Whether you are a new teacher fresh off the boat of student teaching, or have been teaching for years and are searching for how to get a teaching job, your resume is an important component of how to get a teaching job. Think of your resume as a marketing tool -- you need this tool to help advertise and further yourself. Here is a guide to help you craft an amazing teaching resume to help you get a teaching job.

How to Get a Teaching Job: Mandatory Resume Elements

These four elements are essential and must be on every teaching resume.

Identification

This is where you include your first and last name, contact information such as your phone number, address (if you have a permanent and a current address, then list both of them), and e-mail.

Tip: Your name should be printed using a font size of 12 or 14, this will help your name stand out. The best fonts to use are Arial or New Times Roman.

Related Articles

How to Improve Students’ Critical Thinking Skills

Students need to be taught critical thinking skills, which they will need to...

Technology in the Classroom: What is Digital Literacy?

8 transformative technology in the classroom skills required of the digitally...

Whole Brain Teaching Strategies

7 essential whole brain teaching steps that teachers must incorporate into...

Classroom Management: Procedures

We examine why classroom management procedures are important and how to teach...

Engaging Classroom Games for All Grades

Classroom games add flair and student engagement to more tedious, yet necessary...

Certification

This is where you list all of your certifications and endorsements that you have, each one should be on a separate line. If you are not certificated yet, then list the certification and the date that you are expected to receive it. Here is an example.

Example:

New York State Initial Certification, Expected May 2016

Middle Grade Endorsement expected in Mathematics

Education

This section of the resume should include the following:

• Write out the full name of your degree, also list minors or concentrations.
• If you have not graduated yet, then list your "Anticipated" or "Expected" degree.
• Make sure you know the degree that you will be receiving and list it correctly.
• Include your GPA if it is 3.0 or above.

Examples:

• Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, State University of New York Collage at Buffalo, Expected May 2016.
• Master of Science in Education, State University of New York Collage at Buffalo, May 2016.

Experience

Listing your experience is the most important aspect of your teaching resume. This section is the heart of your resume and is mandatory. Include only experience that is relevant and that demonstrates your specific skill sets and achievements. There are a few headers that you can use in this section. Make sure that you choose the option(s) that you have the most experience working with students in. If you have a lot of experience working with children, then you can add more than one section. Remember that everything that you list in each section must be in reverse chronological order. Also note that after each position that you state on your resume you should list bulleted accomplishments that explain what you did in the position.

Teaching Experience (Student Teaching)

If you are directly out of college, then student teaching is your most relevant teaching experience. This section will directly follow the education section and will take up a significant amount of space. Make sure that you include lesson plans, classroom management skills, and teaching styles and strategies used.

If you have had a teaching job after student teaching, then that would be your most relevant teaching experience. This would be listed first, before anything else.

Example:

Student Teacher: Fricano Elementary School; Grades 1-2, Pendleton NY, Spring 2016.

• Utilized many student-centered learning techniques, including demonstrations, cooperative learning, and the language experience approach.
• Developed and implemented an interdisciplinary social studies unit for a bilingual classroom.

Teaching Related Experience

For this section of your resume you can include paid or unpaid experiences working with children. This can be when you worked as a tutor, camp counselor, or sports coach.

Examples:

Tutor, Huntington Learning Center, Williamsville, New York, Summer 2015.

• Tutored students pre-k through 12th grade in reading and math.

Teacher's Aid, 123 Preschool, Sanborn, New York, Fall, 2010.

• Oversaw the safety and care of children.

Interactive Field Experience

This section is where you add your student teaching experience if you have not previously. You can also use this section to select a few experiences in which you have played an active role in the classroom.

Example:

Fourth Grade, Heim Elementary School, Williamsville, New York -- September 2012-October 2012

• Created activities that show the relationship between math concepts and everyday life to engage and motive students.
• Worked individually with students to develop reading skills through interactive games.

Work/Professional Experience

The most important aspects of your teaching resume is your experience related to education, you can however include skills obtained from other jobs that are transferable to the classroom. For Example, training, mentoring, collaboration with others, etc.

Optional Elements

Other options that you may wish to include on your resume are as follows:

• Volunteer Experience – Working with the boys and girls club.
• Honors – Deans list, Scholarships.
• Special Skills and Interests – Ability to speak a second language.
• Professional Development – Any educational associations you belong to.
• Related Coursework – Any advanced courses taken.

Resume Aesthetics

If you want to stand out among the crowd, then you will want an eye-catching resume. Here are a few suggestions.

• Use bullet points.
• Try and keep it to one full page.
• Use the appropriate amount of white space.
• Times New Roman, Arial, and Courier New are recommended.
• Use a 10-12 point size font.
• Use a high-quality paper stock.

There is no correct way to format your resume. You have the choice of how you want to represent yourself. However, the elements that are listed above are the suggested ways that many career centers follow. Teaching resumes should be aesthetically pleasing to the eye, so it is recommended to follow the tips suggested.

How do you format your teaching resume? Do you have any tips for teachers? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below, we would love to hear your thoughts.

Janelle Cox is an education writer who uses her experience and knowledge to provide creative and original writing in the field of education. Janelle holds a Master's of Science in Education from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. She is also the Elementary Education Expert for About.com, as well as a contributing writer to TeachHUB.com and TeachHUB Magazine. You can follow her at Twitter @Empoweringk6ed, or on Facebook at Empowering K6 Educators.