teacher skills for resume

19 Skills a Teacher Should List on a Resume (A to Z List)

teaching skills examples and definition, explained below

Examples of teaching skills needed to be successful in today’s classrooms include: leadership, communication, multitasking, patience, and reflectiveness.

When adding these skills to a teacher resume, you can list these in two categories: ‘soft skills’ and ‘hard skills’. We’ve listed which type of skill each is below.

Be sure your teaching resume highlights some of the skills listed below, and discuss how they will benefit the students in your classroom.

For content specifically about soft skills, see soft skills for teachers .

A to Z List of Skills for a Teacher Resume

1. communication.

Type: Soft Skill

Teachers need to be able to communicate in the classroom as well as with colleagues, parents, and administration.

Show prospective employers that you are able to effectively communicate with parents in-person. Examples of communication skills include your ability to speak professionally and articulately, as well as your ability to be an empathetic listener.

Teachers will also be required to communicate through different media formats such as Google Classroom, Canvas, Edutopia, or any other required website by your district.

Be sure you are informing prospective employers that you are savvy in communicating your class objectives, standards, and assignments in an easy-to-use media format for parents and administrators.

A teacher who has dynamic communication skills will stand out as a candidate that school districts can trust to effectively reach all members of a learning community.

You Might Also Like: Teaching Philosophy Statement Examples

2. Computer Skills

Type: Hard Skill

Technology is here to stay in education. Feature how you use technology in your classroom to make yourself stand out on a resume.

If you use a smart board, projector, online classrooms, or technology in general to drive your instruction, make this stand out on your resume. In the real world your students will be using computer skills in any or all future job opportunities.

For example, a student might have to access google classroom in order to access a text and assignment for the day. In math, a group might be working on a shared online document to create a graphing presentation. In Science, students could be using project-based learning to demonstrate their understanding of skills or concepts taught in your class.

A resume that doesn’t highlight a teacher’s ability to incorporate and promote computer skills in their classroom will simply be overlooked. It is no longer a skill you can go without in the classroom.

3. Creativity

Administrators love hearing new ideas for successful lesson planning and teaching. Demonstrating how you provide a creative spin to older teaching practices is a fantastic way to stand out on your resume.

Creativity can be highlighted in many different parts of your teaching style : how you develop unique lessons, how you informally assess students during class to drive your instruction, innovative solutions you have to common behavioral problems in your classroom, how you support students in sharing ideas and communicating, etc.

Any way you can offer new insights for common practices in the classroom that lead to student success will highlight your ability to be creative.

For example, a teacher who uses a peer learning strategy that allows their students to read multiple examples of their classmates would showcase that you understand that exposure to multiple examples increases student understanding of writing skills.

Provide specific examples of how your teaching practices go beyond normal expectations in a classroom setting and highlight the benefits of those examples for your students. This will prove your ability to be creative on your resume.

You Might Also Like: Teacher Vision Statement Examples

4. Cultural Competence

Diversity in education cannot be overlooked. Your resume needs to prove you can connect with and include to a multitude of cultural backgrounds in your classroom.

An English teacher might discuss the multicultural literature they use during their lesson plans to allow their students to see themselves within the stories and topics they are discussing, for example.

Any teacher can include cultural competence by promoting and respecting dynamic cultural differences of their students in the classroom.

Your resume should highlight how you allow your students to share their personal stories and how you, as their teacher, both formally and informally recognize those differences.

One tip would be to outline how you reach out to students at the beginning of the year and allow them to share their cultures and experiences before diving into any given curriculum.

Cultural competence cannot be overlooked on your resume. You need to prove your ability to be culturally aware, and how you encourage students to be aware and accepting of their peers’ cultural differences.

5. Goal Setting

Goal setting for teachers involves making sure you have short-term and long-term plans, as well as knowledge of the steps required to get there.

This is required because teachers need to be able to create a coherent unit of work to get students from their prior knowledge to mastery of a topic.

Your resume should outline how you set goals for yourself and your students, the tasks you need to accomplish, how you minimize distractions, and your overall plan for accomplishing your daily activities successfully.

6. Leadership

Teachers are leaders inside the classroom and in the school community.

In the classroom, teachers lead groups all day long . They need a leader’s negotiating skills with students while also being able to assert their authority in the classroom.

They might also train and mentor younger and less experienced teachers and help parents with child development information that can help them raise their children.

In the school community, teachers participate in school committees where they develop educational programs and school policies. will usually be more sought after than a candidate focused solely on their classroom instruction.

School districts also have many leadership positions that need to be filled outside of the classroom, including:

school improvement plans,
curriculum planning,
policy and procedure development,
behavioral programs, etc.

Market your leadership skills on your resume by showing times when you have been a leader in and outside of the school context. Showcasing these leadership skills are sure to get you closer to securing an interview spot.

7. Lesson Planning

Lesson planning is a skill specific to our profession. It involves the ability to lay out not just what you will teach but how you will teach it.

Many employers now ask to see samples of lesson plans appended to resumes. If this is required, make sure you list your teaching strategies and be aware of the layout of the classroom. Your lesson plan should answer questions like:

Where is the teacher standing?
Are the students in groups or working independently?
What will be the pacing of the lesson?
How will you transition into and out of phases of the lesson?
What education theories are you relying on while executing this lesson?

8. Math Skills

Even if you are not a math teacher you can still easily highlight your math skills on a teaching resume.

Data-driven instruction is a major theme in successful classrooms. Be sure to demonstrate how you collect data from your students in regards to skills they are working on in class. Questions you might get in an interview may include:

How do you organize student data?
How do you interpret data to drive your instruction for your next lesson plan or unit?

Outlining these components on your day-to-day data collection and assessment will showcase your math skills, even if you are an English teacher.

You can even provide an example of your data collection on an anonymous student and describe how you might interpret that data to a parent or guardian so they can better understand their child’s progress in your class.

Even if you aren’t a math or science teacher, math and data collection should still be a driving force in your teaching. Prove this on your resume and you’ll easily showcase your math skills!

9. Multitasking

Your resume should lay out your ability to facilitate the many roles teachers play in their classroom.

In a single class, a teacher will take attendance, engage students, provide materials, introduce assignments, give directions, document behaviors, informally assess student understanding, reteach, and the list goes on!

There is no end to the amount of tasks a teacher may or may not perform in a single class period, let alone an entire day.

Your resume needs to display your ability to handle the ever-changing needs of your students on a daily basis. This includes both instruction and social emotional needs of your students.

Be sure your employer knows that you understand the complexity of what happens in a classroom on a daily basis by giving examples of your ability to handle and adapt to the ever-changing environment of your classroom.

See More: 25 Examples of Multitasking

10. Patience

Teaching is the most patient of professions. Often times, you need to sit patiently with a student for a long time before they finally have the ‘light bulb’ moment they need.

A patient educator needs to be able to change up their pedagogy to match the needs of the student. For example, they should identify when a student is struggling with your teaching modalities and switch them up to a modality that is more beneficial for the student.

If you can, provide examples of past experiences where you’ve demonstrated patience and the positive outcomes that came from those experiences. Real examples of how you can be patient in an academic setting will set you apart from other candidates.

11. Problem Solving

Being able to identify a problem, determine the cause of the problem, and initiate possible solutions to a problem are a prominent skills for any teacher and should be showcased on your resume.

Problems will appear throughout a teacher’s day. Problems with technology, problems with parents, problems with student behaviors, and student learning difficulties are all examples of issues teachers will need to face.

‘Putting out fires’ and finding solutions for both your own problems and the problems of your students are therefore central skills.

Showcases this to employers as a way to enhance your resume. Make sure you demonstrate you are capable of finding solutions for a variety of situations that could occur in any teacher’s day-to-day encounters.

Be sure your resume discusses your problem-solving skills with simple examples and solutions to ensure your prospective employer understands you fully acknowledge that all competent teachers can problem solve.

12. Punctuality

A classroom full of unsupervised students can lead to catastrophe. So be sure your employer is aware of your ability to be on time.

Being punctual to your classes at the start of the school day is necessary for the wellbeing of the students within the school. Teacher presence is often seen as one of the most important aspects of keeping students’ good behavior.

Beyond student supervision, you should be demonstrating to your employer that you are a candidate that they can count on to show up. Nothing is worse for administration than scrambling to find a last-minute substitute for a teacher who doesn’t show up on time to work.

Furthermore, nothing is worse for one of your colleagues than being called out of their planned period to substitute because you were a no-show! No one wants a colleague like that.

Your resume should prove you are accountable and that you will be present every day for your colleagues and your students.

13. Reflectiveness

A reflective teacher is one who pauses at the end of the lesson and reflects on how it went. By being reflective, they can continually learn from their experiences and improve.

One way teachers show reflectiveness is to discuss how the use students’ formative assessments to plan future assessments.

Once learning is assessed teachers then need to plan their next lessons based on student mastery and determine whether they require interventions for greater understanding or enrichment opportunities for continued growth within a skill.

One way you can accomplish this is discussing how you might incorporate reteaching strategies when students are not yet reaching mastery for a task that you previously planned to move on from.

14. Resilience

Teachers need to be able to quickly recover from difficulties in their day-to-day jobs.

Things aren’t going to go right for you. There will always be issues that you could have solved better, and prickly parents who you need to deal with regularly.

Much like a teacher’s ability to problem solve and find solutions, teachers need to quickly bounce back after handling problems.

For instance, a teacher may receive an email in the middle of day outlining a parent complaint where their practice or skills are put down or diminished. Oftentimes, teachers must quickly adapt and continue meeting the needs of their students after facing such scrutiny.

Your resume could include a glimpse into how you might recover from such situations and your plan for growth and improvement. If you have specific examples of your previous resilience in your teaching experience, be sure to highlight these on your resume.

15. Social and Emotional Intelligence

Demonstrating your ability to be are aware of your own feelings, including your strengths and weaknesses, will prove your social and emotional intelligence.

Incorporating social emotional intelligence on your resume is simple. It can be outlined in your ability to communicate, problem solve, and self-assess your work.

Be sure that you offer examples of both what you excel at in the classroom and what you need to work on. When discussing what you need to improve on, be sure to include how you will make those improvements and the benefits they will have in your classroom and for your students.

Another way to include social emotional intelligence is your ability to be responsive to your students’ social emotional status within your classroom.

Provide examples for when you understood a student was struggling and provided them with resources needed to support them.

A student who may have struggled to pay attention might be struggling with hunger. As a teacher, you were able to find them resources for free breakfast and lunch at school is a dynamite way to highlight your social emotional intelligence.

Highlighting your own social emotional intelligence and your ability to recognize social emotional cues in your students will give you an edge on your resume.

See More: Examples of High Emotional Intelligence

16. Subject-Specific Knowledge

Subject-specific knowledge is the hard skill of knowing not how to teach, but what you’re teaching .

A math teacher needs to have excellent math skills, a physics teacher must be excellent at physics, and a woodworking teacher needs excellent skills with a lathe!

One way to demonstrate excellent subject-specific knowledge is to show how you’ve used your subject-specific knowledge in your work prior to becoming a teacher.

17. Teamwork

Being a skilled team member is one of the most crucial parts of being a stellar educator.

In order to efficiently meet the needs of diverse learners, teamwork is crucial.

Current trends in teamwork for schools include just that: teams of teachers who teach the same group of students.

One example is a school who has all core teachers (Math, Social Studies, Science, and English) overseeing the education of the same group of students.

These teachers will communicate on a daily or weekly basis on the needs of individual students including: their success in classes, behavioral issues, social emotional needs, special education needs, etc.

Teams of teachers should be able to observe and provide interventions for students struggling when they work together to meet student needs. A greater impact can be made on a students’ success in the classroom when there’s a team of teachers in that student’s corner.

Exemplifying your ability to work on a team in an educational setting is a great way to increase merit on your teaching resume.

18. Time Management

In teaching you will not be seen as a viable potential employee if you cannot demonstrate your ability to organize and plan your time.

We live in a time where the crowded curriculum means we need to leverage every moment of the day. If we don’t, we’ll never get through all the teaching we need to get done by the end of the school year.

19. Writing Skills

There’s nothing worse than a teacher who sends home a newsletter with spelling mistakes all over it. It undermines your credibility as an educator!

Your resume is the first look your potential employer has of your writing skills. Make sure it’s impeccable.

You could also explicitly discuss your writing skills. For example, you could provide examples of how you model writing in your classroom, regardless of your discipline. Writing is, after all, a general academic skill that all students need.

Remember, your resume itself will showcase your writing skills. Be sure you have proofread your resume and that your writing is grammatically correct, formatted efficiently, and is easy to navigate for potential employers.

Go Deeper: Writing Skills Examples

Soft Skills vs Hard Skills

Soft skills are generalizable skills that are difficult to measure whereas hard skills are specific skills required in a profession, which are generally quantifiably measurable.

1. Soft skills are skills that are general in nature and can be transferrable across different professions. They are usually not quantitatively measurable. Examples include communication and leadership skills.

Soft skills also often require use of emotional intelligence to get them done. In other words, they often involve navigating complex social situations (although not always).

2. Hard skills are skills that are specific for tasks rather than generalist. They’re usually quantifiable and relate directly to your profession. For example, creating lesson plans is a measurable skill (you produce something at the end) and one that is specifically for the teaching profession.

Common Interview Questions for Teachers

How would you handle a disruptive student? I would answer this by highlighting the important to stay calm and patient, show concern for the student’s needs, and work together with the student, parents, and support staff to ensure the student is comfortable in the learning environment to minimize disruptive behavior going forward.
What is your teaching style? Most teachers would answer this with reference to active learning , placing an emphasis on situated learning , or achieving differentiation (see: examples of differentiated instruction ).
How do you plan to contribute to the learning culture at our school? Emphasize your ability to support other teachers, demonstrating high-standards to be a good role model to all students, and your enthusiasm to participate in co-curricular and extracurricular activities.

While the skills included in this article can seem overwhelming, remember that many of these skills are layered within each other and can be incorporated together in different aspects of your resume.

Time management, patience, resilience, and problem solving are all skills that piggyback off of one another. You likely won’t have one without touching on some of the others.

Work to group or highlight skills included in this article together.

Most importantly, remember to always make the forefront of your resume about the students. Highlight how your skills enhance their learning.

The focus should always be on how you can increase student success in your classroom both academically and as citizens. Teaching is really about the skills you have that make your students thrive!

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Social-Emotional Learning (Definition, Examples, Pros & Cons)
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is Educational Psychology?
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is IQ? (Intelligence Quotient)
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University

1 thought on “19 Skills a Teacher Should List on a Resume (A to Z List)”

Excellent Article! Thank you for sharing. Fred

Teacher Resume Examples For 2024 (20+ Skills & Templates)

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Looking to land more job offers as a teacher?

A solid resume is going to be your starting point. This comprehensive guide provides proven strategies, skills, templates, and examples for writing a job-winning Teacher resume based on data from coaching thousands of successful job seekers.

From top to bottom, this guide will give you the tools you need to create an excellent Teacher resume and increase the chances of you landing your dream job.

Here's what we're going to cover:

What To Know About Writing A Job-Winning Teacher Resume
The Best Skills To Include On An Teacher Resume

How To Write A Job-Winning Teacher Resume Summary

How to write offer-winning teacher resume bullets.

3 Teacher Resume Examples

The 8 Best Teacher Resume Templates

Here's the step-by-step breakdown:

Teacher Resume Overview: What To Know To Write A Resume That Wins More Job Offers

Wondering what school districts are looking for when they're hiring a teacher?

Districts want knowledgeable, skilled, and dedicated teachers that are highly qualified. That means they have the proper education, certifications, and experience along with mastery of their subject, strong classroom management, communication, flexibility, and commitment to student learning. Professionalism, reliability, and punctuality are also key qualities.

Your resume should show the district that the your experience and personality combined encompass all of these things.

Additionally, there are a few best practices you want to follow to write a job-winning Teacher resume:

Highlight your education and certifications: emphasizing any relevant coursework or specialized training.
Emphasize your teaching experience: providing specific examples of your accomplishments and contributions to student learning.
Include keywords from the job description: ensure your resume is optimized for applicant tracking systems (ATS).
Showcase your skills and achievements: including examples of your ability to manage a classroom, communicate effectively, and use technology.
Quantify your work: Use numbers to showcase the results of your teaching efforts. Some examples include increases in student assessment results, increasing student engagement and decreasing classroom management issues.
Proofread: Carefully proofread your resume for errors and typos, as these can give a negative impression to potential employers (I recommend using the Hemingway App ).

Let's dive deeper into each of these so you have the exact blueprint you need to see success.

The Best Teacher Skills To Include On Your Resume

Keywords are one of the most important factors in your resume. They show employers that your skills align with the role and they also help format your resume for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

If you're not familiar with ATS systems, they are pieces of software used by employers to manage job applications. They scan resumes for keywords and qualifications and make it easier for the employers to filter and search for candidates whose qualifications match the role.

If you want to win more interviews and job offers, you need to have a keyword-optimized resume. There are two ways to find the right keywords:

1. Leverage The 20 Best Teacher Keywords

The first is to leverage our list of the best keywords and skills for an Teacher resume.

These keywords were selected from an analysis of real Teacher job descriptions sourced from actual job boards. Here they are:

Communication
Collaborative
Development
Flexibility
Performance
Instruction
Regulations

2. Use ResyMatch.io To Find The Best Keywords That Are Specific To Your Resume And Target Role

The second method is the one I recommend because it's personalized to your specific resume and target job.

This process lets you find the exact keywords that your resume is missing when compared to the individual role you're applying for

Open a copy of your updated teacher resume
Open a copy of your target teacher job description
In the widget below, paste your resume on the left, paste the job description on the right, and hit scan!

Copy/paste or upload your resume here:

Click here to paste text

Upload a PDF, Word Doc, or TXT File

Paste the job post's details here:

Scan to compare and score your resume vs the job's description.

Scanning...

And if you're a visual learner, here's a video walking through the entire process so you can follow along:

You have a very short window of time to capture an employer's attention–an average of six seconds, to be exact.

To land more interviews an offers, you have to make each one of those seconds count. Start by putting the exact information the reader is looking for at the very top of your resume.

A quick Google search will tell you that a Summary or an Objective should hold this top spot but, unfortunately, that traditional advice simply won't capture your reader's attention. Winning in today's job market means using a more modern approach, what I like to call a “Highlight Reel.”

Here's how it works:

Highlight Reels: A Proven Way To Start Your Resume And Win More Jobs

The Highlight Reel is exactly what it sounds like.

It's a section at the top of your resume that allows you to pick and choose the best and most relevant experience to feature right at the top of your resume.

It's essentially a highlight reel of your career as it relates to this specific role! I like to think about it as the SportsCenter Top 10 of your resume.

The Highlight Reel resume summary consists of 4 parts:

A relevant section title that ties your experience to the role
An introductory bullet that summarizes your experience and high level value
A few supporting “Case Study” bullets that illustrate specific results, projects, and relevant experience
A closing “Extracurricular” bullet to round out your candidacy

For example, if we were writing a Highlight Reel for a Teacher role, it might look like this:

You can see how the first bullet includes the Teacher job title, the years of experience this candidate has, and it wraps up with a value-driven pitch for how they've helped students in the past.

The next two bullets are “Case Studies” of specific results they drove at their district. Finally, their last bullet focuses on their proficiency with classroom technology.

This candidate has provided all of the info any employer would want to see right at the very top of their resume! The best part is, they can customize this section for each and every role they apply for to maximize the relevance of their experience.

Here's one more example of a Teacher Highlight Reel:

While the content in this example is focused on this candidate's previous industry experience, you can see all of the elements of a great Highlight Reel (especially the emphasis on measurable outcomes and results!).

If you want more details on writing a killer Highlight Reel, check out my full guide on Highlight Reels here.

Bullets make up the majority of the content in your resume. If you want to win, you need to know how to write bullets that are compelling and value-driven.

Unfortunately, way too many job seekers aren't good at this. They use fluffy, buzzword-fill language and they only talk about the actions that they took rather than the results and outcomes those actions created.

The Anatomy Of A Highly Effective Resume Bullet

If you apply this framework to each of the bullets on your resume, you're going to make them more compelling and your value is going to be crystal clear to the reader. For example, take a look at these resume bullets:

❌ Responsible for creating a safe learning environment.

✅ Fostered an encouraging learning environment through communication, collaboration, and compassion that increased student participation by 30% over one academic year.

The second bullet makes the candidate's value so much more clear, and it's a lot more fun to read! That's what we're going for here.

That said, it's one thing to look at the graphic above and try to apply the abstract concept of “35% hard skills” to your bullet. We wanted to make things easy, so we created a tool called ResyBullet.io that will actually give your resume bullet a score and show you how to improve it.

Using ResyBullet To Write Crazy Effective, Job-Winning Teacher Resume Bullets

ResyBullet takes our proprietary “resume bullet formula” and layers it into a tool that's super simple to use. Here's how it works:

Head over to ResyBullet.io
Copy a bullet from your teacher resume and paste it into the tool, then hit “Analyze”
ResyBullet will score your teacher resume bullet and show you exactly what you need to improve
You edit your bullet with the recommended changes and scan it again
Rinse and repeat until you get a score of 60+
Move on to the next bullet in your teacher resume

Let's take a look at how this works for the two resume bullet examples I shared above:

First, we had, “Responsible for creating a safe learning environment.”

ResyBullet gave that a score of 25/100. While it includes an action word, it's too short and is missing relevant skills, compelling language, and measurable outcomes:

Now, let's take a look at our second bullet, “Fostered an encouraging learning environment through communication, collaboration, and compassion that increased student participation by 30% over one academic year.”

ResyBullet gave that a 75 / 100. Much better! This bullet had more content focused on the specific criteria the hiring team is looking for. We can see by exactly how much they increased student participation, the skill and method they applied, and that it all resulted in an overall increase in student success.

Now all you have to do is run each of your bullets through ResyBullet, make the suggested updates, and your resume is going to be jam packed with eye-popping, value-driven content!

And if you want to learn more about the underlying strategies behind writing great resume bullets, check out this guide.

If you're ready, grab a bullet from your resume, paste it into the widget below, and hit scan to get your first resume bullet score and analysis:

Free Resume Bullet Analyzer

Learn to write crazy effective resume bullets that grab attention, illustrate value, and actually get results., copy and paste your resume bullet to begin analysis:, 3 teacher resume examples for 2023.

Now let's take a look at all of these best practices in action. Here are three resume examples for different situations from people with different backgrounds:

Teacher Resume Example #1: A Traditional Background

Teacher Resume Example #2: A Non-Traditional Background

For our second Teacher Resume Example, we have a candidate who has a non-traditional background. In this case, they are coming from the financial services industry but have experience helping customers learn more about financial literacy. Here's an example of what their resume might look like when applying for Teacher roles:

Teacher Resume Example #3: Experienced Teacher With Masters Degree

For our third Teacher Resume Example, we have a candidate who has 14+ years of experience and a Masters degree. Here's an example of what their resume might look like when applying for Teacher roles:

At this point, you know all of the basics you'll need to write a Teacher resume that wins you more interviews and offers. The only thing left is to take all of that information and apply it to a template that's going to help you get results.

We made that easy with our ResyBuild tool . It has 8 proven templates that were created with the help of recruiters and hiring managers at the world's best companies. These templates also bake in thousands of data points we have from the job seekers in our audience who have used them to land job offers.

Just click any of the templates below to start building your resume using proven, recruiter-approved templates:

Free Job-Winning Resume Templates, Build Yours In No Time .

Choose a resume template below to get started:.

Key Takeaways To Wrap Up Your Job-Winning Teacher Resume

You made it! We packed a lot of information into this post so I wanted to distill the key points for you and lay out next steps so you know exactly where to from here.

Here are the 5 steps for writing a job-winning Teacher resume:

Start with a proven resume template from ResyBuild.io
Use ResyMatch.io to find the right keywords and optimize your resume for each Teacher role you apply to
Start your resume with a Highlight Reel to immediately grab your target school district's attention
Use ResyBullet.io to craft compelling, value-driven bullets that pop off the page
Compare the draft of your Teacher resume to the examples on this page to make sure you're on the right path
Use a tool like HemingwayApp to proofread your resume before you submit it

If you follow those steps, you're going to be well on your way to landing more Teacher interviews and job offers.

Now that your resume is all set, check out my guide on writing a job-winning Teacher cover letter (with examples!)

Laura Lorta

Laura is an Editor at Cultivated Culture. She transitioned from teaching into the world of content so she's no stranger to career pivots. She also has a bachelors in Entrepreneurship and a Masters in Curriculum & Instruction / Bilingual Education. She currently shares job search advice to help people like you land jobs they love without applying online.

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Top 10 Teaching Skills for Your Resume and How to Highlight Them

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Top 10 Teaching Skills for Your Resume and How to Highlight Them was originally published on Forage .

Whether you’re a new graduate looking for your first teaching job or someone who wants to make a career change to education, you need to include teaching skills on your resume. But how do you include your teaching skills on your resume without resorting to a laundry list of skills?

While you probably can’t include all of your relevant skills, focusing on the top ones (as in, your strongest ones) will help you focus your application. The next step is describing how you use your teaching skills on the job.

Not sure where to start or which skills to pick? This guide has it all!

The Top 10 Teaching Skills for Your Resume

A majority of the top teaching skills for your resume are soft skills , though there are a few hard skills as well. And what’s great about soft skills is that they aren’t something you necessarily have to take a class for or learn on a specific job.

Soft skills, and by extension, teaching skills, are skills you develop throughout your life, making them highly transferable . Some skills you may have picked up at a summer job or internship and others you may have honed working on group projects. And there are a few skills you may have picked up in your day-to-day life, like staying organized so you don’t forget any of your to-dos.

How to Include Teaching Skills on Your Resume

The easiest way to include the below teaching skills is to list them as part of the skills section of your resume . Alternatively, you could include them as part of your job duties in your work history (e.g., created presentations). However, neither explain how you use these skills as a teacher.

Now, normally, you would use the STAR method to describe how you use your skills at work, and for most jobs, results (the “R” of STAR) are relatively simple to include. You can talk about how many deals you closed, how much business you managed, or how you improved a process that saved the company money.

When it comes to including teaching skills — and soft skills in general — on your resume, there isn’t always a concrete way to quantify your outcomes. But there are ways you can explain how you use those skills at work.

Each of these skills has a STAR-method example of how you can include your teaching skills on your resume.

1. Patience

Patience, as they say, is a virtue, and it’s a skill teachers need plenty of — no matter which grade or subject you teach. From helping younger students learn their ABCs and how to tie a shoelace to working with older students who would rather watch TikTok instead of participate, teachers have to have patience.

Resume Example: Talk about a time you had to be patient on the job or in school. This could include having to follow up with a coworker multiple times or waiting for someone to finish their part of the project.

Tracked and followed up with team members on progress toward group goal to ensure project was completed on time

2. Conflict Resolution

Another critical teaching skill to include on your resume is conflict resolution. You’ll likely have to help students navigate tricky situations, whether personal or academic. At those times, it’s possible your student lacks self-control or awareness, which may make them less receptive to what you’re saying and possibly act out.

And beyond the classroom, you’ll probably use your conflict resolution skills when you speak with parents, other teachers, the administration, or school board.

Resume Example: You can talk about dealing with parents or students during your student teaching or about a group project you worked on where you de-escalated a conflict.

Mediated disagreements between students to ensure classroom remained a safe place to learn

3. Time Management

While you know what happens at 9:55 a.m. and may even have a bell that cues you throughout the school day, you can’t be halfway through your lesson by the end of class.

Teachers need top-tier time management skills to ensure they stay on time so students get the information they need, no one is late to the next class, and your class doesn’t miss the bus!

Resume Example: Talking up your time management skills is very similar to project management , so you can talk about a project you managed from start to finish. Likewise, you can mention how you use your time management skills to ensure you don’t fall behind on due dates.

Created calendar with milestone due dates to ensure group completed project tasks on time

4. Technology and Computer Literacy

In today’s digital world, technological and computer literacy is a must. Even if you’re not teaching a STEM class, there’s a high probability you will use some kind of technology in the classroom. Textbooks may be online, as well as the gradebook and attendance reporting.

While you don’t have to be a software engineer to be a teacher, you should demonstrate that you have some digital know-how.

Resume Example: Among teaching skills for your resume, this one is more of a hard skill and a bit easier to demonstrate. You can talk about how you’re a wiz with spreadsheets (like Excel ), run a hobby website, or design illustrations for lessons.

Use Canva to create interactive elements for lessons and worksheets

5. Attention to Detail

Teachers are responsible for tons of details. You don’t want to misrecord something in the gradebook or mark the wrong person absent. What’s more, sometimes a substitute may take your place, so your lesson plans need to be thorough and detailed so the substitute can teach your students and ensure they don’t fall behind.

Resume Example: Mention a time you had to use your attention to detail skills. Maybe you were the editor of the student newspaper, or you had to balance the cash register at night. Both tasks demonstrate that you pay attention to and notice the little things.

Edited student newspaper to ensure the final copy was error-free and reduce the probability of having to retract the article or issue a correction

6. Problem-Solving

Though most days at school are fairly routine, there will be times you have to engage your problem-solving skills . The power might be out, and you have to teach everything analog. Or the supplies you need for an experiment haven’t shown up yet. Even though you have a lesson plan, you’ll still have to improvise, and that means solving problems and engaging your creative thinking .

Resume Example: Talk about a time you had to think on your feet and be creative. That could be anything from devising a lesson plan from scratch to giving a presentation on the fly.

Discovered data inconsistency with reporting and created a new filter to ensure more accurate results

7. Leadership

When people think of leadership in relation to teaching and teachers, they probably think of the head of a department or the principal. While those are leadership positions, being the teacher in a classroom of 20 six-year-olds requires leadership skills .

For example, if you’re trying to line the class up and move them quietly through the hall, accomplishing this task requires you to persuade, convince, and motivate a bunch of kids who may be hungry, tired, or need to run around outside. Your ability to make this happen uses a mix of soft skills, but they all come together to make you the leader of the class!

Resume Example: Leadership doesn’t have to equate to “in charge.” Think about a time you motivated and inspired others to get something done, especially if it was a task no one was interested in.

Ensured safety and well-being of 20 campers, including daily head counts, taking campers to the nurse, and teaching basic swim lessons.

8. Communication

Teachers use their verbal and written communication skills a lot . Whether it’s writing a syllabus, explaining the water cycle, filling out report cards, or telling the class that recess is over, teachers spend most of their time communicating .

And teachers communicate with multiple groups, so the ability to vary your communication style for the particular audience is necessary. For example, how you present something to the board of education is very different from explaining it to seventh graders.

Resume Example: While your resume (and cover letter ) are examples of your written skills , don’t stop there. Talk about papers you’ve written or blog posts you’ve contributed. And for verbal communication skills, talk about the presentations you’ve given.

Presented senior thesis to Humanities department about improving reading skills in fourth-grade classes

9. Organization

Planning the lessons, scheduling the quizzes and tests, and making sure everyone is where they need to be requires stellar organization skills, but that’s only one part of the puzzle. Teachers also make sure to teach students the information the school or state mandates at the right time, so students are prepared for required benchmark tests.

Resume Example: Describe how you stay organized, whether that’s in school or on the job.

10. Advocacy

Finally, you’ll often need to advocate for your students, classroom, school, and even your community. But advocacy in this context generally requires a gentle touch and awareness.

Resume Example: Talk about a time you stood up for something, but ensure it’s not “over the top.” For example, mentioning how you spoke to the school board while you were in high school about adjusting lunch time, so people didn’t have to eat at 10:00 a.m. is advocacy. Protesting outside a school is activism. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with activism, but it may not have a place on your teaching resume.

Requested for and received 17% additional funding for reading support program in school library

What Is the Job Outlook for Teachers?

The job outlook as reported by the Bureaus of Labor Statistics (BLS) is projected to remain stable between 2022 and 2032 for almost all teachers at 1%. Below is the median pay for teachers and estimated number of jobs that will be open between 2022 and 2032 from the BLS:

Median PayJob OpeningsKindergarten and elementary school $61,620 10,700Middle school $61,810 5,100High school $62,360 11,100

Which Teaching Skills Belong on Your Resume?

While these are some of the top teaching skills for your resume, they’re not the only ones you can include. If you think adaptability , teamwork , empathy, or lesson planning are better fits for you, use those instead. Just remember to describe them using the STAR method so the hiring manager better understands how you’ll use your teaching skills in the classroom.

And if you’re not 100% sure that teaching is the right career for you, take our What Career Is Right for Me ? quiz and discover career paths you may not have thought about.

Image credit: Canva

The post Top 10 Teaching Skills for Your Resume and How to Highlight Them appeared first on Forage .

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Free Teacher Resume Template and Tips, Plus 21 Teacher Resume Examples

Make a great first impression!

Free teacher resume template lying on a desk

Whether you’re searching for your first teaching job or you’re ready for a change, you’ll need a solid resume. There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there on how to write a resume that will land you an interview, so it’s worth taking some time to review teacher resume examples first. We’ve rounded up examples for pretty much any kind of educator and assembled tips for how to write a strong modern teacher resume.

Best of all, we’ve got a free, fully customizable teacher resume template to get you started quickly and easily. Fill out the form on this page to grab your template, then use our tips to start building your resume today.

Teacher Resume Tips

Teacher resume examples.

Resumes have changed a lot in recent years, so do your research to find out what the latest trends are. For instance, while an “objectives” section used to be a resume standard, people often drop this section today in favor of more space to highlight their accomplishments. Start with these general resume tips, then get more advice for completing our free teacher resume template, section by section.

General Tips

Keep it to one or two pages. Hiring managers don’t have time to read overly long resumes. Put the most important information up front, and remove anything that doesn’t truly strengthen your application.
Be honest. While you want to highlight your strengths and achievements, don’t go overboard. If you exaggerate your experience but are unable to perform certain tasks, you may put your future job at risk before you even get started.
Skip the gimmicks. Some people will tell you the way to make your resume stand out is to use fun fonts or a “creative” design. The fact is, people who are hiring want an easy-to-read, clear presentation that highlights your achievements and credentials. That’s what will land you an interview.
Tailor your resume. Keep a standard resume document that you can customize for the specific job you’re applying for. That might mean moving sections around, highlighting specific skills or experiences, or deciding which parts of your career deserve to be placed up front. Take a close look at the job description, and tailor your resume accordingly.
Don’t try to circumvent the system. Years ago, people would tell you to ignore requests to send your resume and instead show up in person. Our advice: Don’t do it! Application systems are nearly all online these days, and for good reason. This helps hiring committees by organizing information efficiently and ensuring they meet all anti-discrimination laws. So just send your resume and application using the method requested.
Don’t forget a cover letter. A great cover letter really can help your resume stand out. Learn how to make your teacher cover letter special here.

Contact Information

On today’s resumes, your mailing address is optional. In fact, if you’re looking for a job outside of your current geographical area, it can sometimes be helpful to leave it off. This way, employers won’t worry about whether you’re willing to relocate for the job.

Email addresses are not optional. This is the way most schools will contact you today, so be sure to provide yours. You might want to take a look at your address to make sure it sounds relatively professional too. Ideally, it simply contains a version of your name (e.g., “[email protected]”); don’t forget you can grab a free email address from sites like Gmail if you need to. But other addresses are fine too, as long as there’s nothing questionable. “[email protected]” is fine. “[email protected]” is not.

Professional Objective/Summary

As mentioned earlier, resume objectives are used less and less today. Recent college grads or those transitioning to teaching careers might still decide to include a professional objective statement. Those with more experience have replaced objectives with a summary statement that provides an overview of their career. It’s also OK to delete this section altogether if you’d like more space in the Relevant Work Experience section.

Education and Certifications

Include your undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as any certifications or licensures you hold. Note: It’s up to you whether you include your graduation date. Some people worry it can open them up to age discrimination. You’ll likely be asked for this information if you continue in the hiring process, so they can verify your degrees.

Related Experience

This is the real meat of your teacher resume. You can list jobs chronologically starting with the most recent, or choose to place your most relevant experience first. Either way, include your employer’s name, dates of employment, and the position/s you held. Then, highlight your experience and achievements. Strive to make your statements measurable and quantifiable rather than just a listing of your job duties.

Weak statements:

Taught fifth grade science and math
Prepared students for standardized math tests
Oversaw annual school science fair

Strong statements:

Instructed 100+ students each year in fifth grade science fundamentals, including human anatomy, electricity and magnetism, and earth and space science
Improved standardized testing math scores by an average of 8% over a period of five years
Organized seven annual school science fairs by coordinating 200+ participants, finding qualified judges, and arranging for prizes donated by the community

New college grad? You should definitely include your student teaching or internship experience in this section!

Additional Experience

You can use this section to include jobs you’ve held that aren’t quite as relevant to the one you’re applying for. If you’re new to the working world, it’s OK to include non-teaching jobs here. For those with longer careers, it’s probably not necessary to list every job you’ve ever had. Just highlight any experience that helps support your application or fills any employment gaps.

Professional Honors and Leadership

If you’ve received awards or honors related to teaching, share them here. The same goes for any leadership roles you’ve held in educational professional orgs.

Professional Affiliations

If space allows, you might want to include a short list of respected professional organizations you belong to. You should definitely include them if you play a very active role, have been invited to speak as an education expert at a conference, etc. Otherwise, this section is optional.

Other Teacher Resume Sections

Here are some sections you might consider adding if you have space, and a few to skip altogether.

Professional skills: Don’t include this section if your skills are simply those expected of any teacher. But if you’ve built up any unusual and relevant teaching skills through experience or professional development, you could include them here. (Fluency in multiple languages, for example.)
Community involvement or volunteer work: If you’ve been heavily involved in community organizations that work with children or education, consider highlighting those achievements on your resume.
Publications: Have you published articles in an educational or professional journal, or had your work featured on a trusted, well-known website? Include any relevant articles and links.

Here’s what you don’t need on your resume:

Hobbies or “unique” unrelated skills (like “juggling” or “Cordon Bleu chef”).
Any information about religious or political affiliations, or your marital status, gender, race, or age. These could lead to potential bias or discrimination in the hiring process.
References: Most people leave this section off their resume these days, as job applications or hiring committees will ask you for them separately. Line up your references and gather their contact information, but hang onto them until you’re asked to provide the info. You don’t even need to put “References available upon request,” since hiring managers already assume that.

As you complete your teacher resume template, use these examples for ideas about what to include and how to word it.

1. First-time teacher

This is a great resume for teachers with little to no experience.

2. Another first-time teacher example

Here’s one more example of a great teacher resume for those with limited experience.

3. Experienced elementary teacher

This one allows you to showcase your skills in a compact, visually appealing design.

4. Another experienced elementary teacher

This is one of those teacher resume examples that work best for those with some experience but who are still early in their career. (Note: Click the link above and scroll down to find it.)

5. Summer school teacher

Use this resume to highlight the unique skills of summer school teachers who work with students who are either repeating a course or trying to get ahead for the following school year.

6. Assistant teacher

Applying for an assistant teacher job will be much easier using one of the five fantastic teacher resume examples through this resource.

7. Special education teacher

As a special educator, your responsibilities may change from minute to minute and your skills need to adapt. This template helps you simplify your experience in a one-page resume.

8. School counselor

This resume will help you showcase your excellent mentoring, counseling, and leadership skills.

9. School guidance counselor

As a guidance counselor, your role is to guide students through academic development as well as personal growth. Use this template to show you how to highlight your unique talents.

10. Library media specialist

Showcase your ability to collect and maintain the valuable resources needed to foster a strong learning environment for students.

11. High school English teacher

Use this guide to create a great English teacher resume that will highlight your communication, interpersonal, and planning skills to edge out the competition.

12. Technology teacher

Emphasize your commitment to the ongoing professional development necessary to continue integrating the latest technology into the existing curriculum, and coming up with new lesson plans for today’s classrooms.

13. Music teacher

Share and showcase your love of introducing music to students with this straightforward teacher resume.

14. Drama teacher

This resume example is simple but perfect for drama teachers who want to emphasize their experience as well as their knowledge of acting techniques and production.

15. World language teacher

Establish yourself as the ideal candidate by demonstrating teaching skills, language proficiency, communication, and organizational skills.

16. Sports coach

As a coach, this template will help you demonstrate your ability to manage teams and sports programs as well as encourage academic performance.

17. ESL teacher

This teacher resume example allows you to highlight your classroom management skills, as well as your commitment to empathy, patience, and cultural awareness. (Note: Click the link above and scroll down to find it.)

18. Math teacher

This clean resume template showcases a math teacher’s ability to break down complex math concepts through patient, meaningful engagement with students.

19. Pre-K teacher

It takes a special person to be a great pre-K teacher. Working with young children while creating lesson and activity plans, monitoring progress, and providing quality supervision takes patience and kindness.

20. Business teacher

Put your best foot forward with this business teacher resume that emphasizes teaching methods and a commitment to ongoing professional development.

21. International school teacher

Use this resume to let hiring managers know that you’re not only motivated to help students learn but uniquely qualified. Be sure to highlight any experience living or traveling abroad as well as foreign language skills.

Get Your Free Teacher Resume Template

Just fill out the form on this landing page for instant access to a free Google Doc featuring a fully customizable teacher resume template.

Plus, check out tips for teacher job fairs and the most common teacher interview questions.

Want more articles like this be sure to subscribe to our newsletters , you might also like.

25 Teacher Cover Letters Examples To Help You Get Hired

Your guide to a killer cover letter that will get you that interview. Continue Reading

How to List Teacher Skills on a Resume

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Why employers want to see teacher skills on your resume

How to list teacher skills on a resume, best teacher skills to add to a resume, how to improve teacher skills.

If you’re applying for a teacher position, it’s important to include the most relevant teaching skills on your resume. Doing so will let employers know how qualified you are for the role. This article explains how to include teacher skills on your resume and how you can improve those skills to showcase your unique abilities for the job.

Employers want to see teacher skills on your resume because it shows them how you qualify for the role you’re applying for. Before making a hiring decision, it’s important for them to consider what contributions you can make to their school or institution. Having your skills listed on your resume allows them to see not only what you know, but also lets them see how you compare with other candidates vying for the same position.

Consider the following steps for how to list your relevant skills on your teacher resume:

1. First, consider your relevant skills

Before you begin including your skills on your resume, consider your relevant abilities in this field. In addition, you should refer to the job posting to understand what skills the employer is looking for in particular. Make a list of your relevant teacher skills. These skills should emphasize your ability to perform well in this new role.

2. Second, include teacher skills with your certifications

One way to include your skills on your resume is to describe them through your certifications. Rather than stating your particular skills, listing your certifications shows that your teaching skills have been examined and deemed worthy of certification. If you have relevant certifications, include these in a separate section on your resume.

For example, as a teacher, you might have an early childhood education certification. This shows employers that you not only have experience and skills working with younger children in the education system but also that these skills have been vetted and verified.

3. Third, include teacher skills with your experience

The experience section on your resume is a great section to include your skills in each description. For example, if you were recently a third-grade teacher, you should give a brief description of your responsibilities in that position. This could include a particular learning strategy you implemented in this role. Make sure you’re incorporating your skills seamlessly throughout various bullet points.

4. Fourth, include a skills section

If you’re including a skills section on your resume, this section is a great place to touch on skills you hadn’t previously mentioned on your resume. Include this section at the end of your resume and particularly after your experience section.

Here are some of the most valuable teacher skills you can add to your resume:

Communication skills

Teachers should be good verbal and written communicators with not only their students but with colleagues and parents as well. In addition, you’ll need to adapt your communication style to your individual students.

Self-motivation

As a teacher, it’s important that you’re able to motivate yourself without the help of others. Including this skill shows employers you’re passionate about your job regardless of your working environment.

Inspiring

Because you’ll be teaching various individuals, it’s important to consistently inspire them in the classroom. This will motivate them to learn to the best of their ability.

Active listening skills

As a teacher, it’s important that you’re able to understand and adequately observe what a speaker has to say. This is especially important as you listen to students in the classroom and meet with parents or your supervisors.

Time management skills

Time management skills ensure that you’re able to adhere to a schedule and perform certain tasks in a timely manner. This is an important skill that showcases your ability to complete your responsibilities by the required deadline.

Critical thinking skills

As a teacher, it’s important to be a critical thinker as you’ll need to solve problems and analyze situations daily. This is a great skill that can illustrate your ability to effectively create lesson plans, manage your students and more.

Here are some methods that can be used to help improve your teacher skills:

1. First, know your subject matter

As a teacher, it’s important that you know the subject matter that you’re teaching. For example, take some extra time to review your lesson plans each day. The better you are prepared and the more you know about the topic you’re presenting, the better the learning environment you will share with your students.

2. Second, be confident

As a teacher, it’s important to believe in yourself. The more confidence you have, the more students will believe in themselves. In addition, the more confident you are, the more you’ll be able to inspire others and have the drive to be an exemplary teacher for your students.

3. Third, recognize different learning styles

As a teacher, you’ll be working with a variety of students with different learning styles, personalities and backgrounds. You can improve your teaching skills by determining how each of your students learns best.

4. Fourth, create a schedule

In order to improve your time management skills, make a schedule for the day, week or month. Prioritizing your tasks will help you effectively manage your time.

SEO Title: Teacher Resume Skills | Best Skills & Examples | Resume.com

Discover some of the best teacher resume skills to highlight in your experience when applying for a teaching position.

Teacher Resume Example for 2024 [w/ Free Template]

You’re a teacher. You teach and inspire the next generation.

You help children to learn.

But when it comes to writing your own resume , you need advice from someone else.

What does a good teacher resume look like, anyway?

In such a competitive industry, you can’t leave any questions answered.

But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

A job-winning teacher resume example
How to create a teaching resume that hiring managers love
Specific tips and tricks for the teaching job industry

Here’s a teacher resume example, built with our own resume builder :

Follow the steps below to create a teacher resume of your own.

How to Format a Teacher Resume

Before you can educate the recruiter on your skills and experiences, you need to choose the most suitable resume format for teaching.

You see, even the best applicant needs a resume format that is easy to read and follow.

With “ reverse-chronological ” being the most common resume format , we recommend this format for teachers. It highlights your most recent work experience first, and then works back through your history and skills.

You could also try the two following formats:

Functional Resume - This format focuses on your skills, which makes it the best format for teachers that are highly-skilled, but have little in the way of classroom experience.
Combination Resume - This format mixes both “Functional” and “Reverse-Chronological” formats, which means it focuses on both your teaching skills AND teaching experience.

Stick to a one-page teacher resume. This shows that you’re able to information brief and precise. Feel free to check out our one-page resume templates for inspiration.

Use a Teacher Resume Template

As a teacher, you will likely work with Microsoft Word on a daily basis.

However, this is not one of those times.

The program is best avoided if you want to avoid formatting issues.

Use a teacher resume template for a resume that stays structurally strong. Any of the following templates can be easily tailored for a teacher application.

What to Include in a Teacher Resume

The main sections in a teacher resume are:

Contact Information
Work Experience/Teaching Experience

For a teacher resume that stands out from other applications, add these optional sections:

Awards & Certification
Volunteer Experience

Interests & Hobbies

Keep reading to find out how to ace each of the above sections.

For an in-depth rundown on which sections to use, check out our guide on What to Put on a Resume .

How to Write Your Contact Information Section

When grading papers, you know that every word or digit matters. This is also true with your contact information section. Any mistakes made in your phone number or email can render your whole application useless.

For your contact information section, include:

Title – Align this to the job title , which is “Teacher”
Phone Number – Ensure there are zero errors
Email Address – Make sure to use a professional email address ([email protected]), and not your 6th grade email address ([email protected])
Location – Applying for a job abroad? Mention your location
Optional - relevant social media profiles.
Rose Hunt - English Teacher. 101-358-6095. [email protected]
Rose Hunt - English Language Guru. 101-358-6095. [email protected]

How to Write a Teacher Resume Summary or Objective

Here’s a question for the class:

How long do you think recruiters spend reading through the average resume?

If you said less than a minute, you would be correct.

This means your resume needs to really impress within this short timeframe.

The nest question is, what can you do to make the most important easy to see and consume?

Simple: use a resume summary or objective .

These are punchy paragraphs that go on top of your resume, just under the contact section.

The main difference between the two sections is that:

A resume summary is a short summary of your teaching experiences and achievements. It is the best option for teachers who have taught for multiple years.

Passionate English Teacher with a focus on American literature seeks a permanent position at XYZ School. Highlights from five years of teaching experience include improving college admission success rate by 40% at ABC High School. Excited about leveraging 5000 hours of teaching experience to give an inspiring classroom experience for your students.

On the other hand, the resume objective focuses on your professional goals and aspirations. It is ideal for entry-level teaching candidates or individuals who are seeking a change in their professional career.

Motivated English Literature graduate seeking the role of English teacher at ABC High School. Experience includes supervising classes at XYZ Middle School for 60 days over a 3 month period. Skills include classroom management, grading to strict time restraints, and utilizing whiteboard technology.

So, which one is best for you?

Well, a summary is suited for teachers who have a lot of classroom experience, whereas an objective is suited for those who are new to the world of teaching (student, graduate, or switching careers).

How to Make Your Teaching Work Experience Stand Out

The best way to prove your worth as a teacher is with your previous work experience .

Sure, the recruiter will want to see that you have lots of subject knowledge, but nothing builds confidence more than your professional experience.

Follow this layout in your experience section:

Position name
Company Name
Responsibilities & Achievements

Elementary School Teacher

Hinchley Wood School

04/2017 - 01/2021

Kept pass rates above 80% from 2017-2020
Improved attendance by 12% in the first school year
Graded classroom papers for 12 classes of 30+ pupils

As you may notice, the above example focuses on the candidate’s best achievements.

So, instead of saying:

“Taught children for three years”

“Kept pass rates above 80% from 2017-2020”

The second statement goes into specific details that show you’re a great teacher.

Use the job description to help you. Look to see if there is anything in the job description that matches your work history. If there is, include it in this section.

What if You Don’t Have Work Experience?

Maybe you’re a graduate who hasn’t worked before?

Or maybe you want a career change?

Whatever your situation, there are options.

The main option is to use a portfolio.

Here are several ways to build a teaching portfolio (and get paid for it):

Use a freelance platform (e.g.: UpWork ) to pick up some private tutoring gigs
Use social media to offer your teaching services to friends & acquaintances

For the students reading this, you’ll enjoy our guide on how to make a student resume !

Use Action Words to Make Your Teaching Resume POP!

Look through a pile of teacher resumes, and you will see these words repeated again and again.

Do you want your resume to look like all the rest?

Of course not!

This is why we recommend using some of these power words instead:

Conceptualized
Spearheaded

How to List Your Education Correctly

The next section in any good teacher resume is the education section.

Now, there’s a few different paths you can follow to become a professional teacher.

All you need to do in this section is describe your educational path to date.

Degree Type & Major
University Name
Years Studied
GPA, Honours, Courses, and other relevant achievements

Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education

Boston State University

2015 - 2018

Relevant Courses: Foundations of Education, Early Childhood Development, Physical Sciences, Computer Literacy, Classroom Engagement & Development

Right, let’s answer some of the most frequently asked questions:

What if I’m still studying?

Whether or not you’ve passed all of your teaching exams, you should always mention every year that you have studied to date.

Should I include my high school qualifications?

Only include your highest form of qualification. If that’s a qualification from high school , then go for it.

What comes first, education or experience?

If you’re an experienced teacher, your work experience should come before your education.

If you still have questions, you can check out our guide on how to list education on a resume .

Top 10 Skills for a Teacher Resume

Every great teacher has a certain set of skills.

It’s these skills that the recruiter wants to see when short-listing applicants.

You may be the best teacher in the world, but it’s vital to make your skills clear to see on your resume.

It will depend on the specialist subject, but a teacher should have some of the following skills:

Hard Skills for Teachers:

Computer Skills
Literacy skills
Disciplinary action

Soft Skills for Teachers:

Classroom management
Time management
Organization

Want the most comprehensive list? Here’s a mega-list of 100+ must-have skills .

Other Resume Sections You Can Include

If graded, your resume should now be able to pass the test…

But what if the other applicants have scored top marks?

Add additional sections for an A+ resume that can’t be beaten.

When competing against an experienced field, the following sections may be the deciding factor…

Awards & Certifications

Do you hold Coursera certifications?

Were you awarded during your studies?

Whatever the recognition, awards and certifications make the difference.

Awards & Certificates Examples

Learning How to Learn – Coursera Certificate
Motivating Gen Z Learners – Coursera Certificate
Educating Deaf Children – Teaching Lab

Now, you may not be teaching Spanish, but it can be good to know another language.

Whether or not the teaching job requires you to speak a second language or not, it is still an impressive skill that you may want to include on your resume.

Order the languages by proficiency:

Intermediate

Now, you may be wondering, “why is my weekly book club worth mentioning when applying for teaching jobs?”

Well, because it says more about who you as a person.

It shows that you have a life outside of teaching.

You’re someone who the other teachers could relate to.

If you want some ideas of hobbies & interests to put on your resume, we have a guide for that!

Match Your Cover Letter with Your Resume

Oh no, more writing!?

We feel your pain, but it’s for great reason.

Cover letters still play a vital role in the application process.

This guide has taught you how to build the best teacher resume possible, but even that may not be enough to secure your dream position.

By not writing a cover letter, you are simply missing out on an opportunity to communicate with more depth and personality.

Even better, the recruiter will know that you want this position at this school .

Just like with the resume, the cover letter needs to be structured correctly. Here’s how to do that:

And here’s what goes in each section:

Contact Details

Your personal contact information, including full name, profession, email, phone number, and location

Hiring Manager’s Contact Information

Full name, position, location, email

Opening Paragraph

It’s important to hook the recruiter with a powerful introduction. With this in mind, mention:

The specific teaching position you’re applying for
Your experience summary and top achievements

With the recruiter wanting to know more, you can go through the rest of your work history and personal background. You may want to delve into:

Why you want to work at this specific school
Anything you know about the school’s culture
What are your top skills and how are they relevant for the job
If you’ve worked in similar industries or positions before

Closing Paragraph

This is where you:

Wrap up any points you missed in the body paragraph
Thank the recruiter for their time
End with a call to action. Something like, “I’d love to further discuss how my experience as an X can help the school with Y”

Formal Salutations

To keep everything professional, use formal closing, such as “Best regards” or “Sincerely.”

Creating a cover letter is a craft. But don’t worry, you can call on our how to write a cover letter for guidance.

Key Takeaways

*Rinnnnnggggg!!!*

There goes the bell to end today’s lesson.

We hope that the advice in this guide was taken onboard. If so, you’re now in the perfect position to create a job-winning teacher resume.

Before you go, let’s quickly summarize what we have learnt:

Select the correct format for your teacher resume. Use a reverse-chronological format, and follow the best layout practices to keep everything clear and concise.
Use a summary or objective to capture attention to your resume
Focus on your achievements, rather than your responsibilities.
Match your teacher resume with a cover letter that follows the best practises

10+ Teacher Skills You Need On Your Resume in 2023

June 25, 2023

Teaching is a profession that offers numerous rewards, both personally and professionally. As a teacher, you hold the power to shape young minds, inspire future generations, and make a living while at it.

If you have a passion for a specific subject or field and enjoy sharing knowledge and guiding others, a teaching career offers an ideal platform for you to channel your enthusiasm.

In most schools, teachers are responsible for a variety of daily tasks that contribute to the smooth functioning of the classroom. While the specific tasks vary depending on grade level, subject area, and school policies, some common responsibilities of teachers include:

Lesson planning
Delivering instruction
Students assessment
Classroom management

To ensure you get hired and perform all the above responsibilities effectively, you need a certain set of skills.

In this guide, we’ll cover all the teaching skills you should consider acquiring and putting on your teacher resume.

Crucial Teacher Skills

Teachers must be skilled in the areas we’re going to cover next. Some of these teacher skills can be learned during the teacher education degree programs and others you can learn on your own as a certified teacher.

1. Communication

Communication is undeniably the most critical skill for an educator because it underpins all aspects of their work.

Effective communication enables teachers to connect with their:

Students: To convey information, instructions, and concepts. They must ensure that students understand the subject matter of the lesson.
Colleagues: To share ideas, resources, and best practices, contributing to professional growth and enhancing teaching approaches.
Parents: To provide regular updates on students’ progress, discuss challenges, and seek parental involvement to support student learning.
Stakeholders in the education community: To access resources, participate in professional development programs, or engage in collaborative projects.

Each student, parent, colleague, or community member may have unique perspectives, experiences, and expectations.

Effective teachers actively listen, empathize, and seek to understand these diverse viewpoints. This way, they can adapt their communication style and address concerns or challenges more effectively.

2. Critical Thinking

Critical thinking involves applying reasoning, logic, and reflection to teaching practices, curriculum design, and classroom management.

Critical thinking empowers teachers to analyze, evaluate, and make informed decisions that consider the best interests of their students while aligning with their institution’s goals and standards.

Teachers in primary and secondary education must navigate educational objectives as well as be aware of parents’ expectations for their children’s learning and discipline.

Critical thinking enables teachers to strike a balance between meeting academic standards and addressing parental concerns. It helps ensure that the classroom environment is safe, nurturing, and conducive to learning.

Here are a few examples of how critical thinking manifests in teaching:

Curriculum design: Teachers critically analyze curriculum guidelines, educational standards, and student needs to design effective and engaging lessons. They consider different teaching strategies and select the most appropriate approaches to support learning among their students.
Problem-solving: In the classroom, teachers encounter a wide range of challenges such as addressing individual student needs, managing disruptive behavior, or adapting to unexpected situations. Critical thinking enables them to develop creative solutions that balance the needs of the students and the overall learning environment.
Assessment: Teachers use critical thinking to develop meaningful assessments that effectively measure student learning and progress. They analyze assessment data to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement to help students understand their strengths and weaknesses.

3. Patience

Patience is a crucial skill for teachers at all levels because classrooms consist of diverse cultural backgrounds, learning styles, and intellectual abilities.

Teachers must recognize and respect these differences while maintaining a balance between their own expectations and each student’s unique abilities. Patience enables teachers to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment, fostering student growth and success.

For example, students have varying levels of understanding and learning needs. Patience allows teachers to provide individualized support to each student, acknowledging that they may require different approaches and timelines to grasp and apply concepts. Teachers patiently offer additional explanations and extra practice to ensure they understand.

Students may also face challenges in their personal lives that impact their performance and behavior. Patience helps teachers respond calmly and empathetically to these challenges.

Teachers take the time to understand the underlying issues, provide guidance and support, and help students navigate through difficult situations. They also create a safe space for students to express their concerns and seek assistance.

Another instance where teachers need patience is when developing relationships with students. It takes time and patience to build rapport and trust, and open lines of communication with their students.

They take the time to listen attentively, value students’ perspectives, and create a sense of belonging in the classroom. Patient teachers understand that nurturing positive relationships contributes to an engaging learning environment.

Patience allows educators to create a nurturing learning environment where students thrive academically, emotionally, and socially.

4. Leadership

Teachers require leadership skills both inside and outside the classroom.

Within the classroom, teachers serve as leaders who guide and inspire students toward academic success and personal growth.

Beyond the classroom, teachers also demonstrate leadership when interacting with fellow teachers and school administrators, contributing to a collaborative educational environment.

For instance, teachers can exercise leadership skills by setting high expectations and providing a positive role model for students to emulate.

Teachers can also demonstrate leadership by serving as mentors and providing support to less-experienced teachers or student teachers. They can offer guidance, share knowledge, and help foster the growth and professional development of their colleagues.

5. Organization

Teachers must possess strong organizational skills to perform their roles effectively.

Managing materials and students’ assignments efficiently is crucial for creating a productive learning environment.

In a classroom with potentially up to 30 students, it can be challenging for teachers to stay organized, maximize their instructional time, and ensure that each student receives the attention they need.

Here are a few tips to help improve organizational skills in the classroom:

Prepare your lesson plans, notes, and teaching materials at home before the class to save time. This way, you’re able to focus on delivering content during class time and reduce the likelihood of forgetting important information.
Before starting a lesson, determine the specific learning objectives for that session. Clearly defined goals help you stay focused and enable you to organize your teaching materials and resources better.
Use a calendar or planner to schedule lessons, mark important deadlines, and track student assignments. This will help you prioritize tasks, allocate appropriate time for each activity, and avoid last-minute rushes.
Establish a system to manage student assignments You can create a centralized location, such as a folder or tray, where students submit their work.
Utilize technology to enhance organizational skills in the classroom. There are software applications and online tools available to assist teachers in managing their materials, grading assignments, and tracking student progress. For example, Moodle, Google Classroom, and Evernote.
Regularly declutter your classroom, organize teaching materials, and ensure that everything has its designated place. This promotes a visually appealing and conducive environment for both teachers and students.
Establish consistent routines and tasks to help create a sense of structure and order in the classroom. For example, submitting assignments, classroom transitions, and accessing learning resources.

When students know what is expected of them, it becomes easier to manage their assignments and materials.

By implementing these tips you’ll enhance your organizational skills and create an environment that promotes effective teaching and learning.

6. Time Management

Time management is a crucial aspect of being an efficient teacher. Similar to organizational skills, time management plays a vital role in ensuring that teachers can accomplish their tasks, meet deadlines, and maintain a productive learning environment.

For teachers, time management involves effectively allocating and prioritizing their time to:

Teaching responsibilities
Administrative tasks
Student assessments
Professional development
Personal well-being.

It requires the ability to plan and structure their time in a way that maximizes productivity, minimizes distractions, and allows for flexibility when unexpected events arise.

In addition to professional obligations, time management is crucial for maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Teaching can be demanding, and without proper time management, it is easy for educators to feel overwhelmed and experience burnout.

Teachers can create space for personal activities and self-care, and spend quality time with family and friends by efficiently managing their time.

7. Teamwork

Teamwork enables educators to teach their students the importance of working well in teams and in fostering positive interactions with other school personnel.

Teachers can create an environment that enhances school culture by demonstrating effective teamwork. Teachers who excel in teamwork help instill the values necessary for students to collaborate effectively.

They can create opportunities for students to work in groups, encouraging them to communicate, cooperate, and contribute to shared goals.

Through team-based projects, discussions, and activities, students learn valuable skills such as problem-solving, communication, leadership, and empathy, which are essential for their future success in work and life.

Teamwork is essential for teachers to interact kindly and effectively with administrators, fellow teachers, support staff, and parents.

Schools function as complex systems, and effective collaboration among all stakeholders is crucial for creating a harmonious and productive learning environment.

For example, teachers can engage in teamwork by working together to develop curriculum plans, share resources, exchange ideas, and provide mutual support to their colleagues.

They can also participate in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to reflect and adjust their teaching practices to suit student needs.

8. Listening

Being a good listener plays a vital role in understanding students’ needs and continuously improving teaching efforts.

By actively listening, you can gather valuable feedback from your students, fellow teachers, and parents, which helps enhance your instructional strategies.

Being a good listener will help you:

Understand individual student needs and concerns
Create an inclusive learning environment where students feel seen and heard
Gather feedback on your teaching styles from students and fellow educators.

The following are examples of listening for teachers in the classrooms:

Engaging in one-on-one consultations with students to discuss their progress and concerns.
Facilitating class discussions and listening to students’ contributions.
Giving out feedback forms to gather input from students about their learning experiences, teaching methods, or classroom dynamics.
Participating in professional development sessions and listening to presentations, workshops, or seminars to learn new teaching strategies.
Seeking feedback from parents to understand their perspectives. and address any of their concerns.

You can create an environment that values student voices and promotes open communication by being a good listener.

9. Adaptability

Education is a dynamic field that undergoes continuous change from the teaching approaches to technologies utilized in the classroom.

Furthermore, students come from diverse backgrounds and have varying learning styles, abilities, and interests.

Being able to adapt to these changes is crucial for teachers to provide relevant and meaningful learning experiences.

Here are a few examples of how educators can apply adaptability in teaching:

Modifying lesson plans and instructional materials based on students’ feedback, interests, and learning styles.
Adjusting the pace of instruction to accommodate students who require more time or have learning challenges.
Adapting alternative methods of assessments to provide multiple means of evaluating different students. For example projects and class presentations
Switching up the seating arrangements or learning environments to accommodate different student preferences and needs.
Integrating new technologies and digital resources to enhance learning experiences and engage students in new ways.

Being adaptable can enable teachers to respond to the evolving needs of their students in order to prepare them for success in a rapidly changing world.

10. Empathy

Empathy is a fundamental trait for effective teachers because it allows them to understand and connect with their students on a deeper level.

Working with students requires understanding that they are unique individuals with diverse backgrounds and objectives.

This understanding helps teachers tailor their instruction, provide appropriate support, and build stronger relationships with their students.

Teachers can show empathy by:

Acknowledging and validating students’ emotions and experiences.
Being patient and understanding when students face difficulties or make mistakes.
Celebrating and appreciating students’ diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives.
Providing individualized support and guidance to students based on their unique needs and goals.
Incorporating diverse and inclusive learning materials and perspectives in the curriculum.

Being empathetic helps educators forge stronger connections with their students and improve educational experiences for students.

11. Self-Evaluation

While it is important to receive feedback from others, being able to evaluate yourself is equally as valuable.

Self-evaluation allows you to reflect on your teaching practices, identify areas for improvement, and take proactive steps to enhance their effectiveness in the classroom.

Becoming a teacher means that you’re ready to be a lifelong learner and you’re well aware that self-evaluation leads to improvement.

You can practice self-evaluation by:

Reviewing your lesson plans and assessing whether the desired learning outcomes were achieved and if students were actively engaged in the learning process.
Identifying areas where students may be struggling or excelling, and reflect on your instructional strategies to better meet student needs.
Keeping a teaching journal to record your reflections, observations, and ideas related to your teaching style.
Utilizing self-assessment tools or checklists to evaluate your own teaching methods against established standards or best practices.

Self-evaluation will help you take an active role in your professional development by identifying areas for improvement and setting meaningful goals.

12. Commitment

Being a good teacher requires a deep sense of dedication and care for your job and students.

The most successful educators are those who are committed to the growth, well-being, and success of their students, and who approach their teaching career with passion.

Being committed gives you the urge to invest time and effort to ensure the success of your students

As with any career, teaching comes with its own challenges. Being committed will help you work around different challenges and engage in professional development activities to enhance your teaching styles.

Choosing a field of teaching that aligns with your genuine interests and passions is an excellent way to ensure long-term commitment.

If you have a deep personal connection to the subject you teach, you’ll always have enthusiasm, expertise, and ability to inspire students throughout your teaching career.

13. Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is an essential skill for teachers as conflicts are inevitable in any classroom setting.

Teachers need to be adept at resolving conflicts, whether they arise between themselves and students or among students themselves.

Handling conflicts effectively sets the tone for a positive learning environment. It also helps avoid disruptions that could hinder learning.

For example, if there is a conflict between two students, the teacher should take immediate action to address the conflict.

The teacher should listen to each side, identify underlying issues causing the conflict and facilitate a calm conversation between the two students.

The teacher should guide the students to brainstorm possible solutions together and encourage them to find common ground and compromise.

After resolving the conflict, the teacher should encourage them to reflect on the experience. and discuss the lessons learned.

Effective conflict-resolution skills ensure a harmonious classroom environment.

and empower students to resolve conflicts independently.

Reasons to Choose a Teaching Career

One of the significant advantages of choosing a teaching career is the variety it offers.

Unlike many other professions that involve a repetitive routine, teaching jobs are constantly broken up with various events and activities.

Teachers get to experience:

Sports days
School trips
Celebrations

This variety in daily activities brings excitement to their work. There are also unexpected events or surprises that can arise in the classroom, making each day unique and interesting. For example, a special guest may visit and speak to the class.

For many teachers, teaching is more of a calling than a career. Teachers have the ability to shape young minds, inspire students, and have a positive impact on their lives.

The satisfaction that comes from witnessing a student’s progress, growth, and success is the most fulfilling reward of this career path. Choosing a teaching career allows you to utilize the knowledge you acquired during your degree program.

Whether you specialize in mathematics, history, science, or any other field, you have the opportunity to apply and share your knowledge to contribute to the educational development of students.

There is an ongoing need for qualified teachers across the United States. This ensures job security with plenty of opportunities to explore.

For example, you can teach in public or private schools, or pursue a career in specialized areas such as special education or bilingual education.

When it comes to salary, the average salary for teachers varies based on factors such as experience, location, and the level of education.

The table below shows the median annual wage for teachers at different educational levels according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS ) as of May 2021.

Even though the salary is not the primary motivation for most teachers, it’s worth considering the competitive pay and benefits that come with the profession.

What is a Teacher Skill?

A teacher skill refers to a set of abilities that educators should possess to effectively carry out their roles in the classroom.

While formal education and qualifications are essential for becoming a teacher, it’s equally important to focus on developing specific skills that are vital for working in the education industry.

In today’s competitive job market, schools often receive numerous applications for each teaching position they post. As a result, standing out from the competition can be challenging.

By acquiring and refining relevant teaching skills, you can put yourself above the rest and demonstrate your readiness to excel as an educator.

Skills are required for us to evolve and adapt as society and technology advance. For instance, in the modern era, technology plays a significant role in education. Therefore, teachers must be proficient in using digital resources, tools, and platforms to enhance student learning.

For example, using educational apps, online research tools, interactive whiteboards, or incorporating multimedia elements into lessons.

Embracing technology will help you create a learning environment that resonates with today’s digitally connected students.

Final Thoughts

Teacher skills are crucial for effective and impactful teaching. Skilled teachers possess a wide range of competencies that enable them to create engaging learning experiences and cultivate a positive classroom environment.

We offer continuous improvement programs that give you skills that are essential for professional development. We ensure you meet the diverse needs of your students.

In addition, a teacher’s skills significantly impact their job prospects. When applying for teaching positions, a strong skill set sets you apart from other candidates. Visit our skills page and get started.

Let’s help improve your skills and keep you relevant in this competitive job market.

Certified vs Non-Certified Teacher - Main Difference in 2023

June 25, 2023 by bryan

Texas Teachers Certification Areas

Texas teachers currently offers 50+ certification areas:.

Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources 6–12 (272)
American Sign Language (ASL) (184)
Art EC–12 (178)
Bilingual Education Supplemental (164)
Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test (BTLPT) Spanish (190)
Business and Finance 6–12 (276)
Chemistry 7–12 (240)
Computer Science 8–12 (241)
Core Subjects EC-6 (291)
Core Subjects 4–8 (211)
Dance 6–12 (279)
English as a Second Language Supplemental (154)
English Language Arts and Reading 4–8 (117)
English Language Arts and Reading 7–12 (231)
English Language Arts and Reading/Social Studies 4–8 (113)
Family and Consumer Sciences EC-12 (200)
Health EC–12 (157)
Health Science 6–12 (273)
History 7–12 (233)
Journalism 7–12 (256)
Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Arabic EC–12 (600 & 605)
Languages Other Than English (LOTE) French EC–12 (610)
Languages Other Than English (LOTE) German EC–12 (611)
Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Latin EC–12 (612)
Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Japanese EC–12 (602 & 607)
Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Mandarin Chinese EC–12 (601 & 606)
Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Russian EC–12 (603 & 608)
Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Spanish EC–12 (613)
Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Vietnamese EC–12 (604 & 609)
Life Science 7–12 (238)
Marketing 6–12 (275)
Mathematics 4–8 (115)
Mathematics 7–12 (235)
Mathematics/Physical Science/Engineering 6–12 (274)
Mathematics/Science 4–8 (114)
Music EC–12 (177)
Physical Education EC–12 (158)
Physical Science 6–12 (237)
Physics/Mathematics 7–12 (243)
Science 4–8 (116)
Science 7–12 (236)
Social Studies 4–8 (118)
Social Studies 7–12 (232)
Special Education EC–12 (161)
Speech 7–12 (129)
Technology Applications EC–12 (242)
Technology Education 6–12 (171)
Texas Assessment of Sign Communication–American Sign Language™ (TASC–ASL™) (073)
Theatre EC–12 (180)
Trade and Industrial (T&I)

Teacher Resume Skills to Build Up Your Future

A teacher works with a small group of students.

Educators make incalculable impacts on their students as educators, mentors, and role models. As such, prospective teachers should be well-qualified to take on such important positions. This could mean gaining educational experience, focusing on a specific topic or education type, or learning to teach a variety of subjects. To market themselves, aspiring educators must develop the appropriate teacher resume skills to highlight their advanced education, their expertise in the classroom, and their impact on their students.

An advanced degree in education, such as an online Master of Arts (MA) in Teaching program can provide current and prospective teachers with the skills and advanced knowledge they need to help students succeed and grow.

Tailor Your Resume to the Job Description

One of the most critical aspects of showcasing your experience is tailoring your resume to the job description. A teaching job description varies in some of its particulars, so you must modify your resume for each position you apply for. On any given day, a teacher may:

Find unique approaches to convey academic subject matter
Devise lesson plans
Research new educational programs or activities for students
Consult with outside education experts on innovative teaching programs and methods
Communicate with parents and schools about student progress
Grade homework and monitor student performance
Handle student discipline
Coordinate fun classroom events and activities
Help address the educational, emotional, and health concerns of special needs students
Review and respond to student and parent feedback
Attend professional development workshops and teaching conferences

All teachers are ultimately guided by the determination to help their students learn and grow. How teachers choose to do this will reflect their own unique teaching styles. A good resume can reflect a teacher’s individual style while also addressing a job’s particular requirements.

Top Skills to Include in Your Teacher Resume

When applying for education jobs, teachers can expect hiring managers to evaluate their resumes against specific preferred teacher resume skills, including the following:

Conflict resolution to address student issues
Ability to clearly present and explain education material to students
Classroom management skills , ensuring a positive learning environment for everyone
Lesson preparation and planning
Patience and empathy for student concerns
Leadership and management when guiding students
Imagination and innovation when crafting lesson plans
Collaboration and candor when speaking with students and parents
Delegation and teamwork abilities when working with other teachers and administrators
Willingness to learn and evolve throughout the school year and across the career
Familiarity with the most current principles in pedagogy and student development

Aspiring teachers may also want to gain additional skills, such as certifications in other fields in which they may want to teach, competence in using new educational technology, and licensure for working in different educational capacities. Additionally, teachers who wish to focus on a specific subject matter (such as science or mathematics) can use their resumes to highlight their credentials or background in these areas.

How to Build Up Your Resume

Additional ways in which teachers can build resumes to present them in the best light include highlighting their degrees and certifications, as well as their classroom teaching experience and other work in the field.

Highlighting Your Education Background

Aspiring teachers who want to work in the public school system or teach a certain grade or academic subject usually need to earn a bachelor’s degree. Typically, teachers earn a bachelor’s degree in education; however, they may still be able to find work as public school teachers if they have a bachelor’s degree in a field relevant to their target subject or teaching area. For example, strong teacher resume skills paired with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics may help land a teaching job in high school math.

Aspiring teachers who want to compete for teaching jobs often need to earn certain teaching and educational certifications sponsored by their state, city, or school district. Specific requirements will vary, though, depending on where aspiring teachers want to teach, what subjects they want to cover, and the age or type of students with whom they want to work.

Highlighting Your Professional Experience

Typically, schools require teachers to have a certain amount of professional teaching experience or other work experience related to teaching. This can include internships or volunteer work as a student teacher, substitute teacher, support teacher, or tutor in a school. It may also include working with children’s educational or recreational programs, such as after-school initiatives or summer camps.

Aspiring teaching professionals in a bachelor’s or master’s program often complete internships or fieldwork to gain professional experience as well. Educators can highlight these unique opportunities in their resumes to increase their chances of getting a teaching job.

Teacher Salaries

A teacher’s salary can vary depending on years of experience in the role; school district; type of school; or district, city, or state where the teacher works. Salary is also a reflection of the education and skill level of the candidate.

As of 2021, high school teachers earned a median salary of $61,820 per year, while kindergarten and elementary school teachers earned a median salary of $61,350 per year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Additionally, the BLS reports that teacher assistants (professionals who often support a full-time teacher in a school or university environment) earned a median salary of $29,360 per year.

Future Growth of Teacher Jobs

The projected job outlook for teachers is strong. Increasing population numbers suggest that there’ll be an even greater number of children enrolling in school in the coming years, requiring more teachers to teach them. As such, the teacher job market is growing at pace with other professions, exhibiting growth rates of roughly 7 to 8 percent.

Additionally, the rise of charter schools; private schools; and new types of educational programs and facilities, such as online programs for college degrees or high school diplomas, also points to more employment opportunities for educators. Teachers who are able to quickly adapt to technological trends, gain new teaching skills, and cater to the unique needs and challenges of diverse populations will be in the strongest position to succeed and grow in this field.

Start Your Teaching Career

Succeeding as a teacher takes more than just cultivating teacher resume skills. It requires dedication, determination, and a passion for helping students learn and thrive.

A career as a teacher can be rewarding, but it’s also a challenging and competitive profession. American University’s online MA in Teaching program provides the teachers of tomorrow with program pillars in Antiracist Pedagogy, Practice-Based Teacher Education, and the Science of Learning. It also has an extensive background in topics shaping education today, significant educational theory knowledge, and a firm foundation in how to make an impact on individual students and educational communities. Discover how to make a difference in students’ lives with AU today.

Teaching Anti-Racism in the Classroom: Strategies for Educators

How Teachers Can Overcome Imposter Syndrome

How to Become a Bilingual Teacher

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Teaching Credentials Requirements

District of Columbia Public Schools, Teacher Certification and Licensing

Indeed, Top 10 Skills to Include on Your Teacher Resume

The Balance Careers, Teacher Resume Examples and Writing Tips

United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, High School Teachers

United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers

United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Teacher Assistants

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Best Teacher Resume Skills to List

When it comes to creating an impressive teacher resume, it’s important to highlight the skills that make you stand out. Did you know that including specific, job-related skills on your resume can substantially increase your chances of getting noticed?

So, it’s crucial to list the best teacher resume skills that match the requirements of the job. This way, you can show off your strengths and demonstrate how you can make a valuable contribution in the field of education.

Table of Contents

What Are Teacher Skills

Teacher skills are the abilities that make educators great at what they do. These skills include things like being a good communicator, which helps them connect with students and make learning fun. They’re also really organized and manage their time well, so they can plan lessons and keep things running smoothly in the classroom.

Teachers are adaptable too, meaning they can adjust their teaching style to fit different students’ needs. They’re experts in their subject matter and know how to give helpful feedback to help students grow. Plus, they’re masters at managing the classroom, solving problems, and coming up with creative ways to teach.

Jobs That Require Teacher Skills

Did you know that teacher skills are in demand beyond the traditional classroom? Many jobs recognize the value of teaching expertise and seek individuals with strong communication, adaptability, and instructional abilities. Plus, according to BLS , 123,000 new openings are projected for teachers every year over the next decade.

Classroom teacher (elementary, middle school, high school)
Special education teacher
ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher
Tutor or private instructor
Online instructor or e-learning facilitator
College or university professor
Education consultant or trainer
Curriculum developer
School administrator or principal
Education program coordinator
Instructional coach or mentor
Childcare provider or early childhood educator
Adult education instructor
Education policy analyst or researcher
Textbook author or editor
Educational content creator or curriculum writer

1. Classroom Management

A teacher should be able to create a positive and well-structured learning environment to promote student engagement and maintain discipline.

Example: Implemented effective behavior management strategies resulting in improved classroom dynamics and increased student participation.

2. Differentiated Instruction

Skill in adapting teaching methods and materials to meet the diverse needs and learning styles of individual students is highly valued in the education industry.

Example: Developed and implemented customized lesson plans to accommodate various learning abilities, resulting in improved academic performance among students with different learning styles.

3. Communication

Strong verbal and written communication skills are essential to effectively convey information and make meaningful interactions with students, parents, and colleagues smoother.

Example: Established open lines of communication with parents through regular newsletters and parent-teacher conferences, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

4. Curriculum Development

Teachers should also possess expertise in designing and developing curriculum materials and instructional resources aligned with educational standards and learning objectives.

Example: Created engaging lesson plans integrating multimedia resources, hands-on activities, and assessments to enhance student comprehension and achievement.

5. Assessment and Feedback

Teachers should be capable of assessing student progress, providing constructive feedback, and utilizing various assessment tools to evaluate learning outcomes.

Example: Implemented formative and summative assessments to monitor student progress, providing timely feedback to guide students’ academic growth.

6. Technology Integration

Mention your ability to effectively integrate technology tools and resources into teaching practices to enhance student learning and engagement

Example: Utilized educational software, interactive whiteboards, and online platforms to deliver engaging lessons and facilitate interactive learning experiences.

7. Collaboration

Teachers need to collaborate with colleagues, administrators, and parents to foster a supportive and collaborative educational community.

Example: Participated in grade-level team meetings, collaborating with fellow teachers to develop cross-curricular projects and share best practices.

8. Cultural Competence

Teachers should be able to create an inclusive and culturally responsive learning environment that values and respects the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of students.

Example: Developed culturally diverse instructional materials and incorporated multicultural perspectives into lessons, fostering an inclusive classroom environment that celebrated student diversity.

9. Parental Involvement

Building positive relationships with parents and guardians, involving them in their child’s education, and effectively communicating student progress and achievements is an important skill to showcase on your resume.

Example: Implemented regular parent communication initiatives, including weekly progress reports and parent workshops, resulting in increased parental engagement and support for students’ academic success.

10. Individualized Education Plans (IEPs)

Another highly valued skill for teachers today is the familiarity with developing and implementing IEPs for students with special needs, including setting specific goals, designing accommodations, and collaborating with parents and support services.

Example: Collaborated with special education team members to develop and implement personalized IEPs, ensuring individualized support and accommodations for students with diverse learning needs.

Where to Add Teacher Skills in Your Resume

When creating your resume, it’s important to strategically include your teacher skills in relevant sections to highlight your qualifications. Here are a few key areas where you can add your teacher skills.

Skills Section: Create a dedicated section near the top of your resume specifically for listing your teacher skills. Use bullet points to highlight each skill, making it easy for hiring managers to identify your areas of expertise at a glance.
Summary/Objective Statement: Incorporate some of your key teacher skills within your summary or objective statement. This provides a brief overview of your qualifications and immediately showcases your relevant strengths to potential employers.
Experience Section: As you describe your teaching experience in the professional experience section, include specific teacher skills that were instrumental in your success. For each role or position, highlight the skills utilized and their impact on student learning, classroom management, or other relevant aspects of teaching.
Certifications and Training: If you have obtained any teaching certifications, include them in a separate section of your resume. This demonstrates your commitment to professional development and validates your expertise in specific areas.

Example of a Teacher Resume

Jane Smith 123 Main Street Anytown, USA 12345 (555) 123-4567 [email protected] Objective: Dedicated and enthusiastic professional seeking a position as a Teacher to utilize my passion for education and create a positive learning environment for students. Skills: – Elementary curriculum and instructional methodologies – Excellent communication and interpersonal skills – Proficient in using educational technology tools and platforms – Ability to create a positive and inclusive classroom environment – Experience with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) Experience: Elementary School Teacher, XYZ Elementary School, Anytown, USA 2019 – Present – Plan and deliver engaging lessons based on the curriculum, ensuring effective learning outcomes for students. – Employ a variety of instructional strategies to accommodate diverse learning styles and needs. – Foster a positive and inclusive classroom environment that promotes student engagement and collaboration. – Utilize formative and summative assessments to monitor student progress and provide timely feedback. – Collaborate with colleagues to develop and implement school-wide initiatives and activities. – Communicate regularly with parents to discuss student performance and address any concerns. Student Teacher, ABC Elementary School, Anytown, USA 2017-2019 – Assisted in developing lesson plans and materials for various subjects and grade levels. – Conducted small-group instruction and provided individualized support to students. – Assessed student performance and provided feedback to the supervising teacher. – Participated in parent-teacher conferences and contributed to student progress reports. Education: Bachelor of Education, ABC University, Anytown, USA Major: Elementary Education Graduation Year: 2016 Certifications: Teaching Certification, State of Anytown, USA, 2016 CPR and First Aid Certification, 2017

How to Improve Teacher Skills

Here are several effective strategies for how to improve your teaching skills:

Engage in professional development opportunities, such as attending workshops, conferences, and seminars, to stay updated with the latest teaching methodologies, strategies, and research.
Regularly reflect on your teaching practices, lesson plans, and classroom management techniques. Analyze what worked well and areas for improvement. Consider seeking feedback from colleagues, mentors, or administrators.
Collaborate with fellow teachers to share ideas, resources, and best practices. Participate in team teaching, co-planning, or professional learning communities to gain insights from others and enhance your own teaching skills.
Explore and incorporate educational technology tools and platforms into your teaching practices. Learn how to effectively use technology to enhance instruction, engage students, and facilitate learning.
Engage in regular self-reflection to evaluate your teaching practices, set goals for improvement, and track your progress. Identify areas where you can grow and seek opportunities for self-improvement.

The best teacher resume skills to list should showcase your abilities and strengths as an educator. These skills should demonstrate your expertise in instructional methods, classroom management, communication, and adaptability. Including skills such as technology integration, differentiation, assessment, and cultural competence will highlight your commitment to creating a positive and inclusive learning environment for students.

Additionally, emphasizing your commitment to professional development and reflective practice will showcase your willingness to continuously improve and stay up-to-date with the latest teaching practices.

What Skills Are Important for a Teacher Resume?

Some of the most important skills for a teacher resume include classroom management, differentiated instruction, curriculum development, communication, and technology integration.

How to List Art Skills on Resume for an Art Teacher Job?

When listing art skills on a resume for an art teacher job, consider including the following:

Proficiency in various art mediums (e.g., drawing, painting, sculpture)
Knowledge of art history and art appreciation
Ability to teach different art techniques and styles
Experience with art materials and tools
Understanding of color theory and composition
Familiarity with digital art software and technology
Strong creativity and artistic expression

What Should I Put on My Resume for a Teaching Job?

When creating a resume for a teaching job, consider including the following:

Contact Information: include your full name, address, phone number, and email address.
Objective Statement: Write a concise statement that highlights your career goals and your passion for education.
Relevant Skills: Highlight key skills such as instructional methods, classroom management, communication, technology integration, assessment, differentiation, and cultural competence.
Teaching Experience: Detail your teaching experience, including the names of schools, positions held, and dates of employment. Describe your responsibilities, achievements, and any notable projects or initiatives.
Education: List your educational background, including degrees earned, institutions attended, and graduation dates.
Certifications: Include any teaching certifications or licenses you hold, along with the issuing authority and expiration dates.

10 Essential Teacher Resume Skills to Include for 2024

A teacher smiles at her class as they eagerly raise their hands to answer a question of the day.

Written by Victoria Hegwood

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Teacher Resources

As the demand for quality education continues to rise, so does the competition among teachers on the job search. Finding the right position is one thing but landing your ideal job can be another task entirely.

So having a well-crafted resume can set you apart from the competition and help you secure your dream teaching position.

As you put together your resume, you may be asking yourself 'What skills should I highlight to make sure my resume catches the eye of potential employers? '

Never fear; we've got the answers for you!

In this article, we will explore the top 10 essential teacher resume skills to include in your resume. And we have some great suggestions for high-quality resume templates to bolster your teacher job application in 2024.

Whether you're an experienced teacher looking for a new opportunity or a fresh graduate ready to tackle your first classroom, you'll find tips and tricks for landing your dream job. Let's dive in!

What are teacher skills?

So, what exactly are 'teacher skills'? This is the first place to start when deciding what to list on your resume.

Teacher skills are the specific competencies and abilities that enable educators to perform their duties effectively in the classroom.

These skills are often split into two types: hard skills and soft skills.

Hard skills include specific technical abilities and knowledge required for teaching. These skills set teachers apart from all the rest. Some examples may be:

Subject matter expertise
Lesson planning
Classroom management

Soft skills, on the other hand, are more general skills that are used in teaching as well as many other professions and areas of life. Soft skills include:

Communication
Problem-solving
The ability to build positive relationships with students and colleagues

Both types of skills are vital to a teacher's success in the classroom. And you will want to list a mixture of both on your resume.

10 Teacher skills to improve your resume

You worked hard earning your degree, learning inside of the classroom and outside of it. And maybe you even have years of experience under your belt.

You have so many skills to choose from when putting together a resume. So how do you know which ones to pick?

Here are ten of the best skills to include to impress your potential employer without your resume seeming wordy or too long.

1. Stay organized with attention to detail

Being organized and paying close attention to detail is essential for every teacher. Without the right preparation, it can be incredibly difficult to manage a classroom and keep students on track.

There are many tasks that need to be done in a classroom simultaneously like:

Managing communication with parents and colleagues
Keeping track of deadlines
Maintaining accurate records of your students' progress
Accurately taking attendance
Tracking behavior goals and management
Identifying areas of concern for specific students
Providing additional support when needed
Creating a positive learning environment that minimizes distractions

Without good systems and great organizational skills, this list may quickly feel overwhelming. But your attention to detail will allow you to tackle it all! Highlight in your resume how you have tackled this challenge in the past and how you will do it again in this new position.

2. Tech savvy

In today's digital age, technology has become an integral part of our lives, both inside of the classroom and out.

Students are growing up in an increasingly tech-oriented world, and you'd be hard-pressed to find any classroom without some form of tech in it.

Every learner absolutely needs digital literacy skills to succeed in the modern workforce. By having advanced computer skills, you will be able to help them get there.

Integrating technology into your teaching strategies and lesson plans can increase student engagement, motivation and achievement , making it an essential skill for any modern teacher.

Mentioning what technological tools you are proficient with is a great talking point with a recruiter. Highlight how you've created engaging and interactive learning experiences for students using the latest technology.

If you’re having trouble thinking of what all tools you may have used, some common ones to mention include interactive whiteboards, online learning platforms, and educational software.

Prodigy is your go-to choice for fun, interactive game-based learning

As students play Prodigy Math and Prodigy English, they'll practice curriculum-aligned skills while having fun exploring two magical worlds.

As a teacher, you can:

Set standards-aligned content – including what you're teaching in class!
Use automatic reports to see how your students are at progressing at a grade and strand level
Send rewards to motivate, inspire and challenge your students to practice more skills

And the best bit? It's available at no cost to teachers and schools!

3. Imaginative

Being imaginative is a valuable skill when it comes to making creative and engaging lesson plans that can capture your students' attention and help them retain information.

Incorporating imaginative teaching methods can also promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills as students explore new ideas.

The variety and fun you can add to your teaching with a bit of imagination will foster a love of learning in your students. And it may even encourage them on their path to becoming lifelong learners.

4. Time management

Good time management skills enable you to stay organized and complete tasks efficiently. And you already know that there is always plenty to do in the classroom!

On any given day, you will likely be balancing various responsibilities, such as planning lessons, grading assignments, and meeting with students and parents.

Proper time management skills allow you to complete these tasks promptly and prioritize tasks based on their importance and deadlines.

Effective time management skills also allow you to create a healthy work-life balance, which is absolutely essential if you want to stay in the field for a long time. Teaching can be a stressful job at times, so you’ll need to make sure you prioritize time for self-care.

5. Critical thinking

Critical thinking skills include the ability to analyze information, identify patterns and relationships and make sound decisions based on evidence and reasoning .

Practically speaking, critical thinking skills as a teacher look like:

Creating effective lesson plans
Assessing student performance
Solving problems that arise in the classroom
Ensuring your teaching methods are up-to-date and effective
Tweaking your teaching methods based on evidence and feedback

It's also important to model critical thinking skills for your students so that they develop this essential skill as well.

You want to teach your students to think more deeply and effectively about the information they encounter. You want them to ask questions and find answers that deepen their understanding of teaching materials.

6. Teamwork

Teaching is not a solo sport.

To effectively navigate the struggles and triumphs of teaching, you need to work in tandem with your colleagues and administration.

'Teamwork makes the dream work' as they say.

Having strong teamwork skills means that you can communicate effectively with others, build positive relationships, and contribute to a collaborative environment.

Teachers who work well with a team can share ideas, develop new approaches to teaching, improve student outcomes and create a positive school culture .

7. Communication skills

As a teacher, the main task you are doing is communicating information and lessons with your students. So effective communication skills are a must.

But that isn't the only way that you will use your communication skills.

You will also have both verbal and written communication with parents, colleagues and administrators. Great communication skills will foster positive relationships, build trust and improve student performance.

An important part of high-quality communication skills is active listening , or being able to provide clear and concise feedback to students and their parents. This skill can help to create a supportive learning environment and make sure students feel heard and understood.

8. Problem-solving skills

Classroom challenges and problems are bound to arise. These problems may range from student behavior issues to curriculum design problems. But they won't be too much to tackle with the strong problem-solving skills that you possess!

Problem-solving skills show your adaptability and creativity as an educator, which can make you more valuable to your school or district. So, make sure you highlight problem-solving skills on your teacher resume by using specific action verbs from the job description like brainstormed , analyzed , and evaluated.

Have some examples of when you used problem-solving skills ready when you head into your interview and you'll be sure to impress!

9. Conflict resolution

Conflict of some sort is inevitable in any profession.

In a teaching job, the conflict is often between students or between students and yourself. Having the conflict resolution skills to solve these issues quickly is essential for creating a positive learning environment and fostering healthy relationships among students.

You may also run into some conflict issues with your colleagues or students' parents. In these cases, it is important to know how to maintain professionalism in the workplace. These situations need to be handled with tact and diplomacy in order to maintain positive working relationships.

10. Flexible to diverse learning needs

Not every student is the same. They each learn and grow in their own unique way. You know this.

So being able to be flexible, capable of adapting your teaching methods and approach, is a necessary teacher skill.

You will need to understand and address individual learning styles, cultural backgrounds, and other factors that impact how students engage with and learn from the material.

Mentoring is one of the ways to support students in their individual learning journey. A mentor will guide students to reach their potential, provide constructive feedback and encourage them to develop critical thinking skills.

Other teacher skills to keep in mind

Technology isn't just changing the way teachers teach in the classroom, it's also changing how teachers are hired.

For many schools, gone are the days when a person looks over each and every resume. To speed up the process, many districts use applicant tracking systems (ATS). This tool screens professional resumes and filters out candidates for review.

Now, this isn't something you should allow to deter you. Understanding this tool can give you a leg up over your competitors.

You should be strategic in your resume writing, choosing certain action verbs and words over others. Some of these include:

Leadership Skills
Curriculum development
Differentiated instruction
Technology integration
Assessment and evaluation
Data analysis
Parent-teacher communication
Special needs education

It’s also best practice to look through the job description and use the same language and verbs in your resume.

These simple steps will help you bypass the ATS and get noticed by hiring managers.

Where to put skills with teacher resume examples

Now that you know what all pieces and skills that you want to include, how do you bring it all together?

You want to craft a resume that highlights your skills but is still clear and concise. You don’t want a hiring manager to have to wade through any unnecessary information to get to the good stuff.

The best resume format typically reflects this by utilizing bullet points, action verbs, and a skills section to make it easy for employers to quickly identify your relevant qualifications.

And don’t forget to proofread! The last thing you want on a teacher resume is the wrong punctuation or a misspelled word.

Sometimes it’s easiest to learn by seeing exactly what you should do. So, the next section has some resume samples that show how and where to showcase your skills for a teaching resume that stands out from the rest.

Examples of teacher skills in a resume summary

Starting at the top, you should include a resume objective .

A resume objective or summary is a brief section that highlights a candidate's relevant skills and experience for the job they are applying for.

Here are some high-quality examples of resume objectives for teachers:

Innovative secondary educator with expertise in differentiated instruction and project-based learning. Experienced in teaching a wide range of subjects, including English language arts, social studies, and digital media. Skilled in incorporating real-world scenarios and experiences to create dynamic and relevant lesson plans.
Dedicated high school English teacher with a passion for fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills in students. Proficient in project-based learning and assessment, as well as using technology to enhance classroom instruction. Looking for an opportunity to bring my expertise to a school that values innovation and collaboration.
Dedicated and motivated middle school educator with a passion for inspiring students to reach their full potential. Skilled in developing engaging lesson plans that cater to diverse learning needs and promoting a positive classroom environment. Proficient in utilizing technology to enhance the learning experience.

These resume objectives are packed full of action words, focusing less on the tasks and more on the impact that those actions had.

Your resume objective should do the same. Make it as concise and powerful as possible to wow the hiring manager and make them want to read more.

Examples of a teacher resume skills section

Now onto the resume skills section!

A resume skills section is the part of a teacher's resume where they list their relevant skills and qualifications.

This section is typically placed after the professional summary or objective statement and before the work experience section.

Some technical skills you may want to include are:

Experience with learning management systems (LMS) like Blackboard or Canvas
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite
Familiarity with educational software or apps, such as Quizlet or Kahoot
Classroom management strategies and discipline techniques
Differentiated instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners
Knowledge of curriculum development and lesson planning
Multitasking and time management skills to handle multiple responsibilities and tasks

These are just a few of the skills you may possess. Spend some time brainstorming a complete list of your skills and then pick the ones that are the most relevant to the job listing to include in your resume.

Examples of teacher skills in a work experience section

The work experience section is a detailed account of your past job titles, responsibilities and accomplishments as an educator.

Here is one example that you might shape your work experience section after:

ABC Elementary School | August 2018 - Present

Developed a positive classroom environment that fosters student learning and engagement
Utilized effective classroom management techniques, including behavior contracts and positive reinforcement strategies
Created and implemented daily lesson plans that align with state standards and met the needs of diverse learners

Focus on the action in this section. Start each bullet point with a strong verb that highlights your skills.

If you need more ideas on how to phase certain tasks that you’ve done in specific jobs, there are tools online to help you get the right wording.

More resume tips to snag a teacher job

Great work! You've made some great progress on building a stellar resume!

Here are just a few more tips to help you craft a winning teacher resume that catches the attention of potential employers.

Highlight your educational background

Here is the section of your resume where you put those hard skills that we talked about earlier.

Some options to include may be any teaching and educational certifications sponsored by your state, city, or school district. Or you may hold special education or ESL endorsements that you want to list.

If you’re applying for a public school position, it’s a good idea to check out the requirements on the job listing. These requirements may include relevant skills and experience and/or a bachelor’s degree in a field related to the target subject or teaching area.

To highlight how you are a good fit for the position, be sure to include how your qualifications match their requirements in this section.

Highlight your professional experience

Your work history should focus on highlighting any relevant teaching experience including:

Internships
Volunteer work as a student teacher
Substitute teacher work
Time as a support teacher
Tutoring in a school
Teaching or working in children’s educational or recreational programs, such as after-school initiatives or summer camps

Numbers can be quite convincing. So if possible, try to include metrics or data that demonstrate the impact you have had on student learning and success.

You will likely also highlight your professional experience in your teacher cover letter. In this section, try to focus less on the technical details of your previous positions and instead showcase your personality, passion for teaching, and enthusiasm for the position.

Teacher salaries and future outlook

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of 2021, the median salary for high school teachers was $61,820 annually. Kindergarten and elementary school teachers earned a median salary of $61,350 per year. Teacher assistants , who often support full-time teachers in schools or universities, earned a median salary of $29,360 per year.

Now it’s important to note that the amount a teacher earns may differ based on various factors such as:

Years of experience in the role
The type of school or school district they work at
The city, state or district where they teach
Educational qualifications
Skill level
Additional certifications

If you’re teaching in a bigger city, you may be able to look around and compare the salaries and benefits at various schools. Some schools may offer additional benefits like professional development or various incentives.

By doing a number of interviews, you may be able to get multiple offers and then compare them.

There are lots of factors that will make a school and a teaching position the right fit for you. It’s important to get all the information that you can and make the best decision for you.

There will always be a need for great teachers to shape the great, young minds of tomorrow. You can make an incredible difference in your students’ lives as their teacher.

You can rest assured that there will always be teaching positions available and open if you decide to pursue a new direction.

• Teaching classes of 25+ on biology and chemistry topics
• Participated in student recruitment, registration and placement activities
• Coordinated School Information Night each year
• Contributed to raising retention rate from 75% - 89% through running extracurricular sessions
• Received two outstanding reports from classroom inspections from the city central education board
• Ran 100+ school information sessions
• Developed and executed daily lesson plans to engage and challenge student understanding and involvement, including 30+ international students (ESL) and students with specialized educational needs.
• Increased the number of A+ to C grades from 60% to 90% over 2 years
• Taught and mentored 100+ students over the two years, and led 5 extra learning classes outside of school hours
• Engaged in peer collaboration and instruction during staff development opportunities as well as peer observation of classroom strategies and assessment.
• Designed original student learning plans centered on the curriculum with corresponding lectures and lab activities which aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards.
• Implemented lesson plans independently for classrooms of 25+ students
• Provide educational materials, including daily lesson plans and weekly homework packets that averaged a 95% completion rate
• Lectured weekly in tutorials, and regularly in courses over 8 semesters
• Assist professor and a class of 25 students with the course related needs
• Excellence Award (2013)

Teacher Resume Examples & Guide for 2024 [Layout, Skills, Keywords & Job Description]

Your teacher resume must clearly highlight your educational background. Ensure it outlines your degrees, certifications, and any relevant coursework or specialized training. It is crucial to detail your teaching experience with specifics regarding grade levels and subject areas. Demonstrate your impact on student learning with examples of curriculum development or measurable improvements in student performance.

All resume examples in this guide

Art Teacher

Bilingual Teacher

Biology Teacher

Computer Science Teacher

Creative Art Teacher

Dance Teacher

History Teacher

Language Teacher

Lead Teacher

Math Teacher

Music Teacher

Piano Teacher

Retired Teacher

Science Teacher

Social Studies Teacher

Spanish Teacher

Teacher For Career Change

Technology Teacher

Theatre Teacher

Transitioning Teacher

High School Teacher | Sciences resume example

Resume Guide

Teacher resume sample.

Resume Format & Sections

Key Resume Sections

Work Experience Section

Teacher Skills

Education & Certifications

Resume Objective/Summary

Other Resume Sections

Matching Teacher Cover Letter

21 Teacher Resume Examples

Key Takeaways

The ongoing teacher shortage is prime time to grow your career. But to land the perfect job, you need the perfect resume.

That means a flawless layout with impeccable details about your past successes. Of course, you’re a pro at teaching, but writing your teacher’s resume might not be your top strength.

That’s ok, we’ve put together everything you need to write an impeccable resume that will land you your dream job. In this guide, we’ll cover:

A teacher resume sample that ticks all the checkboxes
The best formatting considerations for your resume
Essential and optional sections to include with examples
How to include a cover letter with your application
Most frequently asked questions about teacher resumes

High School Teacher | Sciences resume example

This is a top-notch example of a teacher’s resume. It presents the candidate as an experienced, effective, and dedicated educator.

Some of the reasons why are:

Extensive Teaching Experience: The candidate has taught for several years at multiple schools, demonstrating their ability to handle diverse students and subjects.

Track Record of Achievements: These specific and quantifiable achievements lend credibility to the teacher's effectiveness and commitment to improving student outcomes.

Education and Certification: The candidate holds a PhD in Educational Administration and other certifications, demonstrating their commitment to ongoing professional development.

Publications and Volunteering: The candidate's publications and volunteering demonstrate their dedication to academic research, community service, and making a positive impact outside the classroom.

Resume Format And Sections

Formatting and good design are essential for a resume's readability and visual appeal - crucial characteristics to grab and hold a hiring committee’s attention. A well-structured resume also clearly conveys professionalism, increasing your chances of an interview.

Since teachers are trusted with so much responsibility, in most cases, it’s best that you align your resume to a conventional format. Choose a traditional format, with either one or two columns, instead of going for a flashy or creative resume.

The exceptions would be if you’re applying to an art school or other creative-oriented private school or if you’re applying to an art, music, drama, or other creative teacher position. In those cases, you might consider using a creative resume template.

Every teacher’s resume will be different, and each one you write should be tailored to the specific job you’re applying to. For example, you’ll want to highlight different skills as an art or a maths teacher, and likewise, if you’re teaching at the kindergarten, elementary, or high school level.

But, there are some fundamental aspects you should always bear in mind.

Use reverse chronological order

Typically, resumes are formatted in reverse chronological order. This means organizing your work and education history with the most recent experiences listed first and moving backward to the oldest.

This format makes it easy for employers to identify your most current and relevant work and skills. It demonstrates your career progression and helps potential employers understand your professional journey.

Properly format the header and contact info

A resume header is the first, and ome might say one of the most important parts of a teacher resume. It’ the section at the top of a resume that includes your name and contact information and is the first thing the recruiter will lay their eyes upon. It’s like your introduction, letting a potential employer know who you are and how to get get a hold of you.

A good header should include your:

Phone number
Email address

Additional and somewhat optional information is including your home address (which is traditional and not used so much anymore) and a link to your LinkedIn profile.

Key sections

Beyond the header, your resume should highlight your relevant qualifications, experience, and the skills you bring to the job. The standard sections to include in your teacher resume are:

Professional Summary or Objective: A brief statement that highlights your experience, teaching philosophy, or key strengths tailored to the specific teaching position you’re applying for.
Work experience & Achievements: This section outlines your successful work history. Include the school's name, the grade level or subject you taught, the dates of your employment in reverse chronological order, and include quantifiable results from your time there.
Skills: Showcase any relevant teaching and technical skills you have that might not be expected or that you can provide specific evidence of.
Education: The details of your academic qualifications, including degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework.
Certifications and licenses: List any relevant teaching licenses or certifications, along with their expiration dates, if applicable.

Number of pages

There’s an old rule of thumb that you should keep your resume to 1 page. While that may be true in some industries, it’s not always true for teachers.

Aim for a length that includes all the info you need to show you’re the best fit for the job, but avoid including unnecessary bloat. Keeping everything concise will ensure it’s readable and avoid looking cluttered.

A bit vague? Okay. As a rough guide, if you’ve been teaching for less than 4 years and don’t have much other experience or professional development, one page should do. If you’ve been teaching for a while and want to include some optional sections we cover later, you can stretch it to two pages.

If you’re a veteran teacher with many years of experience and you’ve been keeping up with professional development, you might consider going to three pages. And if you’re a post-secondary teacher with a long list of publications and conference presentations or other important accolades, you might even consider 4 or 5 pages.

File format: doc or pdf?

Once you’re ready to save your resume, you have two choices: a .PDF or a .Doc. I suggest saving it as a .PDF unless the employer has specified otherwise.

PDFs save all the formatting you just put so much time into. Unlike with a .Doc., there’s no chance your resume will print up wonky and undermine the professional image you’re trying to send.

Another consideration is that many employers now use applicant tracking systems(ATS) as the first step in the selection process. Luckily, all of our resume templates are preformatted and designed to play well with ATS, and they come as .PDFs, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.

The top sections on a teacher resume:

What recruiters want to see on your resume:, work experience.

This is the fundamental section of your resume. It’s your opportunity to show the hiring committee your teaching history, leadership skills, and commitment to education.

Ideally, this section will consist of teaching-relevant work experience. Your potential new school will prefer candidates with strong backgrounds in the field they’re applying in.

But if you transitioned into teaching after another career or it’s your first teaching job but you had other jobs beforehand, there’s plenty you can include. No matter what your past work experience was, if you give it careful consideration, you can identify transferable skills to demonstrate you’re a good fit.

Follow these guidelines to write a work experience section to capture the school board’s attention:

List work experience in reverse chronological order.
Include school name, dates, and job title.
Mention the subject you taught, which grade level, and your average class size.
Use keywords relevant to the teaching position, where your past experiences align with the job description.
Focus on your accomplishments at each job rather than your basic duties.

Quantify accomplishments whenever possible, try toailor the accomplishments you include for each job you apply to.

Include 4-6 accomplishments or duties for each job.
Use action verbs to describe your work, like……..

Quantify impact

Quantifying your impact on a resume means including specific numbers, percentages, or measurable outcomes from previous jobs. These details showcase tangible results and lend credibility to your qualifications.

Some of the aspects of a teacher’s job you can quantify on your resume include:

List improvements in specific student performance or academic achievements
Are there classroom assessments of your students' average improvement or growth?
What initiatives led to improved student attendance or engagement?
What percentage of students and parents took part in school-related activities you organized?
Mention any awards or other recognition you’ve received for contributions to the school, student achievements, or teaching methods.
Have you successfully improved classroom behavior, attendance, or reduced disruptions?

Experience examples

Look over these examples of right and wrong ways to list your work experience to better understand how to write yours.

• Designed and implemented engaging and student-centered lesson plans, resulting in a 15% increase in students' test scores.
• Integrated technology to enhance learning experiences and foster student engagement, leading to positive feedback from students and parents.
• Collaborated with colleagues to develop cross-curricular projects, promoting critical thinking and teamwork skills among students.
• Demonstrated strong classroom management skills, creating a positive and disciplined learning environment conducive to effective learning.
• Actively participated in faculty meetings, professional development workshops, and parent-teacher conferences, contributing to the school community and student success.
• Taught math lessons to high school students.
• Handled classroom management.
• Used technology in the classroom.
• Conducted parent-teacher conferences.

The right example showcases the teacher's accomplishments with active wording and quantifies their impact on student performance, which is attractive to potential employers. The wrong example is vague and lacks details. It doesn't highlight the teacher's skills or contributions.

• Developed an innovative art curriculum resulting in a 25% increase in student engagement and creative expression.
• Organized and facilitated three successful school-wide art exhibitions, showcasing over 300 student artworks and receiving positive feedback from parents and the community.
• Collaborated with classroom teachers to integrate art into core subjects, enhancing students' overall academic performance and creativity.
• Implemented classroom management strategies that reduced disruptions by 40%, creating a focused and respectful learning environment.
• Conducted art workshops for parents and staff, receiving a 95% satisfaction rate and strengthening community involvement in the art program.
• Taught art to elementary students.
• Managed the art classroom.
• Collaborated with other teachers.

The ‘right’ example includes quantifiable results that showcase the teacher's effectiveness and contributions, making the resume stand out to potential employers. The ‘wrong’ example is ineffective as it lacks specific details and outcomes, which makes it less impactful for potential employers.

• Designed and implemented inquiry-based science labs resulting in a 20% improvement in students' understanding of scientific concepts.
• Coached the school's Science Olympiad team to win three regional championships and qualify for the state competition for the past two years.
• Utilized technology to create interactive virtual labs, leading to a 30% increase in student engagement and participation.
• Collaborated with the school's science department to align curriculum with state standards, resulting in a 10% improvement in standardized test scores.
• Conducted weekly after-school tutoring sessions, resulting in a 95% passing rate for struggling students.
• Taught science to high school students.
• Coached Science Olympiad team.
• Used technology in teaching.
• Conducted after-school tutoring.

The right example measurably demonstrates their effectiveness and includes extracurriculars that shows them as a well-rounded and involved teacher. The wrong example only lists basic responsibilities without evidence of the teacher's effectiveness or achievements.

Why include a skills section?

A skills section on a teacher's resume is important because it provides a concise and organized overview of the teacher's key strengths, competencies, and qualifications. Here's how:

Showcases relevance: The skills section highlights the teacher's relevant abilities, ensuring employers quickly identify their suitability for the position.

Easy to scan: A well-organized skills section lets hiring managers quickly grasp the teacher's essential strengths and decide whether to continue reading the resume.

Demonstrates expertise: The skills section demonstrates the teacher's diverse expertise, showcasing the various aspects of teaching they excel at.

Quantifies impact: Quantifiable results and achievements within the skills section offer concrete evidence of the teacher's effectiveness. This makes the resume more compelling and memorable.

Tailored: The skills section should be customized to match the requirements of different teaching positions, highlighting the most relevant skills for each application.

Strengthens first impression: The skills section is usually placed near the top of the resume, catching the reader's attention early on. It sets a positive impression that encourages a recruiter to continue reading the entire document.

Step by step how to list

A strong skills section takes a little organization and thought. Here's a step-by-step guide to showcase your skills:

Identify relevant skills: Tailor your skills section to the specific job description.
Group and prioritize: Organize your skills and prioritize the most relevant ones.
Be specific: Describe your skills clearly and provide quantifiable results.
Use concise bullet points: Present your skills in bullet points and avoid lengthy paragraphs.
Be honest: Include only skills you actually have, and be honest in your presentation of them.

Hard skills and soft skills

Hard and soft skills are essential for a successful teaching career. When applying for a teaching position, it is important to highlight both skill types in your resume and cover letter.

Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities that are directly applicable to a job or profession. They’re often quantifiable and measurable.

Soft skills are intangible, interpersonal qualities that improve communication and collaboration and may rely on emotional intelligence. They’re not as easily quantifiable as hard skills, but they’re essential for a teacher’s success.

Best hard skills for your teacher resume

Best soft skills for your teacher resume, example skills sections.

Nobody has all the skills we’ve listed, and no principal will expect you to. The best resume skills sections include a mix of hard and soft skills most relevant to the specific job opportunity.

Here are four examples of how to adapt a skills section for different teaching jobs and experience levels, and to highlight d

Experienced teacher

Professional Skills

New teacher

Elementary teacher, substitute math teacher, education / certifications.

It’s no mystery that you need a good education to be a teacher. Each school district can be different, but a teacher needs at least a bachelor's degree, in education or the subject they teach, along with a teaching certificate or license.

In most cases, though, the basics aren’t enough. Additional requirements, like teacher competency exams, specific training, background checks, or other expectations, may also apply.

Which education/certification is relevant?

As an example, to teach at the high school level, you typically need the following education and certifications:

Bachelor's Degree: A bachelor's degree in the subject you'll teach is usually required.
Teacher certification/license: A teaching certificate or license is required in most regions.
Subject matter competency: A high school teacher is certainly expected to understand the subjects they teach.
Background check: A background check is typically required before hiring.
Continuing education: Some regions require you to pursue professional development to maintain your teaching credentials.

The specific education and certifications you’ll need will vary depending on the location and education system in place. So look up the specific requirements in your area to confirm you meet the expectations there.

How to list degrees and awards

As a teacher, it’s essential that you list your degrees (in reverse chronological order) on your resume. Include the degree name, major, institution, and graduation date.

Listing majors and minors on a teacher's resume is optional but can be beneficial if they're relevant to the teaching position or add value to your qualifications. Include them in the same section just below your degree entries.

Awards can highlight your dedication, accomplishments, and recognition as a professional educator, making you a more attractive candidate. List them in a separate section or under Education if they’re academic or teaching-related honors.

Mention the name of the award, the granting organization, and the date received. Emphasize awards demonstrating your teaching excellence, subject expertise, leadership, or contributions to the educational community.

• What knowledge or experience did you acquire during your studies there? (e.g. Delivered a comprehensive marketing strategy)

This concise, organized education and awards section lists two degrees from top schools, including a master's from Harvard. It shows the candidate's commitment to teaching and learning, making them a compelling, competitive candidate.

The certification and awards sections identify their state teaching license and relevant certifications, underscoring their commitment to continuous learning. Their awards lend specific credibility to their success and effectiveness as a teacher.

Resume objective / summary

A resume objective is a short statement at the top of your resume that summarizes your career goals and why you’re applying for a particular job. Including an objective is important to catch the hiring committee's attention and highlight your skills and experience.

A teacher's resume objective should be short and to the point, highlighting the skills and experience relevant to the position you’re applying for. It should also be specific, mentioning the specific type of teaching position you’re interested in.

Here are some tips for crafting an attention-grabbing objective for your teacher resume:

Start with a strong action verb. This will help to grab the hiring manager's attention.
Include your skills and experience. Be specific about what you can do and your achievements.
State the type of teaching position you’re interested in.
Use keywords to help your resume pass through an applicant tracking system (ATS).
Proofread carefully. Typos and grammatical errors are unacceptable on a teacher’s resume.

It may be tricky to fit all that into one or two sentences. Check out these examples and explanations of strong and weak teacher objectives to better understand how to write yours.

Strong Teacher Objectives

These objectives are strong because they’re short, to the point, and specific. They also describe the candidate's value proposition, and the type of teaching position they’re interested in, and include relevant keywords.

Weak Teacher Objectives

These objectives are weak because they’re vague, general, and don’t provide any specific information about the candidate's skills or experience. They also don’t mention the type of teaching position the candidate is interested in.

Other sections to include

There are a few optional teacher resume sections that you should consider including. Whether or not to include these sections is up to you, but showcasing these qualifications is a great way to make your resume stand out.

Awards & certification

Use this section to highlight any awards or certifications you’ve received to demonstrate the full breadth of your skills and experience.

Showing that you’re bilingual or multilingual can be valuable, especially in a school with a diverse student population.

Interests & hobbies

Include this section to show you’re well-rounded and have interests outside of teaching, which can make you a more interesting and engaging teacher.

Interests & Hobbies:
Playing guitar
Learning new languages

Publications

Highlight any publications you’ve authored or co-authored to demonstrate your research skills and knowledge.

"Teaching Math to English Language Learners," published in the Journal of Mathematics Education for Language Minority Students
"Using Technology to Enhance Learning in the Mathematics Classroom," published in the Journal of Educational Technology
"The Impact of Different Teaching Strategies on Student Achievement in Mathematics," published in the Journal of Educational Research

Presentations

The presentations you’ve given demonstrate your communication and public speaking skills and expertise in the subject you teach.

"Teaching Math to English Language Learners," presented at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) annual conference.
"Using Technology to Enhance Learning in the Mathematics Classroom," presented at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) annual conference.
"The Impact of Different Teaching Strategies on Student Achievement in Mathematics," presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual conference.

Custom section title based on a job

A custom section is an opportunity to give the school or board you’re applying to better understand why you’re a great fit for a job. Consider including one if you want to showcase your skills in a specific job requirement in the job description.

To create a custom section, start by identifying the skills and experience that are most relevant to the job you are applying for. The section should be concise and easy to read, and it should use keywords that are relevant to the job.

Here are some examples of custom sections that you might include on your resume:

Experience with STEM Education

Experience with Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL)
Experience with Special Education
Experience with Technology Integration
Experience with Project-Based Learning

And here’s how you can lay one out:

Developed and implemented a STEM curriculum for elementary school students
Led a team of teachers in the implementation of the STEM curriculum
Trained teachers on how to use STEM resources and activities
Presented on STEM education at professional conferences

Cover letter matching your teacher's resume

It’s crucial that you include a cover letter as part of your application for a teaching job. It’s your opportunity to introduce yourself to the hiring manager, explain your interest in the position, and highlight your skills and experience.

A well-written cover letter can help you stand out from the competition and increase your chances of getting an interview. Follow these five steps to write a standout cover letter to complement your resume.

Teacher resume examples

Explore additional teacher resume samples and guides and see what works for your level of experience or role.

The Dance Teacher position boasts a rich history with roots in performing arts and physical education. Thus, trends in these areas often shape the dance teaching field.

The following advice will help you apply more effectively for Dance Teacher jobs:

Practice and expertise in different dance styles are key. Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Jazz, and Latin. Successful dance teachers often have a versatile and extensive understanding of various genres.
Highlight any experience in choreographing and staging dance performances. Lack of this can lead to early dismissal.
Prioritize the dancing background that has impacted your teaching. Most accomplished dance teachers have a strong performance record, so emphasize your dancing experience and its influence on your teaching methodology.
Don't merely list dance styles or shows you've performed in. Highlight how your knowledge improved your students' skills, e.g., "improved students' flexibility through...", "increased students' stage presence after..." etc. Stick to the "skill-action-results" pattern.

Looking to build your own Teacher resume?

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The Best Resume Structure: Examples, Templates & Tips

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22 Teacher Resume Examples That Worked in 2024

Teacher Resume
Teacher Resumes by Grade Level
Teacher Resumes by Subject
Teacher Resumes by Type

Writing Your Teacher Resume

Teachers are the backbone of society. You spend more time with the children you educate than their parents do! And effective teachers like you are compassionate, intelligent, and organized, among hundreds of other things.

It can be difficult to highlight all your experience and skills on your teacher resume, and you’ll want to save some for your teacher cover letter .

These 22 teacher resume examples are helping teachers with varying levels and types of expertise land jobs in 2024 . They’re a great place for you to get started building or updating your resume .

Please note that this guide is geared toward educators in the K-12 space. If you’re applying to teach at the college level, you’ll likely need to write a CV .

Teacher Resume Example

or download as PDF

Why this resume works

When listing your student teaching experience, focus on what you contributed instead of your responsibilities.
Since you want to make the resume reviewer’s job as pleasant as possible, clearly state the subject and grades you taught in a resume bullet.
When you go to make a cover letter , this is your ticket to dive deeper into how you helped your students achieve greater success in the classroom.

Daycare Teacher Resume Example

If you’re a pro at integrating play-based learning like building blocks or water play into your daycare environment, do more than list it in your skills section. Use your work experience to show your skills in action.

Elementary Teacher Resume Example

Include licenses or certifications in a dedicated “Certifications” section on your elementary teacher resume. Our user-friendly resume templates and Google docs resume templates let you add a section just for certificates and licenses.
For example, “Improved students’ passing rates on the statewide annual exam by 13%” effectively shows competency through an estimate.

Middle School Teacher Resume Example

Middle school history teacher with 1+ years of experience

Including a career objective can help explain why you’re a strong candidate if you have limited work experience or if you’re undergoing a career change.
Certifications are typically required qualifications for teachers, so it’s best to list any relevant certificates you’ve acquired.
Projects can be a great place to highlight experiences not technically work-related but still highly relevant to your passion for teaching.
An activities section is the spot for interesting, quirky experiences or hobbies on your resume ; just be sure you can explain why they’re relevant when you get an interview!

First Year Teacher Resume Example

Succinct, to-the-point, and intriguing are everything your career objective should be-it should be two to three sentences summarizing your teaching career goals and demonstrating your readiness to help the hiring institution attain its objectives. Weaving in mentions of past relevant experiences like a teaching internship can leave a solid impression that gets you hired.

High School Teacher Resume Example

The “Education” section of your high school teacher resume should list the degree you’ve earned. No need to list high school since that’s a given.
For example, instead of saying, “Prepared students for standardized exams,” say, “Helped improve standardized testing performance by 3%.”
If you list “collaboration” as a skill, then somewhere in your resume’s work experience bullet points, it should be clear that collaboration is part of your repertoire.

PE Teacher Resume Example

Save a small section on your resume’s side column for role-relevant tertiary educational background, much like how Amanda flaunts her bachelor’s degree (Physical Education) from the University of Central Florida. It’s about showing you’ve put a great deal of work into amassing the necessary knowledge and skills.

Science Teacher Resume Example

You see, few other things piss off hiring managers as much as a resume littered with grammatical mistakes, from typos, punctuation errors to awkward phrases. And that brings us to the essence of staking the time to meticulously proofreading yours before hitting the send button. Better yet, involve a second pair of eyes, be it a friend, family member or career coach.

Math Teacher Resume Example

$Math teacher resume example with nearly 8 years of experience$

Such unique achievements make your math teacher resume shine and grab the attention of your dream employer. Identify such feats in your career and let them take center stage in your application.

Art Teacher Resume Example

Your also have to prove that you go beyond the curriculum to offer students more opportunities such as through showcasing their work to the world.

Social Science Teacher Resume Example

Social science teacher resume with 8+ years of experience

Ask a friend, colleague, or even a co-worker to proofread your resume. If you’re low on time, invest in a spell-check system like Grammarly or run your resume through our resume checker to catch any typos or comma errors.
All our example resumes include the essential sections, and you can add your own sections to customize your template to your specific needs.

English Teacher Resume Example

Summaries are two to three-sentence paragraphs that can be thought of as a recap of your best self on your resume.
Purely optional, you can include one if you have years (10+) of experience in your field.
Summaries work best to showcase your tried and tested years in the education field and any specializations you’ve honed, such as teaching AP-level courses.

Foreign Language Teacher Resume Example

Why? Hard skills are more specific to your profession and easier to demonstrate throughout your resume. Plus, they show school admin that you’ve already got some technical know-how for the job.
Aim to include six to eight specific skills, emphasizing hard skills (like “bilingual” and “lesson planning”) over soft skills (like “organization” and “caring”).
If you’re hoping to switch from teaching German to teaching history, you don’t need to include many details on your strategies for teaching verb conjugation, for example.

Experienced Teacher Resume Example

It’s perfect time to turn to your technology skills and how you’ve tapped them to solve everyday teaching challenges. Show how you’ve leveraged Zoom and Google Classroom for virtual teaching, Quizizz for tailored tests that improved average students score, and so on.

New Teacher Resume Example

Also, show how it has been a lifelong process for you, and how you are ready to bring in your set of pedagogical skills in the learning environment.

Student Teacher Resume Example

Schools know you have to start somewhere, so what they’re really looking for is that you show the promise and potential to step inside their classrooms and successfully manage and teach a class.
If you’ve volunteered as a teacher after school, provided tutoring or homework help, or even assisted in a teacher’s grading load, you have valuable experience to add to your resume.

Teacher Assistant Resume Example

Instead of vaguely stating, “Worked with assistants and teachers,” give concrete details, like “Worked with 2 assistants and teacher to provide instruction to 60+ 2nd graders with IEPs.”
An objective is valuable if you’re light on experience and need to fill some white space, but it loses its value if it’s not customized.
Tailor your objective by mentioning the target school by name and sprinkling in some keywords from the teacher job description , so long as they honestly describe you!

Substitute Teacher Resume Example

If you’re a certified substitute teacher (or teacher) in your state, include that in a dedicated “Certifications” section on your substitute teacher resume. This will help you stand out from other applicants, as this is not required in every state.
Any prior subbing experience should highlight maintaining a disciplined classroom. One of the toughest aspects of being a sub is commanding a classroom, so demonstrating your strength will increase your chances of getting an interview.
Another way to impress is by formatting your resume’s work history in reverse-chronological order; it lists your most current and relevant experience first, so the admin can glimpse your best stuff first.

Collaborative Teacher Resume Example

Choose one or two key areas, such as section titles or your header, to include a pop of conservative color.
Use two contrasting fonts on your resume template . Just don’t pick anything hard to read—remember, recruiters scan resumes within seconds, so it has to be understood at a glance.
Even if your projects aren’t teaching-related, highlight skills you used or developed, like working with kids, collaborating with co-workers, or taking a leadership position.

Special Education Teacher Resume Example

Does your resume take up the entire page?
Does it have half to one-inch margins? (Either half an inch or one inch is fine.)
Does your resume include separate sections for contact information, education, skills, and work experience?
Start each bullet point with action words, like “spearheaded” or “brainstormed.”
Either end all bullet points with a period or none at all. Be consistent with punctuation.
Write your work experience in the past tense.
Avoid using personal pronouns like “me” or “I” on your resume. We’re pretty sure the employer already knows you’re writing about yourself!

Assistant Teacher Resume Example

Consider a certifications section in which you proudly spotlight credential like Child Development Associate (CDA), just as Matthew does. Of course, a proven understanding of early childhood education best practices is sure to get a nod from the hiring manager reading your piece.

Teacher Aide Resume Example

Begin by spotlighting your most recent, senior position (paired with key quantified achievements and relevant tool applications) and backtrack through your junior roles. This technique is golden for illustrating your career progression in a resume and should show an increment of responsibilities and wins as you go up.

Related resume guides

Teacher Assistant
Preschool Teacher
Elementary Teacher
Substitute Teacher

Formatting Your Teacher Resume

Recruiter points with yellow chalk to job skills and qualifications list on blackboard

Formatting ensures your teacher resume is readable, logical, and complete. Imagine understanding a book without chapter headings or margins and no discernable organization. It would be a nightmare to parse out any information when nothing follows a clear structure and doesn’t lend itself to being read correctly. It’s an extreme example, but it proves the necessity of formatting.

Just as you create lesson plans to help your class learn best, format your resume so your qualifications are conveyed and understood. We’ll cover three important formatting elements in the following sections: resume formats, your contact header, and resume readability for ATS.

Three resume formats

The most popular resume formats for 2024 are reverse-chronological, functional, and combination/hybrid. Here are some of the pros and cons of each:

Reverse-chronological : This format highlights your career progression in an easy-to-scan list, making it ideal for recruiters and ATS. However, this format exposes time gaps and can be repetitive if you’ve held the same position at multiple schools.
Functional : This format focuses on your skills, ideal for limited teaching experience or gaps. However, it’s commonly known to confuse potential employers and ATS.
Combination/hybrid : This leverages an in-depth skills section and a small experience section to accurately summarize why you’re the best candidate for the job. However, it’s easy to structure this poorly, and it can look like you’re hiding a lack of work experience.

We advise the reverse-chronological format for your teacher resume because it proves you have practical knowledge and a steady career. This format tells the story of your teaching career in under six seconds , which is how long recruiters will take to read your resume.

Include the right details in your contact header

Your contact header should be easy to locate and read. Some suggest not adding contact information in the header, but that’s why formatting your contact header properly is so important. With good formatting, none of your information gets buried, and it can distinguish you from other applicants. You should include:

Job title you’re seeking
Phone number
City, State (optional)
Professional links (optional)

Per industry standards, place the header in either the top left-hand corner or centered beneath your name. Not enough space? Remove the optional elements or go down a font size. Choose a sans-serif font that’s no smaller than your resume’s body text.

Like the example below, you can put your header in a color block to grab attention quickly and add personality. It’s best not to use obnoxious colors (neon green would be a hard no), and always double-check that the color works well with black body text or white font.

High school mathematics teacher blue contact header on resume example

Sometimes, the ATS won’t read your resume properly despite having a beautiful header. That’s why we recommend submitting it as a .docx (friendly for ATS) and as a PDF (friendly for employers).

We have plenty of excellent resume samples you can check out for inspiration on your header, and if you’re rushed, choose one of our free resume templates to start and finish your teacher resume in record time.

Ensure the ATS and employers can read your resume

To ensure your resume reaches principals and department heads, you’ll need to pass muster with the ATS. The good news is formatting for the ATS also results in a resume easy to read by employers.

Resume tips to steer you on the right path:

Not only is a one-page resume faster for recruiters and ATS to scan, but it forces you to be concise and include only what’s relevant.
Most ATS don’t recognize documents in Open Office, Adobe Pages, HTML, or PDF (on occasion). The wisest option is to submit your resume as a .docx and as a PDF to give employers options if one doesn’t work.
The standard 10–12-point font is the best readability range for employers and ATS.
Even at a reasonable size, some fonts are hard to read, unprofessional-appearing, and ATS-unfriendly. Stick to standard sans-serif fonts like Helvetica or Arial.
One-inch margins are standard, but you can be flexible. Avoid going smaller than a half-inch or larger than one inch to keep your teacher resume professional and tidy.
You may confuse the ATS and the school if you have odd header titles. Use standardized headers, as you see in our resume samples , to make each section easy to find (and comprehend).
ATS uses keywords to determine your eligibility, including skills (Google Classroom, modifying lessons, parent communication, etc.) matching what’s in the job ad.
If your resume sections aren’t in the recommended order, they may confuse ATS. Yet again, it’s best to stick to the standard. Try using our resume builder to ensure your structure is logical and readable.

Coworkers discuss career documents on BeamJobs' platform behind them

Writing an effective resume may feel daunting, but it’s far more manageable if you take it section by section. You may even want to use one of our fresh Word resume templates designed just for teachers. Let’s dive into each resume section you’ll want to consider:

Does an objective/summary on your teacher resume matter?

Teaching history, top skills for educators.

Listing education, certification, and optional sections

Customize your teacher resume for the job

Revise and edit your teacher resume.

Principals and their hiring teams may see hundreds of resumes across a wide array of teaching roles, so it’s crucial to showcase your talents and personality quickly. Objectives and summaries can work as excellent introductory tools, but many end up being generic, boring, or vague.

First, consider whether you’ll use an objective or summary statement (or neither). An objective highlights your interest and qualifications for the role, while a resume career summary distills your specialized skills and experience in a few lines. Use an objective if you’re seeking your first teaching position or switching from teaching one subject to another. On the other hand, veteran teachers may opt for a summary (or no statement at all).

Regardless of your circumstances, if you use either of these introductory statements, you should always tailor your message to the position. Let’s look at specific examples to contrast a D+ resume objective with one worthy of an A.

A generic, vague objective tells recruiters nothing about you beyond the bare minimum:

New high school teacher seeking employment at a local high school closer to family. Talented at communicating with teenagers and teaching. Received many compliments and letters at last place of employment.

The above objective lacks personality and neglects to mention anything specific. This next objective, however, is focused and tells the principal about the applicant’s skills:

Compassionate algebra tutor with 4+ years of experience. Excellent at coaching students in formulas and helping them develop analytical thinking skills and mathematical competency at all levels of ability. Seeking to use my communication and interpersonal skills to build meaningful student relationships and improve their mathematical abilities at Joaquin High School.

Like the visual example below, the above objective works because it details the applicant’s experience and how it’s relevant to their new goals within the classroom.

Elementary teacher career objective on resume example

With summaries, it’s difficult to narrow down years of experience into one paragraph, so they often end up looking like this:

Skilled and experienced teacher who loves working with littles. Adept at communication and care. Excited to use my skills for Sunnyside Elementary.

For starters, repeating “skilled” and “experienced” won’t tell employers anything. A good summary should sell your experience and qualifications, making principals wish they’d had the chance to hire you years ago:

Elementary education teacher with 12+ years of experience managing 25-30 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders’ classrooms. I am a patient, personable, and compassionate professional eager to bring my expertise to Sunnyside Elementary. Awarded Teacher of the Year in 2020 and 2021 for creating online individualized lesson plans for over 65 students during the height of the pandemic.

This summary works because it tells the recruiter their specific qualifications, namely personalized lesson plans and classroom management, and their skills (in this case, two awards).

It’s tempting to list every job you’ve ever had to prove you’re qualified, but this becomes either overwhelming or redundant. It also means you can’t include much about each position, which won’t inspire principals to hire you.

Instead, pick two to four of your most relevant teaching positions. Quantify your responsibilities and incorporate skill keywords to improve your ATS score with each.

No teaching experience yet? Add internships, student teaching, volunteering, or other special projects like the example below that can highlight your soft skills like leadership. Certifications and awards are helpful additions, too.

Teacher resume example projects section for JV baseball coach

How to write your job description bullet points

Whether you’re describing a past job, an internship, or a college project, you’ll need to craft your bullet points with care. Every word counts, so use active verbs, definitive language, third-person pronouns, and consistent verb tenses. Pay careful attention to consistency with punctuation—using periods at the end of some bullets while none for others is sloppy.

Based on these resume writing tips , here are some examples of well-crafted bullet points suited for a teacher resume:

Taught mathematics, English, general science, art, geography, and history to 60+ 3rd grade students
Collaborated with parents to discuss student performance and options for an improved learning experience, such as individualized instruction for students with learning disabilities
Hosted annual fundraiser to raise $6,500 for 10+ teachers to attend the RAISE conference and led yearly trips to RAISE meetings, resulting in overall more effective teaching strategies and a renewed passion for academia

These bullet points work because they’re descriptive and results-oriented. Strive for conciseness and specificity with your job description bullet points.

Maximize your classroom impact with numbers

From an employer’s mindset, metrics cement your abilities by proving that your actions resulted in a desirable outcome. If possible, include metrics on 50 percent of your job description bullet points to showcase the results of your effective teaching.

When talking about past teaching roles, it’s a good idea to discuss the following metrics:

Increase in test scores, passing rates, or grade point averages
Number of students/classes taught
Increase in student participation/improved behavior

The following examples use the metric types listed above to describe a teacher’s impact further:

Co-founded a S.T.E.M. club with the aid of 4 fellow teachers, increasing student passing rates in science and mathematics by 13%
Established weekly one-on-one student conversation sessions to intentionally build student-teacher relationships, resulting in a 15% overall increase in classroom participation and attendance
Hosted monthly Write-Til-You-Drop sessions for high school students struggling in English and offered expertise for outlining thesis development and argument structure, which resulted in 31% higher essay scores for participating students

The skills section of your resume is a quick guide to what you bring to the table as a teacher. That means choosing the right skills for each job is crucial. You might be organized and great at time management, but if employers want to see that you’re compassionate and great at lesson planning instead, your resume may be set aside.

Since teachers fulfill many roles, employers will want to see a host of varied skills, including soft, hard, and technical capabilities, such as these:

Common teacher skills

Collaboration
Problem-solving
1:1 communication
Organization
Class management
Active listening
Lesson planning
Google Classroom
Parent communication
Gradebook software

These skills demonstrate aptitude and support the responsibilities a teacher must complete on the job. Remember that while the above list outlines common and popular teacher skills for your resume, defer to what the job description is explicitly seeking.

Education, certifications, and optional sections

You’ll need to include different elements on your resume depending on your education level, years in the workforce, and any specializations or concentrations you possess. All teaching positions require a bachelor’s degree, and an increasing number of teachers hold a master’s. Also, ensure you’re up-to-date on your state certifications, like the California candidate below.

Certification section on California teacher resume example

If you hold many certifications, you don’t necessarily need to include them all if you’re applying for one specific role. For example, suppose you’re an ESL-certified teacher with a graduate ESL certificate seeking an ESL role. In that case, you’ll need to include that certification either in a summary/objective, in your work experience, or in your education.

This candidate’s education speaks volumes with a classic bold font and color.

Education section on teacher resume example

While including education and certifications is required, a projects section is optional. If you’re a drama teacher, for example, new to directing but experienced with leading drama camps, including a projects section to describe the drama camps you’ve led or assisted with can add a relevant impact. List and discuss projects on your resume, just like a paid position.

Additionally, consider adding interests and hobbies to your resume . Most teacher resumes should save room for other information, but it’s a good idea to add these sections when the job you’re applying for stresses the importance of school spirit and culture.

Choose your interests that reflect the school’s values. However, be picky about what you include. Finding every Easter Egg in the entire timeline of Zelda games might be your favorite pastime, but that doesn’t mean you should list it on a resume (unless you’re applying for Nintendo, in which case this might be appropriate, and you’re reading the wrong resume guide).

It’s up to you whether you include any optional sections on your resume, but always be sure to be as specific as possible. Your interests should also be specific. “Reading” doesn’t say much about you, but “leading classic book clubs” is far more likely to get you a job as an English instructor.

Generic resumes are easy to spot and will likely get tossed. To avoid the trash, tailor your resume to every position you apply for. This tells principals you’ve researched the school and the role, and you genuinely care about the position.

To customize your resume, scan the job ad to know what responsibilities, accomplishments, and keywords to include in your skills section and your bullet points. You should also tailor your objective/summary (if used) to have the school’s name and speak to anything unique about the school that particularly interests you. Check your resume against the job description to ensure you’re addressing their concerns.

As a teacher, you already know the pitfalls of submitting drafts before they’re revised, so don’t let minor mistakes slip through the cracks. Instead, take a break and hand your resume off for peer review. You can also use our free resume checker to get tips from our AI software.

After a day, return to your resume and consider the constructive criticism you received. Edit and check for errors, inconsistencies, or gaps. Read through your resume at least twice more, one for content and one for proofreading. Once you’re sure it’s error-free, you can submit it proudly.

Start Setting up Your Classroom (Almost)

Job seeker and dog celebrate job hunt success with smiles and move boxes into new office

Go ahead and celebrate because if you’ve made it this far, you’re well on your way to that A+ resume! By spending more time throughout each phase of the writing process, you’re vaulting yourself closer to your next teaching job. It’ll be time to turn in a simple resignation letter at your current job and start setting up your new classroom before you know it!

If you’re not quite satisfied with your current resume, upload it to our resume checker for our AI-powered tips. If it’s time to start from scratch, use our resume builder tool to work with our AI from the ground up. We can’t wait to see you land your next teaching role!

Learn Japanese to Get a Better Job in Japan

Finding a job in Japan isn’t always easy. In addition to showcasing your experience and skills on your resume , certain positions may require proficiency in Japanese. I began my journey in Japan as an English teacher, a common path for many expats. However, I soon realized teaching wasn’t the right fit for me. I knew I needed to learn Japanese to get a better job in Japan.

I dedicated myself to learning the language, although at the time, I didn’t know anyone who had successfully pivoted industries by learning Japanese. Even my coworkers claimed it couldn’t be done. Despite the skepticism, I proved them wrong and acquired the necessary language skills to secure my desired job.

Looking back, I believe having some encouragement would have made the process smoother. With this in mind, I reached out to my colleagues at GaijinPot to ask a simple question: How did learning Japanese contribute to your job success in Japan?

Laura’s JLPT Journey

First, I had a conversation with Laura, a GaijinPot Study coordinator from the United States, like myself. Laura discussed her experiences with the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N2, which is widely regarded as the “business level” of the test. This indicates that Laura put significant effort into her studies, and it’s evident that her hard work has paid off. Among foreigners, her Japanese proficiency is among the best I’ve encountered.

Here’s what she had to say.

“I’ve always wanted to work in a role where I could use Japanese, which was a major factor in my decision to move to Japan. Despite achieving N2 certification, the second-highest level on the JLPT, I lacked the confidence to apply for positions requiring Japanese proficiency. So, I set a goal to study for the N1 exam.

The JLPT was a useful roadmap for acquiring the skills that eventually led me to a job.

Upon passing the N1, I gained the confidence to apply for jobs that specifically demanded Japanese skills. However, I don’t view the N1 as the ultimate measure of Japanese proficiency. There’s much more to learn beyond what’s tested, particularly in business Japanese, which encompasses more than grammar, vocabulary, and kanji.

Nevertheless, reaching the N1 level exposed me to a broad range of vocabulary that I wouldn’t have encountered otherwise. While the test isn’t comprehensive, its expansive vocabulary section covers various fields like construction, medicine, and politics. This exposure helped me expand my vocabulary beyond what I knew in my native language.

Consequently, during job interviews, I could easily define terms I had encountered in my studies. While it’s possible to achieve this without JLPT preparation, the exam was a useful roadmap for acquiring the skills that eventually led me to a job where I could use Japanese daily.”

・ Career Goals : Aim for roles in Japan requiring Japanese proficiency to align with career aspirations.

・ Confidence Boost : Attain higher JLPT levels, like N1, to bolster confidence in applying for language-demanding positions.

・ Vocabulary Help : JLPT offers exposure to varied vocabulary, although it’s not the sole indicator of proficiency.

・ Interview Preparation : Expand vocabulary using JLPT study resources for job interviews.

・ Language Skill Development : Utilize JLPT for language skills needed for daily use in Japanese workplaces.

Insights from Cindy: Navigating The Workplace

To gather additional perspectives, I reached out to my colleague Cindy from the Philippines to share her journey. She plays a vital role in our Japan Room Finder and Japan Home Finder services, connecting customers with English-speaking real estate agents in Japan. Cindy shared a very inspirational story about learning Japanese, and It motivates me to keep learning.

“I’ve wanted to live in Japan for as long as I can remember. However, I soon realized that teaching English wasn’t my calling, so I made a concerted effort to study Japanese extensively during my schooling.

Despite passing the N2 exam before graduating, I quickly learned that working in a Japanese company provides a rapid education in the language. My initial job was difficult, with overwhelming kanji and keigo (formal Japanese). There were nights filled with frustration and tears as I grappled with my perceived shortcomings. Looking back, though, those setbacks ultimately paved the way for my current position—a realization that brings me immense gratitude.

Traditional workplaces still rely on phone and fax communications, so know how to use them.

I recommend prioritizing speaking and writing skills for those aspiring to work in a Japanese company, particularly for emails (handwriting is optional but beneficial). Many companies assess candidates based on their verbal communication abilities, so refining pronunciation, diction, and fluency is crucial. Additionally, some traditional workplaces still rely on phone and fax communications, so you should know how to use them.

Each person’s career path is unique, and what worked for me may not align with your interests. Conduct thorough research into the requirements of your desired field and tailor your studies accordingly—it’ll significantly ease your job search.

Mastering Japanese is a lengthy and challenging journey, with experiences varying for each individual. If you ever feel apprehensive or uncertain about the road ahead, remember that people are willing to support you and learning extends far beyond securing a job offer.”

・ Language Proficiency : Prioritize learning Japanese for success in Japanese workplaces.

・ Communication Skills : Focus on improving verbal communication, pronunciation, and fluency for job interviews and daily interactions.

・ Adapt to Old School : Familiarize yourself with traditional communication methods such as phone and fax, which are still prevalent in some Japanese workplaces.

・ Tailored Study Approach : Customize your language studies based on the specific requirements of your desired field to enhance your job prospects.

・ Persistence and Resilience : Embrace setbacks as opportunities for growth, as navigating challenges is part of the journey to success in a Japanese career.

Reflecting on My Journey to JLPT N2 Certification

To conclude, I’d like to share a bit about my own experience. My primary goal was passing the N2 level on the JLPT, as it would enable me to confidently label myself as “business level” on my resume. Although attending a language school would have been ideal, financial constraints led me to pursue self-study. I spent many weekends immersed in Japanese textbooks, fueled by endless cups of coffee at family restaurant drink bars.

After taking the N2 test, while awaiting my results, I felt sufficiently confident in my Japanese proficiency to start applying for jobs. Through multiple interviews conducted in Japanese, I demonstrated my skills and secured a position. Fortunately, I also passed the N2 exam!

The takeaway from my experience is this: with dedication and effort, obtaining a good job in Japan is achievable through Japanese language study. Despite naysayers who may doubt your ability to learn Japanese proficiently enough for employment in Japan, many individuals, including myself, have successfully done so.

And, of course, if you need an extra push, consider exploring resources like our GaijinPot Study page for additional support.

Learn Japanese to Get a Better Job in Japan

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