Teacher Resume Example & Writing Guide

Teaching has always been an important and challenging career path. It can also be one of the most rewarding and financially stable professions. Working as a teacher has the potential to be satisfying, as well as emotionally and intellectually engaging. But with the changing landscape of educational practices and technologies, aspiring education professionals need to adapt to the modern world. With the right approach and a great resume, you can find a teacher position that is the perfect balance of job satisfaction and good pay. This teacher resume guide is designed to help you land one of those great fits. 

So how do you write an excellent teacher resume?

The answer is simple: expert knowledge (provided by example and statistics), convenient and powerful digital tools and field-tested resume templates. The attached teacher resume example, along with the Resume.io builder tool and sample sentences for teacher resumes, are here to ensure you can craft the perfect pitch. This guide will cover how to:

• Craft an exceptional resume to stand out from the crowd
• Write in a way that’s both professional and engaging
• Showcase your skills and accomplishments in the best possible light
• Overcome technological obstacles and impress recruiters

How to write a teacher resume

The key to getting a great job in any profession, including as a teacher, is threefold:

• Understanding the industry and job market
• Tailoring your resume for a specific position and purpose
• Using tested methods and expert advice to gain a competitive edge in job hunting

Industry knowledge

Let’s start at the beginning and take a look at some sample data from the teacher job market of recent years. Here’s what the ranking of different categories of teachers looks like based on job market growth (according to U.S. Labor Department statistics):

1. Elementary school teachers (+2.23% jobs per year)
2. Secondary school teachers (+1.46% jobs per year)
3. Preschool teachers (-1.42% jobs per year)
4. Special education teachers (-2.84% per year)
5. Postsecondary teachers (-9.95% per year)

The ranking of teachers based on salary is as follows:

1. Postsecondary teachers (average $66k per year)
2. Secondary school teachers (average $55k per year)
3. Elementary school teachers (average $49.7k per year)
4. Special school teachers (average $46.6k per year)
5. Preschool and kindergarten teachers (average $24.6k per year

Honing your resume for the ATS

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are automated software applications used by most medium and large employers to process the hundreds or thousands of resumes before they reach their recruiters or hiring specialists. Most ATS systems work by scanning resumes and ranking them for keywords. They may be related to certifications/licenses, specific skills or qualities, job experience or other factors.

ATS software is widely used by educational institutions, both in the general variety (services like RecruitCRM, TalentCube, JobItUs and others) and even the specialized variety (ATS specifically developed for schools like eTeach). In fact, many schools use school management software that helps with all operational aspect of education. These programs often have built-in ATS.

What does this mean in practice, for you as a teacher seeking a job?

1. Tailor your resume for each job application. Start with a general resume but make sure you research the employer and customize your resume to address its needs.
2. Analyze the job application/listing for specific requirements that are emphasized or mentioned multiple times.

Word clouds

Word clouds services, for example Worditout or Wordclouds, are tools used to spot patterns in large chunks of text.  If you’re hunting for keywords in a confusing job listing (one that’s vague or complicated), you can use these tools to visualize frequently used terms and add them to your teacher resume. This can not only help to guess the keywords more highly valued by the ATS, but also to understand the psychology and values of the employer when hiring a teacher (something that’s also achieved by researching the employer’s website and social media — a tactic we highly recommend).

Choosing the correct CV format and resume template

Your resume format is vitally important. Not only does the resume or CV formatting impact ATS filtering of your teacher resume, but the template visuals will affect how much attention your teacher resume receives from recruiters. Similar to the use of keywords and your summary description, your resume format presents a dual challenge: pass the ATS filtering and win over the hiring manager. Let’s take a look at some rules for each of these goals.

For the ATS:

• Save your resume in the PDF format, as our resume builder does.
• Use specialized tools, templates and builders that are built with modern technologies in mind and tested in HR systems.
• Spell out abbreviations or acronyms.

For recruiters and HR departments:

• Make sure to include some white space between your resume sections. A resume that is completely covered in text leaves no room for the brain or eyes to rest.
• Make sure the sections of your resume are clean, symmetrical and well-placed. An aesthetically pleasing format will make recruiters more likely to read your resume.
• Use professional resume templates that have been tested and designed by experts. Make sure your template expresses your values and personality as a teacher.

Picking the perfect resume template

Because your resume format is so important in creating a great first impression as a teacher, you're going to want to place a lot of emphasis on its design and style. If you have graphic design experience, you might enjoy designing a CV yourself. If not, professional templates can make putting together your resume a much easier affair. 

Resume.io offers a variety of teacher resume templates for all types of positions: Professional for formal workplaces, simple for new teachers or teaching assistants and modern or creative templates for more forward-thinking employers. 

Choose the resume template that works for you and then edit the sample sentences inside of our convenient resume builder. Our resume templates are designed to provide a foundation – you make them your own!

Teacher summary resume example: your professional story

The summary (or profile) section of your teacher resume is a snapshot of both your personality and your professional qualities. It’s your teaching story. Give it some energy.

The primary goals of the summary

The summary (also known as the profile or the personal statement) is the only place on your teacher resume where you can realistically employ some creative writing skills, adding energy and personality to gain a competitive edge.

Here are two goals for your teacher resume summary:

• Convey the most important hand-picked information about your past career, qualities and achievements.
• Tell your future employer how you can contribute to its school or business as an amazing teacher.

In most cases, the summary is going to be prominently featured at the top of your resume. It’s prime “real estate” on your single page of professional characteristics. Make it count. The idea is to have it describe an actual living person, avoid clichés and provide a window into your professional character as a teacher. Action verbs are great for this. Here are some sample sentences that you may be able to adapt to your own teacher resume summary:

• Established a warm, caring and friendly environment for kids to develop and learn in the classroom.
• Supported parents and children in my class in navigating through early childhood development.
• Employed advanced teaching techniques based on kids’ neurobiology and childhood psychology to make sure my pupils had the best learning environment possible.

If you’re feeling a bit lost when trying to come up with your 3- to 4-sentence summary, try looking at your experience, skills and certifications, and cherry-pick the most impressive ones. Additionally, try to evaluate what aspect of your career or professional personality is strongest. Is it your knowledge and education? Is it your skills and qualities? Is it your experience as a teacher? Based on this, you can determine whether your resume summary is one of the following examples:

• Knowledge-oriented: if your strongest professional features are your education, expertise in certain areas, certifications and so on, mention these first and make them prominent.
• Skills-oriented: If you’re a natural or acquired talent in some areas and tasks, proven by your former coworkers, students and students’ parents, highlight these aspects of your career.
• Experience-oriented: If you’re a seasoned veteran, with a wealth of experience in numerous jobs and schools, underline this fact to show how valuable and reliable you would be.

Optimizing for the ATS

Like it or not, once again, we have to take into account the possibility of the ATS filtering out your teacher resume. If you’re not handing a printed resume directly to a hiring manager, you may be at the mercy of a software algorithm. The remedies here are simple: evaluate the teacher job listing just as we talked about before. Make sure your summary emphasizes the important requirements mentioned in that job description. 

Employment history resume example: designed to impress

The employment history section is the core of your teacher resume. It ties everything together. Make sure it’s the most robust and detailed resume section you have. Teachers are one of the most varied and flexible professions out there, both in terms of job experience and the varied backgrounds that teachers come from. According to U.S. Labor Department data, while the average age of elementary, middle and high school teachers is around 40, the age range is quite wide: from 19 all the way to 86. If you’re just starting out or are making a career change to education from another field, it’s completely acceptable to list marginally related work experience. 

The golden standard for listing your employment history is in reverse chronological order, meaning you should mention your most recent (and hopefully most impressive and relevant) positions at the top of your teacher resume. Your past job description should ideally include the following:

• Position / job title
• Organization / workplace name
• Location
• Dates of employment
• Short descriptive examples of the most important duties, achievements, metrics, projects

The best way to show how productive and industrious you are as a teacher is to offer facts, figures, numbers and project names wherever possible. 

Teacher resume skills section example: a varied toolbox

The skills section is one of the shortest parts of your teacher resume. There isn’t much room to elaborate. Make each bullet point count towards your shining professional teacher toolbox. The skills section is used by recruiters (as well as ATS software) to evaluate how productive and versatile you will be as a teacher in both your day-to-day activities and in challenging situations. Unlike the summary, you don’t have much room to be creative in this resume section. There isn’t much “real estate” here to expand upon, so each skill needs to be carefully evaluated to determine whether it should take up precious space on your resume. 

The best method to choose your most winning skills is to have a master list. This is a list that you brainstorm in a separate document. Think of any and all possible qualities and practical or social tools you might have acquired over your life and career. Then, for each teacher job application, customize your resume to include the most appropriate and relevant skills. Once again, make sure to pay special attention to the job description to not miss out on skills that the employer is looking for in a new teacher.

You’re likely familiar with the concept of hard and soft skills, but to reiterate the general rule of thumb: hard skills relate to very specific and pragmatic activities, for example: knowledge sets, software, sciences or methodologies. Soft skills mostly relate to personal interaction – examples include emotional intellect and communication. Try to aim for a good balance of both categories in your teacher resume.

Education resume example: a point of pride

The education section of a teacher resume should be crafted with care, as this is your field, but keep it short. If you have a postsecondary degree, it’s generally considered unnecessary to mention your high school.

Be meticulous in ensuring you have clean formatting in this resume section, clear and concise descriptions and any relevant licenses and educational awards that demonstrate your aptitude as a teacher. Teaching is a profession that places a certain amount of emphasis on certifications and licenses. The most prominent of these should be mentioned in your resume summary, and the rest should go here.

Key takeaways

1. To land an interview and a great teaching position, tailor your teacher resume for each application. This will greatly increase your chances.
2. Pay attention to your teacher resume format and choose the right resume template both for the sake of passing the ATS test and impressing hiring managers.
3. Your summary/personal statement is there to convince your potential employer you are a productive, knowledgeable and reliable teacher.
4. Craft a robust employment history section by using reverse chronological order and supplying examples of results, facts and achievements.
5. In your skills section, try to organically use sample keywords found in the job description.
6. Show some love to your education section, as this is your own field as a teacher.

If you’re looking for the right tool to quickly finish your teacher resume, check out our easy-to-use resume builder and stylish templates with pre-filled sample sentences. And when you’re ready to write your cover letter, review our education examples and teacher cover letters, plus free templates and useful tips.