student retention by 11%.
Previously, at Blue Oaks High School, Evelyn maintained a 98% attendance rate for online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also volunteers, offering tutoring for at-risk students and supporting youth fundraising events. Evelyn's skills include curriculum planning, SAT prep, and technology integration.
The first draft of Evelyn’s teacher resume was not great. It included the following introduction:
And the work experience descriptions weren’t much better:
It sounded very unimpressive. Evelyn’s chances of landing an interview were slim because she didn’t give the hiring manager what they wanted. However, with the help of our resume builder, Evelyn created a teacher resume that perfectly answered the school’s needs. The steps below show how you can do it, too:
2. Mention Your Teaching Achievements in the Resume Profile
The point of adding a professional profile to a teaching resume is to advertise your worth. You not only answer the question: Who are you? But also: What can you do for us? So, don’t say what you do—say how well you do it.
See what Evelyn wrote with the help of our builder:
What makes this resume profile impressive? Several factors:
It says what Evelyn can do for the school and how she can achieve this goal.
It shows how great she was at her previous job.
When you’re writing a resume summary or a resume objective for your job application, try the same approach. Use keywords, say what you can do for the school, and mention a teaching achievement. That will make the hiring committee read your teacher resume in full.
3. Turn Teaching Skills Into Core Competencies
Teachers’ job responsibilities are aplenty. Mentioning those in each description of your previous position would make your teaching resume 20 pages long. Instead, create a core competencies section right after your profile. Here, highlight the responsibilities listed in the job requirements, plus the ones that are your area of expertise. This way, your teacher resume will be compatible with ATS systems.
It’s concise and doesn’t take much space on a resume.
Of course, these aren’t all skills you’ve got. You can list additional qualities in other sections of your resume. I recommend including hard teaching skills in descriptions of your job duties and leaving soft skills for a separate section.
4. Make Your Class Activities Fit the Job Requirements
If you’re a seasoned educator like Evelyn, then your work experience section should be the longest part of your teaching resume. Don’t fill it with generic descriptions of your work duties—school principals aren’t interested in that. Instead, they want to hear how effective you are. They want to hire a teacher they can trust, so show you’re trustworthy.
Take a look at a sneak peek of Evelyn’s work experience section:
What makes it so great?
Each description starts with a resume action word that catches the reader’s attention.
It features resume keywords that match phrases from the job advertisement.
Descriptions focus on actions that Evelyn took to solve various problems and provide descriptions of results.
What’s the takeaway for you? Forget about generic. Be as specific as possible.
5. Don’t Forget the Essentials
Not all sections of a teacher resume are designed to showcase your strengths. Some are simply a necessity. For example, the resume header area is the place that holds your contact information. There’s no point in making this part of your teaching resume unique—stick to the basics and save your creativity for other sections.
If you’re a teacher with several years of experience, then your education section will be pretty basic, too. It’s needed to show that you’ve got proper teaching credentials, but that’s all.
What makes it so great?
It includes all the necessities to show that this person is qualified for a teaching position.
By keeping the education section short, the candidate can use the space on their resume for additional sections.
Some career experts advise listing relevant coursework or extracurricular activities in the education section, but I don’t think it’s a great idea for seasoned educators. It’s a different story if you’re writing a new teacher resume—then additional information such as the number of teaching hours you’ve completed can be relevant.
6. Use Additional Sections to Show You’re Great
Now that the core sections of your teacher resume are complete, it’s time for additional sections. They can help to fill the empty space on the document while giving you a chance to mention relevant information.
Here’s what Evelyn included based on her professional background:
What makes it so great?
The additional skills feature some common qualities expected from teachers.
Spanish language skills can be helpful when communicating with students whose first language isn’t English.
These volunteer activities are closely related to education, and prove that this teacher cares not only about academic results but also children’s lives.
Apart from those sections, you can also feature professional associations and memberships, conference attendance, publications and research, and personal interests. They can help you to stand out from the crowd. Just imagine: there are two great candidates for the position, but one doesn’t do anything outside of work, while the other publishes original research on teaching methodologies. I think the choice is clear.
If you want to dig deeper into writing the contents of a resume, you can find these articles useful:
Otherwise, continue reading to learn more about the visual part of a great resume.
The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your resume in our resume builder now.
Nail it all with a splash of color, choose a clean font, and highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You're the perfect candidate, and we'll prove it. Use our resume builder now.
Format Your Teacher Resume Template
Quick question: would you accept a school assignment that looks like a dog chewed it? Probably not. Some aesthetic standards have to be met. It’s the same thing with a teacher resume. It doesn’t have to be as stunning as a piece of Renaissance art, but it can’t be a complete mess either.
Ensure your resume has a clean, well-structured layout that is easy to navigate. Use clear headings and subheadings to organize sections such as Education, Teaching Experience, Skills, and Certifications. This helps the hiring manager quickly find the information they need.
You’ve got two ways to handle a teacher resume template: the quick one and the long one. The quick one is to use a free resume template or an online resume builder that will handle the visuals for you. But not everyone likes that, and that’s fine. If you prefer to set up the template for yourself, just follow the steps below:
Decide on the layout of your teacher resume: Do you prefer a classic resume design or one with a sidebar? Which element will be the eye-catching one? Black-and-white or colorful? Sans-serif or a serif resume font? Play around with various options before making your decision.
Match the length of your resume with the contents: If you’re a seasoned educator, it can be difficult to squeeze information about your teaching experience on one page. No harm in making a two-page resume, but don’t go over that limit.
Make it stand out from other teacher resume templates: It’s the most difficult part of resume formatting. Try to make your teaching resume unique. Some go-for solutions I recommend are putting resume icons at the beginning of each section, or adding a simple logo with your initials to the resume header area.
Check ATS compatibility: not all resume templates are ATS-friendly. Try exporting your teacher resume to a PDF file, and then copy the contents and paste them to Notepad. If the results are readable, then your resume should be compatible with automated screeners.
If you want to learn more about resume templates, check the guides below:
Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
Now that you’re braced with knowledge on creating a successful teacher resume, there’s a bright future ahead of you. Why not check out our resume builder so you can make it quickly and start preparing for a job interview? Good luck!
About ResumeLab’s Editorial Process
At ResumeLab, quality is at the crux of our values, supporting our commitment to delivering top-notch career resources. The editorial team of career experts carefully reviews every article in accordance with editorial guidelines, ensuring the high quality and reliability of our content. We actively conduct original research, shedding light on the job market's intricacies and earning recognition from numerous influential news outlets. Our dedication to delivering expert career advice attracts millions of readers to our blog each year.
Roma is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer and career expert with international work experience and a background in education and humanities. She has spent considerable time assisting individuals in advancing their careers by helping them improve their communication skills in diverse cultural and professional settings. She has written over 50 articles on effective approaches to resume writing and career advice.