Writing an application letter for a teaching job is vital; it’s the first document a hiring administrator reviews. It will prompt them to either read your resume to find out more about you or discard your application in the trash pile.

These letter-writing strategies will help you immensely. If you think you don’t need a cover letter for a new teaching job, think again. You do!

This document is your opportunity to make an excellent first impression, so you need to do it right!

Six Writing Mistakes to Avoid to Secure a Teaching Job Interview

Mistake #1:

Writing and Submitting a Generic Document

Your teacher cover letter must be tailored to the position and school district to submit your application. The only time it is acceptable to present a generic letter is when you have come across a job posting at the very last minute and are rushed to send off your job application documents. Very last minute, meaning just that – you only have one minute to submit. Otherwise, please don’t send it as a generic letter.

Being proactive in your education job search will solve this problem. It is a good idea to keep an excellent generic cover letter on hand, just in case – it is better to apply for the job than not at all.  In most cases, you will have plenty of time to create a targeted job application letter.

Have a generic application letter written to showcase your passion and what you have to offer a school district, ready to go. Having a solid letter available will make it easier to fine-tune it to meet the school districts’ needs.

A tailored teacher cover letter should be focused on the desired instructional position. It will directly relate to the job posting, incorporate relevant keywords, and target the school district’s needs.

Make sure you research the school district before you begin writing your letter. If it is a school or district serving an inner-city population, you will want to use examples and descriptors relevant to teaching those students. The same can be said for an ESL population, students with special needs, or a higher-functioning group.

For instance, say you are a middle school social studies teacher. Your application letter will change depending on whether the school is public or private, urban or suburban, a long-term substitute or a full-time position, and whether the classroom is grade 6 or grade 8. Do you get the picture?

Even though your skills, experiences, and knowledge remain the same, the aspects that you will highlight in your application letter will change. Adapt your cover letter accordingly to ensure your application documents are given the time and attention they deserve.

Mistake #2:

Not Incorporating Enough Action Words

Do not start each sentence with “I;” use action words and unique descriptors to grab the reader’s attention. Also, highlight your accomplishments by explaining how your actions benefited the classroom and enhanced the learning experience. For example:

Instead: I designed fun lesson plans to interest students.

Use: Designing creative and exciting lesson plans to spark student interest is just one of my strengths.

Instead:  I used books and technology to differentiate instruction.

Use: In the classroom, I enjoy integrating age-appropriate literature and innovative technology to differentiate instruction and support all learners’ needs.

Instead of: I maintained a well-behaved class at all times.

Use: Cultivating a solid rapport with students and implementing positive reinforcement to maintain a focused, well-behaved class at all times is one of my successes.

Instead of: I boosted student reading levels by one level.

Use: By incorporating read-aloud, hands-on activities, and literature-based thematic units, I raised student reading levels by one level while instilling a passion for reading.

Do you see how the “improved” sentences grab your attention and demonstrate how the writer is an experienced and accomplished teacher? These examples show how you should highlight your teaching accomplishments, teaching style, and value as an educator in your application letter.

Include action words in education resumes and cover letters to generate the reader’s interest.

Mistake #3:

Forgetting to Include Your Teaching Accomplishments

No matter how long you have been teaching, you are bound to have several academic achievements to include in your academic resume and cover letter. Including results to achieve at former positions or college assignments in a cover letter for a new teacher is easily doable, don’t think it isn’t.

The last example listed above could be incorporated into your cover letter to show a vital career accomplishment. Other themes you may want to focus on, or questions you should ask yourself, include:

• Have I increased student participation levels?
• Have I decreased student absenteeism?
• How were students performing by the end of the school year instead of the school year’s start?
• How does my 4th-grade class stack up against the others in the school? What about in the district or state?
• Have I won any awards worth mentioning?
• Have I pioneered any new teaching techniques or instructional programs that have proven to be successful?

When developing your cover letter’s teaching accomplishments, use as many facts and figures as possible to demonstrate your aptitude and skill sets concretely. Highlight accomplishments that are different than those in your resume. When writing your cover letter, you do not want to rehash and copy your resume. Either reword your accomplishments or use different achievements to avoid redundancy.

Also, make sure the achievements you include in your cover letter are relevant and essential to the position. You can adjust the accomplishments you highlight based on the teaching position you are interested in.

We have an excellent post on finding education accomplishments to write a credible resume.

Mistake #4:

Writing and Sending a Boring Application Letter for a Teaching Job

Your academic cover letter for a new position is your chance to showcase your personality to potential employers. The worst thing you can communicate in your teaching application letter is that you are boring. Make the words come alive.

If you come across as humdrum or lackluster, you can bet whoever is reading your letter will think the same, and your application will go in the “No” pile.  Remember, this letter will be the school’s first impression of you. You want to ensure it is a positive one!

It is also worth noting that your resume should be purely professional, with a very rigid format and structure. On the other hand, your cover letter is an opportunity to introduce yourself, your personality, your teaching style, and your passion for teaching.

To avoid or fix the second cover letter writing mistake listed above, use action words and engaging descriptors when writing about yourself. You want to communicate passion and enthusiasm to show the reader that you are excited to apply for the teaching position with their school or district and that you are committed to giving it your absolute all!

It would be best if you showed that you are a successful and talented educator in an engaging way that makes the reader want to learn more about you by continuing to your resume.

Review more teacher cover letter writing tips with examples to gather further in-depth information and ideas.

Mistake #5:

Addressing Your Letter to the Wrong Person

A sign of a good teacher is attention to detail. If you address your instructional cover letter to the wrong person, you have already earned yourself strike one. Usually, at the bottom of the job advertisement, you will find contact details for the person in charge of hiring.

Include the person’s name, job title, the school or district, and full address at the top of all the letters you send out. If you cannot find a contact person’s name, call the district’s head office to see.

Not only is this a professional and polite thing to do, but it will also ensure that your application ends up in the right person’s hands.

Mistake #6:

Not Proofreading

Submitting a cover letter for a new position that contains spelling or grammatical errors will make the interviewer think you didn’t care enough to proofread your letter before sending it. Even if you think you are good at writing and have few or no mistakes, always have your letter proofread.

Someone else may see errors that you overlooked. Don’t use large or unusual words in your teaching application letter. Keep it plain, simple, and to the point. The more comfortable they are reading your letter, the better your chances against the competition.

So, when writing your next cover letter, remember always to target your letter to the job posting, incorporate action verbs and your teaching accomplishments, including your personality and passion for teaching, adequately address your letter to the hiring authority, and always proofread.

By avoiding these six mistakes, you will be on your way to securing more job interviews and more job offers.

You can see more teacher cover letter examples on our website to give you an idea of the quality of the documents we create.

Or save yourself the hassle and choose us to do the writing for you.

Analyze the vast career services we offer.

Contact Candace Alstad-Davies directly by email or at 780 513-0010, or, if in North America, call toll-free at 1-877-738-8052.

Here are some great strategies showing you how to write an academic resume to increase your chances of landing interviews and securing a higher education teaching job.

Don’t underestimate the impact a well-written, focused resume (CV) can have on the hiring manager’s decision. The term CV or curriculum vitae is frequently used in higher education when applying in the UK and for international education careers.

Choosing the right resume format to submit to an academic job posting will help immensely if you wish to make a career transition into higher education confidently and with less stress. As a professional education resume writer for over 16 years, I know it’s imperative these documents are distinctive, memorable, and written correctly.

Academic Resume / Curriculum Vitae Strategies

Get the advantage of implementing these steps and strategies to write an extraordinary academic curriculum vitae to grab the reader’s attention. Take time, be concise, include all relevant information, and proofread at least five times!

Communicate your personality in your resume where applicable. But remember, it’s easier to communicate your passion and authenticity in your application letter to stand out from the competition.

Use Relevant Transferable Skills to Target Academic Positions

When writing your CV, dig deep and consider anything relevant you have done. If you are a career changer, this step is a top priority. The related experience you should consider includes paid work, volunteer experience, additional education, and professional development about your desired position.

Transferable education skills refer to a set of qualities you have developed in one job that directly correlates with or will help you perform the targeted position’s responsibilities. If you are transitioning careers, assessing your transferable skills is crucial! Evaluate your communication, interpersonal, time management, and leadership skills, as well as anything else you think, may give you an advantage.

Mention Foreign Languages and Worldly Experience

It is critical to be able to get along with all types of people. If you have international travel experience, you have been exposed to different cultures, religions, customs, and beliefs; thus, making you more tolerant and compassionate toward others. In your introductory paragraph, you might mention that you are well-traveled.

If you speak another language, include this in both your resume and cover letter, as this will also help you stand out from your competition.

Incorporate Facts, Dollars, or Percentages in Your Accomplishments

Whenever talking about your teaching experience and accomplishments, remember to use numbers if applicable. Whether it is in your resume or cover letter, it is best to have either an exact or approximate number to emphasize how big of an achievement it was. For instance, if you have secured a grant, how much did you receive? If you decreased absenteeism, by what percentage? If you improved students’ test scores, by how much?

Highlight Remarkable Facts Within Academic Achievements

Suppose you have been able to state an exact dollar amount or percentage; as mentioned above, bold that portion of your bullet point in both your academic CV and application letter. For example, your achievement should look something like this: “Increase students’ overall test scores by 15% by providing them with extra, one-on-one tutoring”.

Another excellent writing tip highlights relevant vital facts that automatically draw the reader’s eye to those bullet points on your resume. This technique keeps them interested in you, ensuring they will read on.

Analyze Job Advertisements for Related Education Keywords.

Scan job ads or descriptions online and in the newspaper to discover buzzwords and keywords that school districts use. If it is stated in the job posting that they are looking for someone with particular qualities and credentials that you possess, make sure you include them in your resume and cover letter.

If you do not possess a skill listed in the posting, make no mention of it. Evaluating job ads will also give you a good idea of whether you may like or be suited for the position.

Make Sure You Use Industry Keywords Correctly

When crafting your resume, you want to seem knowledgeable about the job you are applying for. The best way to achieve this is to learn and incorporate job-specific keywords to get past the applicant tracking system software.

By sounding vague or uncertain in your wording, you will give the hiring manager the wrong impression and convey a sense of uncertainty, lack of knowledge, and self-confidence. Each sentence does not need to contain a buzzword; however, use them where appropriate and ensure that they are used correctly and in context.

Examples of buzzwords or keywords that you might incorporate into an academic resume include classroom management, curriculum development, whole group learning, student evaluations, progress monitoring, case studies, performance assessments, lecturing, project-based learning, and lesson planning.

Gain a better idea of what an academic resume looks like by reviewing these sample resumes.

Understand Your Target Audience

Assessing advertisements for academic jobs is an excellent first step to understanding your audience, discovering what they are looking for, and how to write an excellent document that will capture their attention. However, do not rely exclusively on a job ad. Search the Internet for the school’s website and discover its unique attributes and demographics. This information will also help understand your audience and their specific values, goals, and needs.

Research the Institute or Learning Center

Locate vital information from the educational facility via their website. Their philosophy or mission statement will inform you of their goals and focus. Use this newfound information to adapt your cover letter accordingly. Understanding what they need, want, and hope to accomplish will help you decide whether or not you wish to work for this institution and help you surpass your competition.

Use the information you gain from their website to let the reader know how you can help their academic program and students.

Make them want you!

Communicating value is the key message you must remember when crafting your job application documents, particularly your cover letter; use this letter to appeal to their needs and desires. If you have an outstanding education, qualifications, and experience, ensure they know it. However, always ensure you are not bragging, exaggerating, or coming across as arrogant. Let the reader know that you want to help the school district thrive.

A Curriculum Vitae Must Sell Your Value Immediately

Schools have many resumes to sift through. They can’t devote their time to reading every single one of them to the fullest extent. It’s paramount that you can sell yourself right away. Employers take approximately 15 seconds to scan a resume. Make yourself a desirable candidate in 15 seconds or less to a potential employer. When you feel like you are ready to submit your documents, take 15 seconds to scan them and ask, “Would I hire myself?” If the answer is “no,” you need to make yourself stand out more.

Use Action Verbs to Ignite Interest

Action verbs are words that indicate what a person has done, i.e., developed, awarded, raised, fast-tracked, accelerated, orchestrated, and collaborated. These words will increase your chances of being noticed by a hiring manager.

Use action verbs frequently throughout your academic resume or CV curriculum vitae. In fact, they are an excellent way to start each sentence or bulleted statement when referring to your job responsibilities and achievements. Don’t use the same action verb all the time. If you are stuck trying to find a new, similar word, use that handy tool called a thesaurus.

Integrate Quotes and Testimonials

Quotes and testimonials allow the reader to see how you have applied your skills in the working world. The reader will look at these as credible evidence of your work. If you choose to incorporate a quote into your cover letter, it should go to the document’s end.

If using a quote in your academic resume, you may insert it just after your introductory paragraph or at the end of the document as long as it looks like it fits. Italicize the quote and include the speaker’s name and position. Make sure that the individual did say what you are putting on your resume. When you are using someone else’s words, accuracy is paramount!

The Number One Tip When Writing a Resume Is to Be:

Honest and Ethical

If you lie on your CV, you will get caught. Always be honest and ethical in your job application documents. Do not list false positions or education. Do not exaggerate about your accomplishments, and do not take credit for what others have achieved and you have not. If the employer thinks you may be fibbing, chances are they will quiz you about these things in your interview. It is also highly likely that the organization will conduct reference checks and discover your lies or exaggerations that way.

I hope these academic resume writing tips help to create your own masterpiece.

Review additional recommendations for college adjunct professor CVs and continue to spruce up your document.

You cannot go wrong with following up on your academic application; however, make sure that you do not inquire too soon. It’s okay to be eager, but don’t come across as impatient.

Find out when the closing date is, give it a week before you call, and ask about your application’s status. When you follow up, make sure to convey enthusiasm and interest in the career opportunity.

Following up also demonstrates your commitment and desire to work for that particular school or academic facility. The trick is not to inquire too often or too soon.

I wish you the best with your academic job hunt!

For 16 years, I have enjoyed my role as a professional resume writer. My clients’ success stories are extensive and incredibly rewarding.

If you like, you can read this about me page. From that page, you can review testimonials and frequently asked questions.

Send an email if you like, or give me a call toll-free at 1 877 738-8052. I would enjoy chatting with you.

Writing a reading specialist resume that is accomplishment-based and skills-focused is the number one way to land a literacy-based teaching position. It is similar to writing a general teacher resume but needs to be specific to your reading and literacy expertise.

Working with and helping struggling learners is one of the most rewarding experiences an educator can have. Other similar titles for a reading specialist could include reading coach, literacy coach, reading intervention teacher, literacy leader, reading coordinator, or reading literacy teacher.

As a reading specialist, you know how much focus goes into guiding a whole class and the individual student. The most effective way to WOW the reader of your resume is to create a reading specialist resume and a cover letter full of specific accomplishments and concretely demonstrate your true worth.

The most visually-appealing strategy for implementing achievements in your teacher resume for a reading specialist job is listing them in bullet point format under the corresponding position.

7 Ways to Write a Winning Reading Specialist Resume

Use Quantifiable Examples to Provide Evidence

The most effective way to convey your achievements as a reading specialist educator is to incorporate facts and figures. For instance, you should mention how much student test scores have improved, how many reading levels the class has advanced, or how many students you have helped bring up to a passing grade.

Use numbers and grade/reading levels as much as possible to paint an accurate picture for the hiring administrator.  Some examples include:

• Increased five students’ reading levels by three complete levels due to successful reading interventions
• Boosted students’ test scores on the state reading test by 20% as a class.
• Brought several below-grade level readers up to proficient levels, equally a two reading level increase.

Employ the CAR Acronym to Uncover Education Achievements

Sometimes it cannot be easy to come up with multiple impressive achievements. If you are struggling with this section of your reading specialist resume, use the CAR acronym: Challenge, Action, Result.

What was the Challenge or problem you faced? What Action did you take to address the issue or resolve the problem? What was the Result of your action? These accomplishments should be written in regular sentence format, omit the use of a pronoun, and highlight a desirable skill or trait relevant to a reading teacher. Some examples include:

• Expanded students’ enthusiasm for reading by implementing relevant books and reading materials tailored to student’s interests, resulting in students enjoying reading and improving reading fluency skills.

In this example, the Challenge was the lack of student interest in reading. The Action was implementing books and reading materials that interested the students. The Result was an increased enjoyment of reading among students and an increase in reading fluency skills.

• Assessed an “at-risk” learner’s reading skills and diagnosed the student with dyslexia; after the diagnosis, the student received the proper support and improved her academic performance.

In this example, the Challenge was the student’s at-risk academic performance. The Action assessed and diagnosed the student with dyslexia, and the Result improved student performance due to proper support and intervention.

Dig deep and think outside the box.

Perhaps you have limited career experience related to being a reading specialist and haven’t had many challenges. If this is the case, you will have to get creative in coming up with relevant achievements.

Don’t worry. It can be done!

Though your reading specialist resume should focus on the specialty at hand, you can easily incorporate accomplishments from other teaching or related positions you have held.

This would be an excellent starting point if you had written a teacher’s resume in the past.

Throughout regular teaching positions, chances are you’ve experienced similar achievements to that of a reading specialist. For instance, you may have tutored struggling readers in an after-school program, implemented guided reading groups or tiered reading in your classroom, taught regular language arts classes to a school of learners, differentiated instruction to accommodate different levels of learners, and utilized reading programs and strategies that you will use as a reading specialist.

This would also be worth mentioning if you have tutored struggling students in different subject areas. Any experience working with diverse student populations, implementing interventions, or improving students’ performance and learning outcomes would also be worth mentioning. Additionally, any experience collaborating with colleagues, training other teachers, or working with parents is worth highlighting.

Showcase Key Skills Within Your Literacy and Teaching Accomplishments

As mentioned above, conveying your skills within your achievements is a great way to boost your appeal as a potential job candidate. It would be best if you focused on integrating critical instructional and assessment skills that you effectively employ to boost student performance.

For instance, letting the reader know what programs and assessments you’ve used can be helpful. So, if you’ve used DIBELS, Reading Recovery, DAR, Guided Reading, Balanced Literacy, Rubrics, Reading Strategies, etc., make sure to mention them.

Don’t forget to mention the tech tools you use to motivate reading practice.

If you seek a position as a teacher trainer, you will want to highlight your mentoring and coaching skills. If you are looking to run your classroom, you will want to demonstrate your talent for behavior management.

Showcase in your reading specialist resume how you can work with children one-on-one, work with children in small groups, conduct individualized evaluations, offer positive reinforcement, differentiate instruction, and assist students with special needs.

Include Related Extra-curricular Work and Volunteer Experience

Accomplishments can be found in the form of informal work experience as well. For instance, tutoring children, adults, and ESL learners is a very relevant and helpful experience to include in your reading specialist resume. Incorporate your community involvement and volunteer experience within your resume to boost yourself above the competition.

Integrate Teaching Skills and Job Achievements

Once you have developed an educator resume full of relevant accomplishments, you will want to translate them into your cover letter. Since your professional cover letter is the first thing a hiring administrator looks at, you must leave an unforgettable impression!

In your application letter, you will broadcast your formal education, years of relevant experience, teaching skills, areas of expertise, greatest strengths, and your job accomplishments. Incorporate these in a bullet-point format, like your resume or standard paragraph style. Communicate how you do or will do an excellent job. If you need to be reminded of all the beautiful things you do, review this post on how to excel as a reading specialist on teachers.net.

Communicate Achievements in the Interview

After your job application documents have been drafted, proofread repeatedly, and sent off to the school district, you will want to start practicing for a job interview. Take time to review any reading or literacy specialist jobs on indeed.com.

You never know when your phone will ring, and you want to be ready! Learning and memorizing the job accomplishments you listed on your literacy coach or teacher resume and cover letter will help prepare you for a one-on-one interview or panel interview.

Understand what skill, trait, or result each accomplishment demonstrates (refer to point #4 above). You may be asked to provide the interviewer with an example of a time you had to use your creative thinking skills, a time you had to work with an at-risk student to boost his reading comprehension, or a time you had to train a co-worker. By knowing your achievements ahead of time, you should be well-practiced for the day of the interview!

So, when developing your reading specialist resume, remember that it’s imperative to include as many accomplishments as possible that showcase your skills and experience as a reading specialist.

When possible, quantify your results, utilize the CAR acronym, think outside the box, showcase your related skills, and don’t forget to include your volunteer and community experiences. Including these essential tips in your resume will help you to get noticed by more schools.

Now that your education job search is underway, you should be called for an interview. Please don’t blow it. Be prepared to communicate your reading, teaching, coaching, literacy achievements, and relevant skills during the reading specialist job interview.

Do you need assistance with writing your reading specialist resume?

As a professional resume writer, I know exactly how to gain the attention of potential schools. Review our fictionalized education resume examples.

In your future teaching career, seeking out a professional’s help is always a great idea.

View our resume services or check out this page to learn more about Candace Alstad – Davies.

Or, feel free to contact me via email or 1-877-738-8052 to speak to me directly.

You must submit an exceptional educational leadership resume or curriculum vitae CV when applying for an administrative position. Submitting a resume to show you are a valuable education leader is vital to securing interviews.

Competition for this position is very aggressive, so you must stand above the crowd.

Let’s get started, so you can get school district representatives phoning you and requesting an administrator interview. 

Your education leadership resume must convey your school leadership skills, a progression of responsibility, administrative accomplishments, and the other talents and traits that come with the territory.

6 Highly Effective Tips for Writing and Submitting an Educational Leadership Resume to Show Your Skills.

1. Prove you have transferable skills if transitioning from a teaching position.

School Principals and Vice/Assistant Principals take on a different set of responsibilities than classroom teachers. If transitioning to an Educational Administrator role, you want to make your leadership skills and achievements stand out.

Examples of Educational leadership positions include:

• Grade Level Team Leader
• Educational Consultant
• Chairperson of a Board
• Teacher Mentor
• Interim Principal
• Head of School
• Instructional Leader
• Master Teacher
• Administrative Intern
• Education Literacy Coach
• Curriculum Developer or Specialist
• School Administrator

2. List educational administration-related areas of skill and expertise.

Regardless of the academic position you are applying for, it is a good idea to include a section in your education resume or curriculum vitae devoted to your “areas of expertise” or “core competencies.” Some relevant school leadership skills or areas to incorporate might be:

• Student Discipline and Support
• Budget Management

• Team Leadership and Collaboration
• Staff Professional Development
• Academic Standards
• Standardized Testing & Scores
• School Improvement Plans
• Instructional Leadership
• Policy and Procedure Development
• Building Operations
• Student Safety
• Parent and Community Involvement
• Mission Statements
• Data Analysis
• Student Assessment & Tracking
• Emotional Intelligence

• Mentoring and Coaching
• Technology Integration
• Assessment Tools
• Training Programs & Materials
• Differentiated Instruction
• Program Management & Coordination

3. Incorporate your educational leadership style.

There are many different types of leadership. Are you a Transformational Leader? Democratic? Authoritative? Visionary? Visible and accessible? Are you a combination? Include your leadership style in the introductory paragraph of your education leadership resume or curriculum vitae CV.

You can review this excellent post on one of my favorite websites, Edutopia, titled What Makes a Great School Leader.

Communicate your education leadership style in your cover letter or application letter and show your passion for enhancing students’ lives.

4. Use separate sections to showcase your school administrative, leadership, and teaching experience.

When applying for a school administrative position, you will want to list the relevant jobs you have held, correlating duties, and professional accomplishments. These should be put under a separate heading on your educational leadership resume, ensuring your leadership experience stands out. Develop an additional section devoted to your time spent in the classroom. Again, you will want to list the jobs, corresponding responsibilities, and achievements. If there are any leadership skills, traits, or initiatives you demonstrated while serving as a teacher, include those in your resume.

5. Incorporate school committees and district teams in which you have participated.

As an educational leader, you should be active on numerous school-wide and district-based committees. You can either list these under each relevant position you have held or create a separate heading in your educational leadership resume. Mention the position you held and the length of time you were involved.

If you attended any of the ASCD’s numerous educational leadership conferences or seminars from any associations, make sure they are listed on your resume or CV. They will build your education leadership credibility.

6. Set aside some space for community involvement and volunteer work.

Being an administrator means playing an active role in the local community. If you are applying for a position as an academic leader, highlight volunteer experience, including the position held, the organization where you volunteered, and the length of time you served. If you are short on community involvement, do your best to find an organization to become involved in – not just for the sake of your resume but for contributing to the local community as well!

Sample Educational Leadership Resume Accomplishments

If you are having trouble coming up with relevant achievements, use the CAR acronym

– Challenge, Action, Result.

What was the Challenge? Reflect on the Action you took. Determine what the Result was.

Resume Accomplishments Examples of Educational Leaders

• Raised student recruitment numbers over three school years from 350 to 500 students by holding regular open house sessions, handing out pamphlets, and being actively involved in the local community.

• Instrumental in increasing overall test scores for struggling learners by 15% by researching and implementing well-rated professional development workshops focused on instructing at-risk students.

• Wrote and applied for numerous grants, receiving over $16,000 for new technology in the classroom.

• Decreased student absenteeism to almost non-existent by integrating a school-wide positive reinforcement program focused on rewarding student attendance.

• Reduced disciplinary incidents and referrals by 50% by creating a behavior intervention plan that could easily be adapted to suit all learners’ levels.

• Launched a successful new foreign language program to help students learn French and Spanish.

• Boosted parent involvement in the school community by personally contacting each family. Provided parents with resources and assistance if their child was struggling. Maintained the school website to inform parents of upcoming school activities and events.

• Served as a school leader for the district in a pilot program focused on going completely paperless. Collaborated with teachers to design technology-based lesson plans, allocate valuable resources, and perform electronic assessments.

• Collaborated with key stakeholders from ABC School District and DEF District to plan and develop annual professional development sessions for K– grade six teachers.

• Led the school in gaining re-accreditation as a Montessori program by submitting all documentation and following up.

• Raised workplace morale by hosting monthly staff luncheons and events, encouraging collaboration and brainstorming, and maintaining an open-door policy and democratic leadership style.

• Increased camaraderie and enthusiasm by creating a course for staff members called Reducing Stress Through Yoga and Meditation.

• Developed, maintained, and use technology applications to track progress on school performance objectives, standards compliance, and academic excellence indicators.

• Improved school ratings through intense analysis and disaggregation of standardized test data, identifying strengths, uncovering areas of concern, and effectively conveying data results to instructional teachers.

Including educational leadership skills and achievements are critical to secure job interviews. Communicating that you effectively led teams or committees along with the results will provide evidence back up what you can do to substantially bring enormous value to the school district by providing examples of leadership successes.

Achievements should be a top priority when writing an educational leadership resume.

If you are unsure what direction you would like to take in your educational career, you might be interested in a post titled 10 Hot Education Career Trends for Teachers.

If you need to review an elementary school principal’s resume example or the corresponding application letter for an educational leader to get more ideas.

Contact us for professional help writing your educational leadership resume, curriculum vitae CV, or the imperative application letter.

Learn more about Candace, an academic resume writer with 16+ years of expertise helping educators and others to move their careers forward. Review our resume and curriculum vitae, CV services, and packages.

Have you ever been told you don’t need an application letter for a teaching job? Based on my conversations with many academic hiring authorities, you NEED one.

One of the most essential parts of the academic job search process is your teaching job application letter. Even a cover letter for a new teacher with no experience is critical. Grab a coffee, relax, and review these application letter writing tips to give you ideas to create your own.

Why would you risk not sending an application letter?

It is usually the first thing a school administrator or district superintendent looks at when hiring a new teacher applicant. An application letter, or a teacher cover letter, is how you introduce yourself as a teacher candidate. A one-page letter allows you to convey your passion, relevant expertise, credentials, and skills. Make sure you are not guilty of writing a long-winded cover letter.

Please don’t make it too short; you must communicate your value. It’s a balancing act!

How you write your application letter for a teaching job will determine if you will convince the reader to move on to your academic teaching resume and be offered a job interview. You must develop a hard-hitting, attention-grabbing application or cover letter with relevant keywords, teaching accomplishments, and action words that prove your worth as a teacher candidate.

Formatting a teacher application letter properly can be difficult if you are unfamiliar with technology and using word processing programs. It is best to match the resume formatting used to create your resume to keep your presentation consistent.

Writing an Application Letter Takes Time – Don’t Rush

First Paragraph of Your Academic Application Letter

The first paragraph of your application letter for a teaching position should address the position of interest and the fact that you are submitting your resume for consideration. A hiring school administrator may be looking to fill several positions; therefore, it is necessary to let the reader know right away which position is interesting. Other topics to incorporate into the opening portion of your cover letter include:

• Educational credentials, i.e., Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree • Teaching certifications and licenses • Years of classroom experience or related expertise

If you are a student teacher or a new classroom teacher, you do not need to include your years of experience. Instead, it would be best to focus on the credentials, skills, commitment, and enthusiasm you bring to the classroom.

Including more in-depth, relevant details when writing your student teacher resume will provide the reader with additional qualifications and evidence of accomplishments. Don’t go overboard with including too many specific details when writing the cover letter.

Middle Paragraph of a Teacher’s Application Letter

Certain things within your application letter for a teaching position should be included to ensure you stand out from your competition. One of the best ways to skyrocket your resume straight to the top of the “to read” pile is by uncovering and including your teaching accomplishments.

These should be unique, quantifiable, and exceptional achievements that impress the reader. For instance, you may have differentiated instruction in your classroom, which is now expected of all educators. Therefore, you need to say how you could differentiate instruction and what it accomplished for your students.

Teaching Application Letter Example Sentences

“Surveying students to understand their diverse interests, and by incorporating technology and literature geared toward these, I was able to effectively facilitate all types and levels of learners, and leave students eager to learn more.”

“Integrating popular literature, innovative technology, and multidisciplinary units allows me to pique student interest, demonstrate real-world connections, and accommodate multiple intelligences.”

As mentioned before, quantifiable accomplishments are preferentially used in your educator cover letter, as they prove you are a successful teacher. Using facts and numbers is an excellent method for capturing your skills and talents in the classroom.

Examples of academic resume accomplishments:

• Incorporating a literature circle, literature-based units, and exciting group projects raised student reading levels by at least one level by the end of the school year.”
• A struggling and discontent student started the school year with a minimum passing grade of 55%. I provided after-school tutoring and individualized instruction during class time and worked with his parents to ensure further education in the home. By the end of the school year, the same student had developed a new appreciation for the school and passed with a grade of 81%.”

However, there may be other teaching accomplishments that haven’t even come to mind yet. Once again, you don’t want to include too much. Another place to communicate your authenticity is by writing a teaching philosophy statement. We call this an added job search marketing document. It gets results!

Uncover Relevant Teaching Accomplishments by Answering These Questions

Have you pioneered any teaching techniques or educational programs that have proven successful in your school?

Were you asked to fill in for the assistant principal due to your leadership skills?

Did you receive an award from the school or district commending you on your instructional abilities?

These are all worth mentioning in your teacher application letter and resume.

Final Paragraph Writing Ideas

Make sure you thank the reader for their time and that you are looking forward to hearing from them soon. Address any points you feel do not fall into the standard categories (experience, credentials, achievements, strengths). Mention you are willing to participate in extra-curricular activities and lead school sports or clubs. If, of course, this is true!

Additional Application Letter Writing Tips for Educators

As mentioned earlier, your teaching job application letter should follow the same format as your teacher’s resume. Maintaining consistency between your documents ensures the hiring administrator can match them quickly.

For example, if you use a border in your application letter, use the same border in your resume. All fonts and sizes should match. Academic credentials should be similar (i.e., Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education). Maintaining consistency will demonstrate attention to detail and organization.

The site has tons of resume and cover letter samples for your review.

Contact me, Candace, if you need help writing your education application letter or any other job search document.

Review our academic resume and application letter packages and services.

Are you a beginning teacher trying to write a first-year teacher CV or resume? Your educational internships will be your ticket to secure a new teaching position for the first time. Many new teachers don’t know how to write a CV or resume with no classroom experience.

Don’t worry; we will discuss it here.

This post will be relevant whether you are writing a teacher resume to make teaching a second career or becoming a teacher in your first career.

Do not underestimate the value of education internships in your new teacher’s CV or resume.

The time you spend in the classroom and the experience and skills you gain while performing your student teaching or practicum will help set your academic career foundation.

Administrators looking to hire new teachers will focus on education internships; therefore, you must sell this experience in your instructional CV, resume, and cover letter!

These internships may be the only beginning teaching-related experience you have. You will want to highlight these critical and relevant teaching skills and knowledge areas in your first-year teacher CV, resume, and education application letter.

Read great application letter writing tips for teachers and other educators to ensure your letter complements your teacher’s CV or resume.

8 Ways to Write a New Teacher CV or Resume

1. Do Not Skimp on Teaching Responsibilities You Performed

 As with any teaching resume, you must devote a section of the document to your relevant work experience. This section is where you will list and discuss your education internships.

Highlight your responsibilities during this position, including lesson planning, classroom observations, student assessment, classroom management, and administrative duties. If you completed more than one teaching practicum or internship, do not copy and paste your responsibilities from one position to the next—instead, rephrase them.

Including Student Teaching and Internship Experience

For instance, did you

• Work with students one-on-one or in small groups during your teaching internship?
• Take over the classroom for any time as the lead teacher?
• Plan and implement a lesson plan?
• Help to uphold the classroom management plan?
• Accompany your lead teacher to faculty meetings or grade-level meetings?
• Learn about or use any new teaching methods or strategies.

Any of these different types of responsibilities are worth mentioning in your teacher’s resume and cover letter.

2. Discuss Lesson Plan Development

You were likely allowed to be in charge of some lesson planning during your stint as a student-teacher. Showcase this valuable teaching experience in your teacher resume. By doing this step, you will communicate to prospective schools that you can plan and lead lessons to a whole class of learners.

Express how you came up with lesson ideas or concepts, how you planned your lesson (Understanding By Design, Backward Design), what teaching methods you used, and what you did to differentiate instruction for all learners.

Did you incorporate hands-on learning? Visual? Tactile? Kinesthetic? Cooperative?

And how well was the lesson received? Did you test students’ learning at the end of your class?

3. What Creative Activities Did You Implement?

As mentioned above, you must demonstrate how you differentiated instruction for multiple intelligences. You will also want to highlight the different creative activities you incorporated into your lessons or that you helped to lead for the cooperating teacher.

The activities and projects you integrated into the classroom should have been engaging and creative and brought the subject to life. Capitalize on this excellent opportunity to showcase your knowledge and skill in engaging students in active learning.

In your resume and cover letter, highlight the hands-on learning you incorporated into the classroom. Examples may include thematic units, technology, collaborative learning, inquiry-based activities, manipulatives, learning centers, role-playing, and educational games.

Please explain how you created these projects and what the resultant benefits were after implementing them.

Going into detail about projects you were involved in will help you incorporate teaching keywords in your resume. Education keywords in a CV or summary are critical to job search success.

4. Showcase Classroom Management Skills You Developed

 One of the critical skills you will have picked up during your education internships is classroom management. Many new teachers will agree this is a difficult skill to learn. So, if you don’t feel overly confident in this area, that’s ok. You can still mention what you learned and what methods you used to uphold the classroom management plan.

Under each position in your beginning teacher resume, discuss how you produced a well-behaved, focused, and learning-oriented class environment.

• Were there any behaviour initiatives you designed and implemented?
• Did you help boost student attendance rates or class scores?
• How did you keep students focused and on task?
• Did you make positive strides with any students who had behavior problems?

5. Express Your Ability to Establish a Good Rapport with Students

 Hiring administrators will want to see that you have the proven ability to forge strong relationships with students. As a teacher, you will be asked to work with students one-on-one and in small groups, which will allow you to develop relationships with them. As this is an imperative skill for teachers, it is worth highlighting your new teacher’s CV or resume.

Your first-year teacher’s CV or resume should highlight how you provided students with individualized support and one-on-one assistance, ensuring they could overcome academic and social obstacles. It is also essential to show how you could boost children’s self-confidence, self-esteem, and motivation.

Discuss how you ensured all the students felt safe, unique, welcome, and valued.

For instance, did you

• Incorporate students’ interests into activities.
• Listen to students’ concerns, ideas, and feedback.
• Effectively explain concepts to them to help them with comprehension.
• Characterize an advocate and role model for your students.

6. What Other Teaching Professional Achievements Stand Out?

Under each internship position, you will want to showcase your accomplishments. Though they may not seem as impressive as a tenured teacher, your achievements are still vital to selling yourself as a teaching candidate!

Some examples may include:

• I cultivated a special rapport with an introverted student challenged by social anxiety. Getting to know his unique interests took time, as did developing and incorporating activities. I gave the student praise and positive reinforcement, helping him cultivate a passion for school while learning to express himself and slowly interact with others.

• Designed and implemented a highly engaging, technology-based lesson plan. Students were excited to learn the new topic while testing the technology and developing their skills.

• Integrated read-aloud, literature circles, and creative writing to improve students’ reading comprehension and writing skills. Choose modern, age-appropriate literature to get students excited about reading and writing.

• Provided after-school tutoring to help two struggling students pass their upcoming math exams.

• Assisted with extracurricular activities, including girls’ volleyball, chess club, and a teacher yoga class.*

*This last point demonstrates your willingness to participate in extracurricular events, contribute to the school community, and go the extra mile for students and colleagues.

As you can see, writing a resume without experience teaching in your classroom is doable.

It can be difficult to choose the right words for a first-year teacher CV or Resume, but it’s doable. We do it every day with exceptional success.

7. Convey Collaborative Skills in Practicum Teaching and College Projects

Working with other teachers is essential to thriving as an effective, well-rounded, and respected educator. Use your CV or resume to highlight the collaborative skills you developed and how you observed and coordinated with other teachers.

These experiences may include working with your mentor teacher, collaborating with a paraprofessional, participating in staff meetings, helping with after-school sports or school events, or attending professional development opportunities such as in-services and workshops.

8. Were You Involved with Parents During the Student Teaching Internship?

Parent communication is another topic school administrators seek when hiring new teachers.

So, did you

help keep families up-to-date on their child’s academic and social progress?

Draft weekly newsletters or help maintain the classroom website to keep parents informed.

Attend parent-teacher conferences?

Go the extra mile to reach out to parents, particularly those whose children struggled or needed additional support.

Worked with class parents or parent volunteers during class time or a school event.

Include your involvement with parents, as this will show you are ready and equipped to increase effective parental communications.

After reading through this list, you will hopefully feel more confident about writing your first-year teacher CV, resume, and cover letter, including your education internships. Don’t miss these academic resume formatting tips to please the reader’s eye.

Don’t underestimate the value of these internships, student teaching, and practicum experiences as a beginning teacher. Correctly highlighting these teaching skills and experiences can make all the difference in landing an interview!

If you need help to create your resume and cover letter, please review our resume writing services.

Learn more about Candace, an academic CV or resume writer. Call toll-free at 1 877 738 8052 or send an email.

There are many resources to find the perfect international teaching job – sit back and learn more about locating overseas teacher job opportunities. Determine what you are looking for in a teaching position overseas. Make a list of your top priorities; this will help you screen out potential job leads.

Many teachers seek English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching jobs abroad; there are many excellent job hunting tips for landing an ESL teaching job.

If you have just graduated with a teaching degree, you will probably be eager to start using your new teaching skills. Many people come out of college ready and eager to teach only to find no local job vacancies.

If you find yourself in this situation or just like a change of scenery, you should consider teaching internationally. Understanding the pros and cons and the differences between teaching locally or landing a teacher position abroad will help make your decision.

Schools abroad are looking to hire teachers from America, Canada, or the UK for various reasons. Sometimes these schools want a teacher where their first language is English to teach it to their students.

Other times, they may want to allow their students to be exposed to a range of worldviews, and the first language isn’t the number one priority.

International schools may want you to educate their students about the customs of your home country. This will help students become active and educated participants in the global economy. Introducing students to a variety of cultures will enable them to learn to respect and understand cultural differences.

What Specific Criteria Do International Schools Look for In Teaching Candidates

Quite frequently, schools abroad that hire foreign teachers are associated with the teacher’s home country. These schools are set up to educate expatriates or military members from the teacher’s home country living and/or working in that country.

Every country has its own standard of education. The Department of Defense, or other government agencies, often set up schools to ensure its youngest citizens living in other countries can receive the same educational advantages as their peers at home.

You should draft a set of questions to ask about overseas teaching jobs to ensure you know if it is the right career opportunity for you.

Financial Aspects of International Teaching Positions

The salary for teaching internationally can vary greatly depending on the location. Usually, government schools will have similar pay to private schools in the teacher’s home country.

Some countries in economic turmoil may not be able to offer a salary that is competitive with those offered by domestic schools. Still, they often compensate for this by offering other benefits such as free housing or travel subsidies.

Another financial benefit of teaching abroad is that the teacher may not be required to pay taxes on their earnings. Traditionally the country in which the teacher works does not make tax earnings because it is not a citizen. You would want to check with a licensed accountant to find out more.

Furthermore, the teacher’s home country does not charge tax on the earnings because it was earned abroad. The tax savings associated with this can be substantial, making teaching internationally a sound economic decision.

Finding Job Leads to Teach Overseas

Many agencies set up to assist teachers with international teaching applications and locate and acquire an international teaching job that is perfect for you.

If you have just finished college and are looking to teach overseas, you can contact your college to see if they have programs to help you find an international teaching job.

Consider checking out available overseas teaching jobs on Indeed or TESall.com to determine if any are worth writing a targeted teacher resume and a teaching application letter to show your passion.

Colleges with international study departments are often prepared to assist graduates from the school in locating international work. Additionally, there are several annual job fairs for international teaching positions; sometimes, these provide a gold mine of opportunity.

Use the internet to find teaching English jobs by performing simple searches using Google, Bing, or LinkedIn.

Use key terms such as “International teaching” or “Teaching Abroad.”  By doing this, you will discover there is a host of organizations and recruiters to help you find the job of your dreams.

LinkedIn is an excellent place to locate specialized recruiters and available positions. Make sure your profile is focused on your target position. This is critical to be found on this extensive professional network. Search engine optimization SEO is critical to get found by the right schools or potential recruiters.

Knowing how to screen out overseas teaching jobs is an important aspect of job searching.

If you would like help to write a searchable, attention-grabbing LinkedIn profile or any other job search documents to secure an international teaching job, connect with us. 

Classroom routines are important for effective classroom management for many reasons. For reasons, keeping your sanity would be at the top of the list. 🙂

You already know this, but let’s discuss it more. 

Teachers with well-established and clearly defined classroom management strategies can positively affect their student’s behavior.

You may be wondering, how do you successfully implement classroom routines? Incorporating effective routines into your classroom will take time, consistency, follow-up, and effort.

The alternative of not taking the necessary steps would be escalating stress and frustration. You will be continuously telling the students over and over again what to do.

How Classroom Routines Are Important for Effective Classroom Management

Depending on the class, teaching habits take time, possibly a couple of weeks for each teaching routine. You will also need to revisit, practice, and reinforce them continually. A little two-minute reminder on three or four different routines is all required at the start of a lesson, but it still must be done to keep your routines fresh in your students’ minds.

So, think of all the transitions and activities that cause you trouble throughout the day, like distributing materials, transition time between activities and tasks, what to do when a student has finished a task, handing in work, etc. Think about how much easier your day would be if you had routines for all these stressful situations. How much smoother would the lesson be if students knew exactly what to do in each situation?

Ideas for Learning Effective Classroom Management Techniques

Educators find great value in self-reflection to grow as teaching professionals. You can review an article titled How Teachers Use Self-Reflection and Evaluation in Education. Think about how much easier your day would be if you had effective classroom routines for all these stressful situations. How much smoother would the lesson be if students knew exactly what to do in each situation?

Another way to prepare students for the classroom and the rest of their lives is by incorporating a growth mindset into the learning environment. If this topic interests you, as I do, you can read this in-depth post called 28 Ways to Incorporate a Growth Mindset Concept in the Classroom.

The key is to make as many classroom routines as needed. Teach them, practice them, make them habitual, and post them on the walls as reminders. One of the benefits of this is that the next time a student isn’t doing what he should be, you can calmly ask him: “What should you be doing?” and point at the classroom routine board. There will be no excuse they can give you because when routines in the classroom are in place, they know what they should be doing.

Create, implement, and then practice, practice, and practice the classroom routines. If you follow these guidelines, you will soon have a better-performing classroom.

Classroom Management Accomplishments Are Important for Career Advancement

Communicating your classroom management strength will be critical to writing a teacher application letter to generate the reader’s interest enough to read your teacher’s resume. Be prepared to discuss your success with implementing classroom routines to provide an optimal learning experience for all students in your teaching job interview.

Do you agree that classroom and teaching routines are essential for effective classroom management? Please leave comments below to let us know what works for you in the classroom and what doesn’t.

Check out our eBook 101 A+ Classroom Management Tips for more classroom management tips, or visit our education eBook store.

Education resume formatting is an essential aspect of gaining a teacher interview. How your teacher’s resume looks, sounds, and comes across will determine whether you advance to the next round of the job application process. If your resume or CV is cluttered, unappealing to the eye, or incomprehensible, you will get tossed in the “No” pile, regardless of your qualifications.

Below you will discover five proven tips for grabbing the reader’s eye and attention and landing an education interview. At this stage, you must brush up on your interview skills by reading these educational job interview tips to land a job offer quickly.

1. White Space

The use of white space, also known as negative space, is key in education resume formatting. White space consists of margins, space between paragraphs and sections, and other areas lacking text and markings. This technique allows for a better-organized document that is easier to read and decipher and draws the reader’s eye to the appropriate places. Integrate white space accordingly to help keep the reader on track and subconsciously direct them to essential points in your document.

Education resume formatting tips that get results

2. Section Headings of Resume

Section headings are one of the easiest ways to organize information clearly and cohesively. For instance, your formal education and credentials should appear in the same area, “Education and Credentials.” This way, a hiring administrator can quickly and easily find the information they are looking for, whether it’s about your formal education, experience, or skills.

The last thing you want is for a potential employer to fumble through your document, struggling to locate the required information. Other heading examples consist of:

* Areas of Expertise
* Teaching Experience (or Administrative/Leadership Experience if you are developing a School Administrator resume)
* Professional Development
* Professional Affiliations
* Publications and Presentations
* Computer Expertise
* Community Involvement
* Honors and Awards

More Education Resume Formatting Tips

3. Bullet Points

Another critical part of education resume formatting is bullet points. Bullets allow you to present a list of data in an organized and easy-to-read manner. This could be a list of relevant education-transferable skills. It is also an excellent way to grab the reader’s attention and draw it to specific topics.

For example, under Professional Experience, you will want to list each relevant job you have held (including job title, school, location, and dates employed) and correlate job responsibilities and achievements. Your education career achievements should be listed in bullet-point format to make them stand out and demonstrate your ability to do an excellent job in the classroom.

Throughout this section, you must incorporate keywords relevant to your desired position. The education career achievements should be listed in bullet-point format to make them stand out and demonstrate your ability to do an excellent job in the classroom.

4. Display of Name, Contact Information, and Desired Job Position

The most important details you could include in your instructor resume are your name and contact information. If potential employers don’t know how to get ahold of you, you will miss out on what might be an incredible job opportunity! Your name should appear at the top of your job application documents and clearly labeled contact info (mailing address, home phone number, cell phone, email address, and LinkedIn page). The next crucial piece you must highlight is your desired position, i.e., Elementary School Teacher, High School Mathematics Teacher, Early Childhood Teacher, Educational Administrator, Education Consultant, and so forth.

You may want to say “Professional Educator,” with the grade levels or subjects tactfully listed below if you are open to various positions.

For instance:

Professional Educator
English, Drama, and ESL

5. Color, Borders, and Graphics

Color can be visually appealing if appropriately used. If you incorporate more than black text, which is standard for the body of a resume, make sure you choose only one other color. Using too many colors in your educational resume formatting can lead to confusion and make it look childish. You may want to make your name, desired position, and section heading a different color than the rest of the text.

If you add a border to your document, make sure it is either black, the same color as the text, or complements it nicely. Again, choose a professional border to ensure your document does not look immature. Your cover letter, resume, and other job application documents should adhere to the same formatting to maintain consistency and uniformity.

Resume formatting techniques vary depending on the individual. Incorporating relevant graphics is also an excellent way to stand out from your competition, grab the interviewer’s attention, and make yourself a more memorable job candidate. Graphics or icons should be placed in your top header alongside your name and contact information. Please make sure they are relevant, professional, and relatively simple. Below is a list of teaching positions and correlating sample icons you may wish to integrate.

Graphic Examples As Part of Your Education Resume Formatting Strategy

Below is a list of instruction posts and corresponding sample images you may want to incorporate.

Social Studies Teacher – World Globe or Map

Science Teacher – Beaker or Microscope

Mathematics Teachers – Protractor

Drama Teacher – Comedy and Tragedy Masks

English Language Arts Teacher – Stack of Books

Elementary School Teacher – Red Apple

International English as a Second Language Teacher (ESL) – Map or World Globe

Online Teacher – Technology Devices

Early Childhood Educator – Box of Crayons

Art Teacher – Art Palette

Music Teacher – Music Notes

You can review sample teacher resumes we created to get a visual view of different formats and design elements. If you need help, we are just a phone call (1 877 738-8052), email Candace, or jump to review our education resume services.