Recruiters have to scan 100s of these, so you want to make sure yours is concise and interesting! Recruiters want to know more about “you”.
This is NOT a cover letter, or a space for you to restate all your experience/qualifications, or a lengthy philosophy of education. Recruiters can easily find this information from your Search profile.
Here are some guidelines/suggestions:
- 3-4 short paragraphs
- Write in the first person (“I/me”)
- Reflect current/recent experiences
- Highlight key points that you want recruiters to know about you, professionally and personally, which could include family background, interests/activities, major personal or athletic achievements.
- You may want to include a brief statement of why you are passionate about teaching (your “aha” moment). How have you arrived at this point in your life and career? What motivates you as a professional? What is your competitive advantage?
- Add an anecdote, include some humour, show your personality
- SPELLCHECK and check for correct grammar
- Do not use Letter format (Dear Principal….Sincerely, ….)
- Avoid cliches “I love travel and adventure” or “I travelled to (country) and fell in love with the people and culture…”
- Do not ramble on (avoid “blah blah blah….”)
- DO NOT OVERTHINK THIS!
Tips for Your Resume
RESUME TIPS
Here are some tips on creating a competitive Resume/CV for your Search Profile. Trust us – we know what recruiters are looking for!
Recruiters have to scan 100s (1000s?) of CVs so you want to make sure yours is concise, easy to read, and memorable. You never get a second chance to make a first impression!
Being able to write concisely, determine the most important information about yourself and format your résumé/CV within 2 pages is in fact a skill in itself.
Read this article before you begin: https://www.searchassociates.com/news-events/your-resume-what-recruiters-wish-you-knew/.
- Your Search CV should be 2 pages MAX, which must include most recent work experience, in reverse chronological order.
- We strongly recommend adding a good portrait-type photo on your front page header (TIP: in Word, insert a text box, then copy/paste your photo in the box. This way you can reposition the photo without jeopardizing your formatting).
- Keep the font and size clean, simple, and consistent. Spell check! Grammar check!
- Use bullet points vs long descriptive text. If you have tons of relative experience, describe it as succinctly as possible, while still getting your key points/message across. Highlight your core competencies.
- List accomplishments/achievements, not just responsibilities
- Use action verbs ie Achieved, managed, implemented, developed, collaborated, initiated etc. Avoid cliches ie team player, creative, ambitious, motivated, successful, excellent communicator etc.
- For your Search CV, do not include references as recruiters rely on the integrity of our confidential online reference system.
- Do NOT include a cover letter.
- Make sure it looks good/clear when you print it in B&W. Avoid graphic-rich, heavily stylized templates – these may look good online, but don’t necessarily translate well on paper. Many schools have a recruiting team and will print your CV to literally pass around.
There are many free resume templates available on the internet, here’s a few to consider (or you can google other professional templates)
We recommend this order (these section titles are just suggestions):
- Header: personal info, contact details, with good portait-type photo. You may also want to include your teaching specialty ie “High School Physics” or “Early Childhood Specialist” or “Middle School Science Teacher” etc.
- Key teaching skills or Personal Summary or Professional Summary. Either a short narrative statement (2-3 sentences) or 4-5 bullet points. If applicable, always include “Canadian certified teacher, with X years of experience in (subject)”. If you have current/previous international teaching experience, add “with X years of international teaching experience”. If you have any notable awards or distinctions, include them here. If possible, support your measurable achievements with data (see XYZ below). Highlight your core teaching or leadership competencies. Include the clubs/after school activities that you lead or participate in, or sports/teams that you coach – this demonstrates that you are willing to go beyond the school day for the students and you understand how important it is to form positive and healthy relationships with the students
- Teaching Experience: clearly state school name/location and dates, most recent position a the top, and 2-3 bullet points of your positions held, and key responsibilities or main achievements. Your teaching journey should be easy to track – a “staircase pattern” of career growth, with no missing periods of time unexplained. Illuminate your teaching responsibilities with accomplishments, highlight what you have achieved in each role or responsibility.
- Again, if you can support your achievements with data, the better ie “students increased test scores by X%”
- Education (degrees). Certification. (these 2 can be combined). Include name of University, Program, Dates.
- Professional development: include course/program, location and date ie Dubai, April 2016. This will demonstrate how current you are with your PD, and that your PD is consistent with what you are teaching
- Personal Interests and Activities: include interests/hobbies, awards or personal achievements, volunteer work, extra curricular activities, clubs/organizations you are a member of etc
Here’s another tip. Use the “X by Y by Z formula” to articulate your experience and focus on accomplishments — quantitative results and the impact that you had as a result. “Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]”
Sample 1:
OK: “Member of Leadership for Tomorrow Society”
Better: “Selected as one of 275 for this 12-month professional development program for high-achieving diverse talent.”
Best: “Selected as one of 275 participants nationwide for this 12-month professional development program for high-achieving diverse talent based on leadership potential and academic success.”
Sample 2:
OK: “Grew revenue for small and medium business clients.”
Better: “Grew revenue for small and medium business clients by 10%
Best: “Grew revenue for 15 small and medium business clients by 10% by mapping new software features as solutions to their business goals.”
In a nutshell, what recruiters are looking for: well written/well formatted CV (easy to extract key info, demonstrates IT skills), proper degree and valid certification, successful experience teaching the subject you are applying for. Extra-curricular activities or coaching experience, personal interests (are you going to be a good fit for the school’s culture).
Possible “red flags”: poorly written (typos, spelling/grammar errors) , poorly formatted (hard to extract key info) CV. Gaps in employment (not a deal-breaker, but make sure you can explain the gaps ie personal/family/health reasons or pursuing PD/additional qualifications), how long you were at previous posts (having a series of one-year term contracts is not ideal, recruiters may question your commitment).
Here are some more good tips:
