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How To Format a Teacher Resume

Your resume format is as important as what you write in your resume. This example teacher resume displays the best formatting hacks to pass ATS: 1-inch margins, bullet points and clear resume headings for each of the following sections.

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  • Full name and contact info

    • Include your name, contact information, and a professional email address.

  • Write a summary statement

    • Highlight two or three teaching-relevant skills or accomplishments with a brief resume summary or objective statement. 

  • Highlight your skills

    • Create a dedicated section to showcase hard, soft and technical skills specific to teaching, like critical thinking, patience, leadership and lesson planning.

  • List your work history

    • Detail your work experience in reverse chronological order, including job titles, company names, dates of employment, and key responsibilities and achievements for each role. Use bullet points to highlight accomplishments, duties, and skills.

  • Supporting education section

    • Detail your educational background, mentioning any relevant degrees, diplomas, or certifications obtained.

  • Additional sections

    • You can add resume sections for licenses, certifications, industry memberships or unions, awards, volunteer experience or spoken languages.

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Write Your Teacher Resume Summary

A professional summary or resume objective is a statement at the top of your resume that spotlights your top teaching resume skills and accomplishments. An excellent summary or objective will hook your reader into wanting to learn more about your professional history. Follow these simple steps to write an impactful resume summary.

Be brief

Your summary or objective should be at most three sentences. Use the limited space to go straight into your top qualifications. Avoid including unnecessary details. 

Highlight your top qualifications

If you’re a well-experienced teacher, lead with that. Discuss your years of experience, top skills and areas of expertise. Focus on the credentials that set you apart. 

Include notable accomplishments

A surefire way to hook your reader is to showcase your most impressive achievements. Show the reader your value as a teacher. 

Tailor it to the job description

Your resume summary must include keywords from the job description, as this will pass ATS scans and show the recruiter you’re a qualified candidate.

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Good example of a teacher resume summary:

Experienced educator with seven years of teaching expertise in middle school education. Demonstrated ability to create engaging lesson plans tailored to diverse learning styles, improving student comprehension and achievement. Proven track record of fostering positive classroom environments conducive to academic growth and personal development.

This resume summary provides a straightforward overview of the candidate’s qualifications and showcases their relevant experience as a teacher. It mentions years of experience, core skills and notable achievements.

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Bad example of a teacher resume summary:

Skilled teacher seeking a challenging position in a junior high school where I can grow my expertise and contribute to the district’s success.

This example lacks specific details about the teacher’s credentials and fails to emphasize the candidate’s value to the school.

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Add Your Teaching Work History

A well-written resume work experience section shows the employer you have the necessary knowledge to perform the job well. Follow these four steps when writing your professional history section:

Use reverse chronological order

When listing your past teaching roles, start with your most recent job.

Highlight your achievements

Use bullet points and quantifiable metrics like numbers and percentages to display how you go above and beyond your job responsibilities. 

Include relevant keywords

Incorporate industry-specific keywords throughout this section and focus on those listed in the job ad. 

Describe job responsibilities

If there are specific roles without accomplishments to mention, list your primary job duties.

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Good example of a teacher work experience section

    ABC Middle School | Cleveland, OH

    January 2017 – June 2022

     

    • Developed and implemented a comprehensive literature curriculum, resulting in a 15% increase in student participation and a 10% improvement in standardized test scores.
    • Established and maintained strong relationships with students, parents, and colleagues, leading to a collaborative learning environment and a sense of community within the school.

This example spotlights the candidate’s impressive achievements as an English teacher and uses quantifiable measures to back them up.

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Bad example of a teacher work experience section

    Job Title: Teacher

    Company: ABC High School

    Dates of Employment: 2017-2022

     

    • Lead daily classes with middle school students. 
    • Evaluated the student’s progress throughout the school year. 
    • Collaborated with other teachers.

This example lacks specific details about the candidate’s job duties and fails to mention any notable accomplishments that could set them apart.

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Add Your Education Section

Teachers must demonstrate expertise in their school subject and evidence of the proper teaching certifications and licenses. Ensure you include the necessary credentials in your academic history section. Follow the steps below:

1Start with your formal degrees

List your highest educational degree. Add the institution’s name, field of study and attendance dates.

Master’s Degree

  • Middle School Education | Ohio University
  • August 2016 – June 2018 

 

Bachelor’s Degree

  • English Literature | Ohio State University
  • August 2012 – June 2016

2Mention core certifications or licenses

Add any relevant specialized training and licenses required to teach in your state.

Ohio Middle Childhood Educator Licensure

  • Ohio State Board of Education
  • October 2016

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15 Skills to Boost Your Teaching Resume

You organically weave skills throughout your resume, including your resume summary and work history sections. However, you can craft a dedicated skills section with a mix of soft skills, hard skills and technical skills relevant to teaching responsibilities. 

Here’s a recommended list of 15 soft, hard and technical skills to elevate your teacher resume.

soft skills

Soft skills

Leadership

Patience

Emotional intelligence

Communication

Analytical thinking

soft skills

Hard skills

Classroom management

Assessment and evaluation

Curriculum development

Differentiated instruction

Technology integration

soft skills

Technical skills

Proficient in Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Digital literacy instruction 

Reading comprehension strategies

Literary appreciation and cultural understanding

Language development

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20 Teacher Action Verbs

Unique power words can make your resume entries more impactful and engaging. Here are 20 action verbs to consider when describing your experience and achievements as a teacher.

Instruct

Facilitate

Engage

Assess

Adapt

Create

Collaborate

Differentiate

Implement

Guide

Demonstrate

Model

Encourage

Evaluate

Foster

Inspire

Motivate

Nurture

Support

Communicate

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Additional Resume Sections to Consider

Consider adding the following sections to your teacher resume to enhance your qualifications:

  • Professional development

    Use a professional development section featuring workshops, seminars or educational training programs to supplement your academic section.

  • Awards and achievements

    If you have received recognition or awards for your dedication to teaching and advanced teaching strategies, include a section to showcase these accomplishments.

  • Volunteer experience

    If you’re starting as a teacher, include volunteering experiences that shaped the educator that you are. 

  • Language proficiency

    A classroom can have students from various cultural backgrounds or different language abilities. Show off your ability to engage with a wide range of students. 

  • Memberships

    Let employers know about your membership to educational or teaching organizations or unions.

Use a Cover Letter to Expand on Your Resume

A resume is a concise overview of your skills and experience — a cover letter expands on this foundation. Add a cover letter to share one or two examples of how you excelled in similar roles or how your expertise can help the company grow. Use this sample as a guide or visit our helpful resources to boost your application.

Teacher Resume FAQ

What should I include in the skills section of my teacher resume?

Include six to eight soft, hard, interpersonal skills and technical skills. Consider adding these: 

  • Critical thinking
  • Conflict resolution
  • Organizational skills
  • Creativity
  • Curriculum development
  • Classroom management
  • Cultural competence
  • Lesson planning

How many past roles should I include in my work experience section?

Only include roles relevant to the job you’re applying for. If you have less than five, include all.

Should I include references in my teacher resume?

Most modern resumes don’t include a reference section. Create a separate resume references document in case the employer requires one.