Applying for a teaching job and catching the attention of the school or recruiter means you must tailor a job application to the person specification. Make a list of action verbs and keywords you should add on a school teaching job cv/resume.
Include words that help the CV standout as the reader is quickly looking at the document to see if you’re a perspective candidate for the job.
School head teachers and HR departments look at many CV’s that have been sent in directly to the school by email, uploaded to a website or job board.
In today’s job market applicant tracking system (AST) are used to scan keywords that the school or recruiter matches key criteria to a job applicant.
Focus the attention of the reader by using power cv action verbs in an application for a secondary, primary, nursery school teacher job projecting achievement, can do willing attitude and problem solver is expected in a professional education cv.
What are action words in a resume/cv?
Good action verbs are words that describe past and present teaching roles as a classroom teacher matching the person specification and job description.
Words you should include in a cv/resume describe you as a professional teacher, skills, knowledge, experience, competences, qualification and possible assessed as an outstanding high school teacher.
Words you include are not chosen randomly, only use action words that accurately explain or describe you’re teaching background or what is asked for in the job advertisement.
Teaching resume verbs use
Add action verbs to highlight personal & professional teaching skills, achievements and student success to:
- Quickly be seen while skim reading
- Employers looking through teacher applications for certain keyword (As we do as teachers marking assignments)
- Differentiate yourself from other applicants, make sure not to sound repetitive
Action verbs: Can be used to show that you can be successful in the proposed teaching role.
Power word type: Situations to express the job position, teaching, activity, or outcome.
Include appropriate teacher verbs for CV
Reading a job advertisement for a qualified secondary teacher of biology for example, will state certain person specifications, skills, experience, subject knowledge, personal attributes & traits and successful track record of effective classroom teaching required.
It’s not just about being qualified for the job with previous experience.
You’ll require using words showing how you would fit into the organisation, culture, role and school setting. This will help to tailor your cover letter and cv to the role, personal qualities and experience you offer.
Depending on the age range from nursery, primary or secondary class teacher or first career advancement to head of year or head of department will guide you to include more action verbs.
18 example keywords used on CV/Resume teaching?
| CV/Resume Keyword | CV Words to Use |
|---|---|
| Motivate | How do you raise attainment with under performing pupils? Here you can relate to lesson planning using certain groups or individuals to gain attention in a lesson. Example: Certain classes where I identified pupils less interested in a topic area I linked examples & learning materials pupils talked about every week to stimulate discussion and enhance motivation in lessons. |
| Successful | How have you performed previously as a teacher? Detail abilities as a teacher to succeed in the job role. Use verbs, such as success. Example: A successful track record in achieving top grades (69% +) in examination results in years 12 & 13 for the past 6 years. |
| Responsibility | Take responsibility for a task completion or install responsible actions. Example: As a year 7 form tutor I would remind the class to take responsibility for your own actions not to blame others. |
| Team | Show how you work as part of a team in the department, school wide initiative or teamwork with students in class, sports or field activity. Example: Run games & sports extra curricula activities at an international school installing team effort into students. |
| Development | As a teacher we never stop learning. Continued professional development is part of a teacher’s role and indeed expected. Example: Continuing to learn and upgrade knowledge about integrating technology in the classroom to visually display core concepts about a subject topic. |
| Inspire | Lead others to improve or promote the idea of learning something new or more challenging. Example: Each week I like my students to inspire to become better at maths problem solving, first by learning basics and then improve understanding. |
| Communicate | How to communicate what you are trying to say or pass on a message is vital as a teacher and in school life. Example: In a PSHE lesson recently students were split into groups to come up with different ways to pass on a message in different forms. |
| Prepare | Show how you prepare for each class lesson. Example: Preparation for each lesson involves learning material & teaching aids appropriate for each age and stage of topic learning. |
| Solve | Explain how you solve issues in school or how you instruct students to solve problems in lessons. Example: After explaining the problem and instruction how to solve questions to the class I would set 6 questions to answer. |
| Efficient | A teacher’s day is always busy with many tasks to complete. Example: Set up systems to speed up marking, worksheet design and admin tasks in school to get more work completed in a shorter time scale. |
| Succeed | Achievement and completing what you set to do, show you can work to sole problems and finish a task. Example: Succeeded in applying for funding for an educational trip over along weekend that reinforced learning in the classroom. |
| Maintain | You always as a teacher want to maintain the attention of all the students in each lesson. Example: Maintained the attention of learners in class lessons by using teaching strategies that I have worked in previous lesson with the same group. |
| Ensure | Check that something is completed, followed, could be health &safety at school. Example: During winter days when cold I would ensure all pupils would have a coat on to play outside during break and lunchtime. |
| Identify | As a teacher you identify any students in each class that may be struggling a bit, could achieve more with extended learning in the subject. Example: Identified 2 pupils in my maths class that would benefit from booster lessons to provide additional help. |
| Plan | Planning is an integral part of a teachers day and school life. Showing you can create effective plans for your own teaching or department is a must to secure a job. Example: As a trainee teacher I planed lessons on each topic area after writing and completing as scheme of work with guidance from my mentor. |
| Skill | Look at the person specification first; make sure your resume/cv and cover letter includes the skills you have to specific job requirements. Include other words that showcase skill you have to teach, a subject or sport that fits naturally into sentencing. Example: Teaching year 8 hockey last term I have shown each class how to run and dribble with a ball and pass to another player. |
| Encourage | No all students wish to be at school or in certain lessons. As a teacher you will get to know these students. Example: Used mixed group activity tasks in class to encourage greater group participation from each learner during the task. |
| Organise | Organising is another key attribute that you require to function efficiently as a teacher. Example: Organised an after school sports activities evening at an international school as part of running a club each week. |
Verbs for teacher resume working in school
Ethos and school values: This is where you use words to show you are a professional school teacher with appropriate personal attributes expected of the profession and fit into the school culture and values.
Research the school, history, exam results, location.
Educational technical language/jargon: Use teacher terminology where you can seamlessly incorporate words.
Applying for a qualified teaching job at this point you should have a fairly accurate assessment of your skills, experience, abilities, you offer as a teacher to a prospective school.
Action verbs list for CV: add your own
| A | ||||
| Accomplish | Address | Activate | Achieve | Access |
| Administer | Adjust | Adapt | Acquire | Award |
| Advocate | Affirm | Advise | Apply | Act |
| Allocate | Analyse | Appraise | Approve | Aid |
| Attain | Assemble | Arranged | Arbitrate | Alert |
| Authorise | Assist | Assign | Assess | Align |
| B | ||||
| Budget | Build | Bring | Brief | Begin |
| C | ||||
| Collaborate | Conclude | Collate | Calculate | Certify |
| Communicate | Condense | Compare | Change | Chaired |
| Conceptualise | Conduct | Compile | Choose | Check |
| Consolidate | Conserve | Complete | Clarify | Classify |
| Contribute | Construct | Comply | Coach | Collect |
| Coordinate | Consult | Compose | Combine | Compute |
| Correspond | Contact | Connect | Configure | Confer |
| Convince | Control | Continue | Convert | Convey |
| Counsel | Cultivate | Customise | Colleagues | |
| D | ||||
| Decorate | Depreciate | Describe | Declare | Decide |
| Dedicate | Diagnose | Design | Define | Decline |
| Demonstrate | Dispense | Detail | Delegate | Deliver |
| Determine | Distribute | Direct | Devise | Develop |
| Document | Draft | |||
| E | ||||
| Effective | Efficient | Emphasise | Encourage | Edit |
| Enthusiastic | Establish | Estimate | Enhance | Educate |
| Experience | Expedite | Execute | Ensure | Enforce |
| Explain | Examine | Expand | Evaluate | Excellent |
| F | ||||
| Facilitate | Finance | Forecast | Foster | Focus |
| Formulate | ||||
| G | ||||
| Generate | Graduate | Greet | Guide | Gain |
| Good | ||||
| H | ||||
| Handle | Help | |||
| I | ||||
| Illustrate | Implement | Improve | Improvise | Increase |
| Influence | Integrate | Innovate | Initiate | Inform |
| Interested | Introduce | Install | Initiative | Interact |
| Investigate | ||||
| J | ||||
| Justify | ||||
| K | ||||
| Knowledge | Know | |||
| L | ||||
| Leadership | Learn | Lift | Link | Listen |
| M | ||||
| Management | Measure | Manage | Mediate | Modify |
| Monitor | ||||
| N | ||||
| Negotiate | ||||
| O | ||||
| Outperform | Operate | Obtain | Observe | Observation |
| Outstanding | ||||
| P | ||||
| Participate | Prevent | Practical | Persuade | Passion |
| Promote | Prioritise | Prepare | Present | Perform |
| Propose | Program | Produce | Process | Priority |
| Prospect | Provide | Prove | Project | |
| Q | ||||
| Qualification | Qualify | Quick | ||
| R | ||||
| Reconcile | Refocus | Record | Receive | Reach |
| Reorganise | Results | Represent | Research | Report |
| Restructure | Retrieve | Restore | Respond | Resolve |
| Results-Oriented | Review | Revise | Revitalise | |
| S | ||||
| Schedule | Search | Secure | Select | Share |
| Showcase | Simplify | Solution | Sort | Solve |
| Specialise | Specify | Staff | Standard | Start |
| Succeed | Suggest | Supervise | Support | Surpass |
| Summarise | Sustain | Satisfactory | ||
| T | ||||
| Target | Teach | Player | Test | Timely |
| Track | Train | Transform | Transmit | |
| U | ||||
| Update | Upgrade | Use | Unite | Utilise |
| V | ||||
| Validate | Value | Verify | View |
You are projecting a caring, calm, well organised up to date teacher that offers a well established record of good quality school class teaching. By using specifically targeted action verbs & keywords on a teaching CV will go a long way to securing a job interview.