You could be a teacher with 10 years’ worth of experience under your belt or a graduate that is searching for your first role within the education sector… either way, you will need an up to date CV that will make you stand out from all of the other applicants.
Here is a step-by-step guide to aid you with compiling a CV that head teachers or recruitment contacts should take notice of. Each section of advice appears in the order that it should be on your CV.
Things to remember
- Spell check and then check it again
- Read it through; does it make sense?
- Use one font and stick to one size (12 is normally good)
- Avoid lots of bright colours & pictures (even if you are an art teacher or DT graduate)
- Try to limit your CV to two pages (but do not exclude vital information)
- Be truthful – don’t exaggerate or embellish the truth
- Use plain English; no jargon or slang
The first time that a potential employer will learn about you is when they read your CV profile. Your profile should be a short, sharp, to the point summarisation of who you are (personality wise and professionally), what role you are searching for and what you could possible bring to the table. It should be no more than 120 words and it can be written in a 1st or 3rd person format.
Place all of your contact details in this section, which should include an email, home address, mobile and landline numbers and Skype address (especially if you are overseas). It is important to double check your contact details; if they are incorrect, you could miss out on your perfect role!
You could also include your nationality and whether you have a driving licence and more importantly, a registered DBS.
It can be quite difficult knowing which jobs are more important to list, especially if you have had various roles before embarking on a career in teaching or within the education sector.
At this point, it is important to present your CV, ideally as no more than two pages long. List your employment history in chronological order, starting from most current and working backwards. Do not leave gaps, but if there’s a role that you have to list which is not education-based, keep it short and sweet.
Start dates of employment should include the month and the year. Job descriptions/ responsibilities should be written using plain English (no jargon) and using simple and concise sentences. There’s nothing wrong with bullet points if your previous positions have numerous responsibilities associated with them.
Again, as an education professional, your academic background is extremely important. It is becoming increasingly popular for head teachers and recruitment specialists to seek out the candidates that have strong academic backgrounds. List your qualifications in chronological order, stating where (name of institute), when (month & year) and grade achieved. You will need to go as far back as your secondary education. Be honest though… do not be tempted to embellish your grades!
If you possess any additional skills such as IT, play sports and therefore can offer your services for extra-curricular activities, or maybe you speak an additional language such as French or Spanish – this is the section to list them. Again, please be truthful; do not be tempted to say that you speak Spanish fluently if you don’t. It could be very embarrassing!
Always ask permission from your preferred referee before nominating them. You will need to know your referees full name, job title and their place of work. Their contacts details are important so please ensure that they are correct before including it on your CV. If you prefer not to put your referees contact details on your CV, then please state that references are available on request.