When applying for a vacancy your CV acts as your first impression, giving you the ability to showcase your experiences and highlight why you are the most relevant candidate for the role. Tailoring the skills within your CV is essential to getting you noticed and when you are looking to secure a Teaching position there are certain strengths that you should be emphasising.

Classroom management

An effective teacher will be able to maintain a well-behaved classroom and be able to lead by example. Therefore, when applying for new opportunities you should be able to portray a strong flair for leadership as well as being approachable and supportive. Adding examples of how you have shown this authoritative but compassionate nature will add further depth to your CV.

Planning

An extensive part of a teacher’s responsibilities is the planning of lessons and activities; during the application process you should be providing details of how you can schedule and manage your own time during and outside of the school term. Offering evidence of your educational yet engaging lesson plans could also help you stand apart from other applicants.

Performance monitoring

Whilst the student experience is important, the tracking and monitoring of students’ development is key to identifying areas of improvement, allowing you to put plans in place to support their progression. You can be adding stats from your previous classes and the actions you implemented to ensure the highest possible outcomes within your CV. If you are able to also insert extracts from any applicable Ofsted reports, this could act as a testimonial against the samples of performance monitoring you have documented in your CV.

Curriculum knowledge

You will need to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge of the current curriculum and in further detail linking that to the subject area or age group for the teaching post you are applying to. Make sure to add recent training courses or seminars you have attended that allowed you an enhanced insight into any curriculum changes. You need to be able to showcase that you take ownership of keeping yourself updated with new standards and will continue to keep yourself informed of any changes to the curriculum or best practice.

Parent relationships

Sustaining relationships with both students and parents is vital and you should be able to adapt to their individual needs. Working closely with parents to identify issues or areas where support is needed either within the classroom or outside the schooling environment is imperative for quick action to be implemented. You should be displaying in your CV the ways in which you have been able to manage difficult conversations and communicate effectively with parents and carers to ensure the students continued learning even when they are away from the classroom.

Safeguarding and welfare

The safety of students is of paramount importance for any teacher and knowledge of safeguarding and health and safety practices should be highlighted throughout your CV. Make sure to detail how you incorporate such procedures in your day to day teaching career, documenting any specific qualifications or training courses attended in this subject area.

Andrew Fennell is a former recruiter and founder of CV writing service and advice website StandOut CV. To learn more about creating a powerful teaching CV, check out Andrew’s Teacher CV guide which has lots of tips and even some example teacher CVs.