All teachers perform the same basic duties: developing lessons, teaching students, administering and grading tests, updating report cards, disciplining students, etc. However, what will make you stand out from the average teacher is the way you portray job responsibilities on a resume. You need to convey that you do not simply teach students, but also enlighten them and encourage them to be life-long learners. This is why accomplishments are such an integral part of a resume.
When creating your resume, listing all of your accomplishments since the first grade is clearly not necessary. However, you should have something to be able to show a prospective employer.
- What was the classroom like before you arrived?
- What was it like after?
- What did you do to change or improve the situation?
- What did you do to increase student retention?
- Did you increase reading scores?
All of these accomplishment-based questions can help you to beef up your resume and make you stand out against the competition.
- What articles or books have you written?
- Were you on any committees?
- Are you more of a leader or a follower?
These are questions to help you get started. When coming up with achievements think of this series of questions… what was the challenge, what was the action you took, and what was the end result. This will create an accomplishment statement that you can use in your resume.
Give examples that include facts and figures. You will want all the essential numbers on your achievements to be reflected in your resume. An example would be “Increased standardized test scores by 30% over one school year”. This is a good way of displaying your success to a prospective employer because numbers give specifics. General statements are vague and may cause an employer to hesitate. The important thing to remember is that the employer is looking to improve his or her school district and student learning. It’s up to you to show how you can help that goal along.
Your accomplishment section will provide verification of the results you have achieved and present the potential school district hiring committee with the evidence that you have achieved results in the past; therefore, you will be able to meet or exceed the results they desire in the future. Since previous work performance is a significant indicator for potential contributions, a list of preceding achievements and successes could peak a reader’s curiosity and ultimately secure a teaching job interview in which to further elaborate on your classroom skills, expertise, and successes.
Are you happy with how your teacher or principal resume and cover letter look and the content it contains? If you are a leader in your industry and promote excellence in education and student learning you need to portray this in your resume, cover letter, and philosophy of education.
Have a look at the teacher or principal resume and cover letter samples we created to get an idea of what an educational resume and cover letter is suppose to look and read like.
If you need our help, like so many educators do, to create a resume and cover letter package specifically for you, it’s easy… you can order after selecting the correct category on this page and review the packages available.
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