Resume/CV Action Verbs & Keywords, Teaching CV Job Application

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?

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.