Your passport to employment.
An effective CV should be your passport to your first teaching appointment. Following these simple tips can make all the difference...
The first thing to think about, when putting your CV together, is that the head teacher, teaching staff and representatives of the governors will be asking themselves these three questions when they read it:
- Is the candidate qualified to do the job?
- Does the candidate have the training and experience identified in the job specification?
- Do we want to interview the candidate and find out more?
You have only moments to make that vital first impression, so it’s important your CV works for you rather than against you.
A Good CV:
- Is no longer than two pages
- Is printed on white, unlined paper
- Has clear headings
- Outlines education, skills and experience briefly in bullet points
- Is adapted for each job applied for
- Identifies referees
- Lists relevant courses attended
- Has impeccable grammar
- Is succinct.
Some suggested headings
Start with your name. Next, type your address across the page (not down it, or it will dominate the page).
Include your contact telephone numbers and email address. You can include your date of birth and your marital status if you wish, but they aren’t compulsory as they’re not relevant to the selection process.
Having introduced yourself by name (and address), you may want to write a few lines about yourself in an opening statement. You don’t need to give it a heading. Here’s an example: “A good honours graduate in chemistry with supporting qualifications in mathematics and physics. Recent teaching experience during PGCE in a large urban comprehensive school. Keen to contribute to other aspects of school life, particularly sport and IT.”
Post Graduate Certificate in Education
If you are currently completing your PGCE, make it your next heading.
Give its start and completion date, the name of the institution and provide an outline of the course. Include its structure, key study areas and any special projects you’ve covered. You need to emphasise in this section that you have undertaken effective professional training.
Next move onto Degree Qualification.
Include a summary of your degree and its main elements. Do not presume that the selectors will know what it involved. For example, what academic and educational topics did you study for your education degree? It’s important to highlight your knowledge base.
Follow the details of your degree with a listing of Other Qualifications.
This should include: Diplomas of Higher Education, A2 and AS levels / GCSEs / AGNVQs and GNVQs etc. List them putting the most recent first. Add columns across the page so you can include: the institution where you studied; the dates when study took place; the type of qualifications you attained; and finally, the grade attained.
The next section is:
Teaching Experience or School Placements
Start with your most recent experience and work backwards. Selectors will want to know who you have taught, what you have taught and in what type of school (size, level, environment etc).
Consider including some of the specific contributions you’ve made in your placement schools, towards areas such as extra curricular activities, particular projects, special needs or teaching materials
Remember that what you include here will give the selectors a clear indication of how you’ll contribute in your new teaching appointment.
Relevant interest and skills
Highlight how your interests and skills can add to your effectiveness in the classroom and in the school in general. Consider including details about: playing musical instruments; participating, coaching or refereeing a sport; IT skills; participation in amateur dramatics; and specific skills such as first aid or speaking other languages.
Employment
If you’ve had any directly relevant full-time or vacation work, such as work with children, voluntary or community work, TEFL or youth work, then give a few lines of details and dates.
If you’re entering teaching from another profession, then give dates and brief details about what you’ve been doing. It’s important to focus on aspects of the job which relate directly to teaching, such as: staff training; presentations; IT; design; and science or laboratory skills.
Resist the temptation to clutter your CV with lists of all your vacation jobs and temporary work; you can always summarise these by saying: “Other vacation work has included retail (Tesco), telephone sales and office assignments.” But it is important to list all the schools you’ve taught in, giving the age range and subjects covered, as well as any other areas of responsibility.
References
Seek advice from your tutors if you are currently completing a teacher training course. References from your institution could well include reports from practice schools. Otherwise, referees should be drawn from either your teacher training institution, your practice schools or the last school you taught in.
Summary:
Your CV should generally have the following headings. Adapt them according to your own personal and academic experience.
- Your name
- Post Graduate Certificate of Education
- Degree Details
- Other Academic Qualifications
- Teaching Experience
- Other Work Experience
- Relevant Interest and Skills
- Other Information (You may use this for facts which just do not fit in elsewhere)
- References
For additional support, take a look at the resume templates on the Microsoft Office Online website.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT101043371033.aspx