Vanessa May

Do Teacher Resumes Get Extra Scrutiny?
When applying for a teaching job, you are competing against other qualified teachers who might have more experience or higher education than you.
Your resume is what the school administrators will see first thing and use it to decide if you are fit for the position and will call you for an interview. Your tech resume is the most important thing to get perfect.
But as someone with teaching credentials, you are also held at a higher standard than other types of employment, therefore making your resume and background scrutinized even more.
Scrutinizing a Teacher’s Resume
Not only will the school administrators be looking at your education and qualifications, but they will do intensive research.
You will be drug tested and have a background check run, first of all. Since you will be with students all day long, they want to be sure you are a dependable, trustworthy individual. The background checks and other details verified are often more detailed and intensive than a traditional employee not in the teaching field.
They will also be looking at your resume to see if you have a passion for teaching. If you can word it in a way to show how passionate you are about teaching others are featuring your best credentials, you have a chance of being chosen.
Tips for Improving Your Resume
If you aren’t confident in the quality of your resume, take some time to scrutinize it yourself.
Put yourself in the position of someone hiring a teacher, and you will likely find areas to improve upon.
To start with, feature your best credentials and accomplishments. This shows your high level of interest in education and teaching. If you’re involved in any groups or organizations related to education in your community, list it on your resume. If you’re submitting the resume online, it helps to use some keywords schools look for when finding a new teacher.
This includes: curriculum development, creative lesson planning, lead teacher, learner assessment, instruction, inclusion, K-12, and classroom monitoring, if they relate to your experience. When you submit your resume, include the name of the school and principal in your cover letter or email.
This makes it more personal to the school, rather than a generic cover letter sent to multiple schools.
Doing Your Research
Before the administrator does research on you, your past and your educational experience, do research on yourself. Look through the most recent copy of a background check done to see if there is any negative marks on it. Enter your name into a search engine and see what comes up. Check to see there aren’t inappropriate status updates on your social media profiles, as many employers look at this.
If you don’t have much teaching experience to put on your resume, start by applying to be a substitute teacher.
This gives you a chance to get teaching experience, and also to start communicating with principals and school staff who may consider you if they have a permanent teaching position open up.