Teaching resume example & writing guide

What should your teacher resume include?   

If you’re looking to land your next teaching role, your resume needs to demonstrate your command of your chosen subject and your ability to inspire students in these areas. Highlighting your accomplishments as well as what makes you unique as a teacher can set you apart in the teaching crowd. Whether you’ve won a teaching award, volunteered overseas, or come to teaching as a second career, these are all unique attributes worth highlighting.  

Why use this teacher resume example?

If you’re looking for a job in teaching, we can help! With this teaching resume example and writing guide, we’ll demonstrate how to highlight your skills and background to find the best teaching job for you. The education field offers a vast number of opportunities in many subject areas and grade levels, so whatever your experience and certification, there’s a position for you. 

Our example opens with a professional summary that will capture the hiring school’s attention and compel them to continue reading your resume. Areas of expertise showcase your key teaching qualification areas and provide more information on your specific teaching experience and pedagogical approaches.

The all-important professional experience section comes next. Start with your most recent teaching experience first and work back to earlier roles (covering a period of 10 to 15 years as a maximum). Focus on using action verbs at the start of each sentence, such as instruct, guide, or motivate. Highlight any specific accomplishments and successful learning outcomes (such as pass rates) as this will make your resume really stand out.

Education and credentials are extremely important on your teacher resume as this shows the hiring manager that you have the right qualifications for the job. Our resume example sets these out in an organized and professional format to show that you tick all the boxes for the job opening. If you’re a newly qualified teacher with little teaching experience, consider placing the education section before your professional experience so it’s more prominent. 

Which skills are relevant for a teacher's resume?

When listing skills for a teaching resume, make sure they are relevant to the job you’re applying for and align with the job description. Here’s some key skills to include:

• Core subject (English, Math, Science…) teaching

• Curriculum development

• Lesson planning

• Student assessments

• Pedagogical best practice

• Multimedia instructional tools

• Staff training

• Student engagement

How should you describe your work experience in a teacher's resume?   

When highlighting your work experience, it's important to be as detailed (yet concise) as possible, as teachers have varying responsibilities and duties depending on their subject and grade levels. Using the job description as your guide and working in reverse chronological order, provide recruiters with clear and concise information about your core responsibilities (in paragraphs) followed by bullet-pointed and quantified achievements. 

Highlighting accomplishments such as winning awards, improving state/federal test scores (ARMT, STAR, or STEP), or team leadership roles will all be of great interest to recruiting schools. Experience working in special education and exposure to various technologies in the classroom are also important to highlight in this section. Including this information, as well as keywords from the job description, will also help you get through the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that many schools use to filter applications.

How can you create a professional summary for your teacher resume?   

Your professional summary should be direct and impactful, providing an overview of your professional experience and skills, your level of teaching experience, grade levels taught, and any standout accomplishments or awards. Examine the job description so that you’re clear on what the employer is looking for, and identify relevant keywords such as “student-focused” or “lesson planning,” so you can include these in your opening summary. This doesn’t need to be a lengthy introduction, two or three key sentences is perfect. 

Tips on developing an on-point education section for your teacher resume 

Highlighting your degrees, credentials, and certifications the right way is vital on your teacher resume as schools or academies will be looking to see you’re suitably qualified for the job opening. Here’s some key areas to focus on:

• Research the educational requirements for the district, city, and state where the teaching role is based. Most teaching jobs will require a bachelor’s degree as a minimum, completion of a state-approved teacher education program, and a teaching license. Some states require a master’s degree and additional certification credits for special education. 

• Highlight technical skills. Teachers use a variety of technologies these days, so it’s important to highlight technical proficiency in the use of communication platforms, mobile teaching apps, video streaming services, productivity and presentation skills (MS Office, Google G Suite for Education), and SMART boards. 

How to select a correct teacher resume template?

The structure of your resume needs to be organized, professional and impactful–all qualities a school will be looking for in an A+ teacher. Stick to reverse chronological format, clean and modern resume design, and clear sections that make the resume easy to read for the hiring manager. Since you only have about seven seconds to impress a recruiter, you need to make sure your format is on point.