CV Writing for Teachers: The Ultimate Guide

Once you've completed the Level 3 Award in Education and Training, its time to update and refresh your CV.

You're a newly qualified teacher, you've been working hard for the past few years and now you want to start your new job. The only problem is that you don't know what to write in your CV. It's so easy to get stuck on what information should go into your CV and how it should be formatted. There are so many different types of CVs out there too! We have all the information that you need from creating an outline for your CV, formatting it correctly, writing a cover letter and even where to send it off too!

Common Questions for newly qualified teachers

Our learners always ask:

• What should I include?
• What's the best way to organise it?
• Should I use bullet points or paragraphs?
• How many words should it be?
• What font should I use for headings and subheadings?

This blog will answer some of these questions by providing tips on how to create a successful CV as an educator. It is important that your CV is well-written, informative and easy-to-read so you can get past the first stage in the interview process. Here are some useful pointers:

1. Decide on who your audience will be

Whether this will be potential employers, private training providers or colleges in the area. Once you know who they are, think about what information they might need from you in order to make an informed decision about hiring you. For example: if the employer needs someone with lots of teaching experience then this would go at the top of your list; if they want someone with specific qualifications such as the Level 3 Award in Education and Training then these should come next; followed by things like references, previous employment history etc. Remember, you are no longer trying to work in the industry, you are looking to teach so you need to change your story and highlight your teaching experience.

2. List out what qualifications you have such as the Level 3 Award in Education and Training

List any specialist skills that you possess such as teaching languages or computer skills. You may be better off listing which subjects you can teach, assess or IQA.

3. Expand on your subject specialism

You need experience and competency to teach any subject. Talk about the experiences you have in your subjects to give the employer confidence you are an expert in your field and can bring relevant and recent knowledge and best practice to your learners. Remove any previous work history which is not relevant. I worked at Tesco's at 16 years old but is this relevant any more?

4. Write about yourself

Now onto writing about yourself: One thing employers should know is how passionate you are about teaching and sharing knowledge with them. It should be more than just a job for you; it's something more than that! My goal is always to leave each day feeling like we accomplished something great together, whether we were reading books or discussing new ideas in class. Let your employer get to know who you are. They need to work with you so must like you and its ideal to share your interests to see how you would fit in.

5. Keep your CV concise and relevant

Keep your CV concise and relevant. Keep it to 2 pages, employers will be going through many CVs so they will skim read it. Keep it simple and straight to the point. The number of words are irrelevant, keep your CV within 2 pages and you'll be ok.

6. Stand out

Use an appropriate and concise layout. Employers will see dozens of CVs so you need to stand out. Be sure to use a professional layout that is easy to read. You want the reader's eye to be drawn in immediately. The first thing they should see is your name and contact information so that they can reach out if they need more information or clarification. List your qualifications and subjects so its clear to see. Put dates of employment and experience in a logical format.

7. Check grammar

As a teacher, you are expected to help learners literacy skills, proof read yours to make sure there are no mistakes.

Start your Level 3 Award in Education and Training now

The blog post has a lot of great advice for teachers, but I think the most important thing to remember is that it's never too late to start so if you want to start a new career in teaching then we recommend the Level 3 Award in Education and Training. You can always make changes and improve your CV as you go along.

I hope this helped!