Your passport to employment.
A great CV is your passport to teaching appointments throughout your career. These simple tips will make all the difference...
The first thing to think about, when putting your CV together, is that everyone involved in the recruitment process - the head teacher, teaching staff and representatives of the governors will be asking themselves these 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 is as good as possible.
An effective 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 and your address, typed across the page - not down it, or these details 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.
You may decide 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.
State the start and completion dates, the name of the institution and provide an outline of the course. Include its structure, key study areas and any special projects. You need to emphasise in this section that you have undertaken effective professional training.
Next move onto Degree details
Include a summary of your degree and its main elements - do not assume that the recruitors will know what it involved. For example, what academic and educational topics did you study? It’s important to highlight your knowledge base.
Other academic qualifications.
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.
Teaching Experience or School Placements
Start with your most recent experience and work backwards. 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.
Include the specific contributions you’ve made in your placement schools, towards areas such as extra-curricular activities, particular projects, special needs or teaching materials
What you include here will give the selectors a clear indication of how you’ll contribute in your new teaching appointment.
Employment
If you’ve had any relevant full-time or vacation work, such as work with children, voluntary or community work, TEFL or youth work, give brief details and dates.
If you’re entering teaching from another profession, provide 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, telephone sales and office assignments.”.
Relevant interest and skills
Highlight how your interests and skills 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; speaking other languages.
Other information
Facts which do not fit in elsewhere can go here
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 normally have the following headings, but adapt them according to your own personal and academic experience.
- Your name
- Post Graduate Certificate of Education
- Degree details
- Other academic qualifications
- Teaching experience or school placements
- Employment
- Relevant Interest and Skills
- Other Information
- References
For additional support, take a look at the resume templates on the Microsoft Office Online website.