Do you wish to be noticed by the school or recruiter you send your resume/cv? Use of power cv action verbs in an application for a school teacher job is a must.  Projecting achievement, can do willing attitude is all part of what is expected in a professional person cv.

 

Tailored teacher job application

A cover letter and resume should be tailored for each job application.

Add action verbs to highlight personal & professional teaching skills, knowledge and persuade the person to offer you an interview for the position.

• Quickly be seen while skim reading
• Employers look through teacher applications for certain keyword (As we do marking assignments)
• Differentiate you from other applicants, making sure to not sound repetitive

 

Wait a minute, teacher’s are in short supply, I can use a standardised cv applying for jobs?

Not exactly, depends on the school or recruiter, and the position of responsibility of the job.

Reading a job advertisement for a qualified teacher of biology for example, will state certain person specifications, skills, knowledge and personal attributes the teacher must have.

It is not just about being qualified for the job with previous experience.

You’ll require to show you would fit into that organisation, culture and school setting.

Include some of the below resume verbs in your application. This will help to tailor your cover letter and cv to the role, personal qualities and experiences asked.

Choosing the right words is important, and how and where they are used.

A successful track record in achieving top grades in examination results is one good use of using a power verb.

 

Power word types

Action verbs: Show you can be successful in the proposed teaching role. Listing previous experience is of course key.

How have you performed previously as a teacher?

Detail you’re abilities as a teacher to succeed in the new job. Use verbs, such as success, skills and personal attributes, arranged, coordinate, inspire, simplify.

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 that certain school.

Research the school, history, exam results, location.

Keywords: Wording that should show up on any persons application that a recruiter or school searches on your cv.  Read the job advertisement and make sure you use certain words the employer is looking for when reading your application.

All about matching what they are looking for to past experience and what you can offer as a good teacher.

Words to show skills: Look at the person specification first, make sure your resume/cv and cover letter includes the skills you have to specific job requirements.

Include words like organised, team player, passionate, committed should naturally fit into your sentencing.

Each application you make will use different popular words to show skills.

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, and abilities you offer as a teacher to a prospective school. Try not to repeat the same words, use variations.

 

CV action verbs to start, and you can add your own

• Access   Accomplish   Accrue   Acquire   Achieve   Act   Activate   Adapt   Address   Adjust   Administer   Advise   Advocate   Affirm   Aid   Alert   Align   Allocate   Analyse   Apply   Appraise   Approve   Arbitrate   Arranged   Assemble   Assess   Assign   Assist   Attain   Authorise   Award

• Begin  Brief   Bring   Budget   Build

• Calculate   Certify   Chaired   Change   Check   Choose   Clarify   Classify   Coach   Collaborate   Collate     Collect Combine   Communicate   Compare   Compile   Complete   Comply   Compose   Compute     Conceptualise   Conclude   Condense   Conduct   Confer   Configure   Connect   Conserve   Consolidate   Construct   Consult   Contact   Continue   Contribute   Control   Convert   Convey   Convince   Coordinate   Correspond   Counsel   Cultivate   Customise

• Decide   Declare   Decline   Decorate   Dedicate   Define    Delegate   Deliver   Demonstrate   Depreciate   Describe   Design   Detail Oriented   Determine   Develop   Development   Devise   Diagnose   Direct   Dispense   Distribute   Document   Draft

• Edit   Educate   Effective   Efficient   Emphasise   Encourage   Enforce   Enhance   Ensure   Enthusiastic   Establish   Estimate   Evaluate   Examine   Execute    Expand   Expedite   Experience   Explain

• Facilitate   Finance   Focus   Forecast   Formulate   Foster

• Gain   Generate   Graduate   Greet   Guide

• Handle   Help

• Identify   Illustrate   Implement   Improve   Improvise   Increase   Influence   Inform   Initiate   Initiative   Innovate   Inspire   Install   Integrate   Interact   Interested   Introduce   Investigate

• Justify

• Knowledge

• Leadership   Learn   Lift   Link   Listen

• Maintain   Manage   Management   Measure   Mediate   Modify   Monitor   Motivate

• Negotiate

• Observe   Obtain   Operate   Organise   Outperform

• Participate   Passion   Perform   Persuade   Plan   Practical   Prepare   Present   Prevent   Prioritise   Priority   Process   Produce    Professional   Program   Project   Promote   Propose   Prospect   Prove   Provide

• Qualify

• Reach   Receive   Reconcile   Record   Refocus   Reorganise   Report   Represent   Research   Resolve   Respond   Responsibility   Restore   Restructure   Results   Results-Oriented   Retrieve   Review   Revise   Revitalise

• Schedule   Search   Secure   Select    Share   Showcase   Simplify   Skill   Solution   Solve   Sort   Specialise   Specify   Staff   Standard   Start   Succeed   Suggest   Summarise   Supervise   Support   Surpass   Sustain

• Target   Teach   Team   Team Player   Test   Timely   Track   Train   Transform   Translate   Transmit   Tutor

• Unite   Update   Upgrade   Use   Utilise

• Validate   Value   Verify   View

• Watch   Weigh   Write

 

Cover letter applying for jobs

View a teacher job or other vacancy online and decided that is the job for me.  Now comes the writing of a cover letter for the job application.

This is the time to get the attention of the secondary, primary school r recruiter who is going to read it.

I know from past experience applying for teaching positions the cover letter is your first chance to convince a school that you are the person for the role.

You will find yourself adding a fair amount of information on one A4 page, detailing what is requested by the employer in the advertisement.

 

3 examples of what may be added:

Why should we give you the job?

What is your teaching philosophy?

How do you raise attainment with under performing pupils?

 

St. Andrews International School Bangkok, Putney High School and Glasgow City Council all expect formal written letters for teacher applications.

Basically, start by drawing the attention of the reader by stating you wish to apply for the job as title and subject….. at  school.

You aim to state why and what you are applying for in a short paragraph that grabs the reader’s attention.

Mention how (with one or two keywords) you fit the school role and why that school.

Maybe you are a business or mathematics specialist and apply to a school that is a maths or business enterprise specialist school. Or you have specialist behaviour management skills that could help the school.

Read the job advertisement more than once and clearly follow what is required to be submitted in the letter that accompanies your cv. 

Look for key details and information such a names, department and location.

Don’t see them? Look on their website or conduct a search online.

 

Cover letter layout and formalities

Top left: Name, address, post code, telephone number, email and date

Left two spaces down: Recipients name, department, address

Dear Miss/Mr (Use an actual name)

 

Main body of the letter

Research the job, school and choose some key points to include in your application that can be seamlessly included.

Think about culture, ethos, extra curricular activities, examination results and how this matches what you offer as a teacher.

“Here you are matching/link skills, experience, qualifications. traits, personal attributes and past achievements to the person specification and job advertisement requirements”

Do you have the same vision as the school? How

Use action verbs to address what the job description is asking for in a prospective teacher.  Some power words here to help.

 

CV key points

Link some of your CV key points to the person specification such as qualified teacher, school wide responsibilities or present head of year.  A few is good, not a large list.

Make sure you vary what is added between qualifications, teaching experience, school and personal qualities you have.

You wish to highlight yourself from other applicants and project a caring, calm, well organised up to date teacher is applying for the role.

 

In closing the letter

State that you are available for interview at short notice, or on the advertised date for teacher interviews, and can start in the role on the specified date.

End with “ I look forward to hearing from you in the near future”

 

Sign the letter.

 

Use character size 12 with Ariel, Times New Roman or another standard font.

 

This is a guide for a teacher job cover letter. Can be amended for other job vacancies.