10 Tips for Keeping a Teacher Resume Up to Date
The Interview
“So, you’ve taught at Winchester High School for 10 years, is that right?” asked Ms. Hoolahan, the principal at P.S. 4077 High School in New York, “What exactly have you done?”
“I taught.”
“Yea, I know that, hence the word, teacher. What else have you done.”
“I graduated college.”
“Of course you did. That’s a requirement for teachers. What value can you bring to our school?”
“I teach.”
“Thank You Mr. Hawkeye. We’ll be in touch.”
Don’t let this happen to you. Build your teacher resume now. It’s not that hard.
Tips for an Attractive Teacher Resume
1. Stay Up to Date: Take some post-graduate classes. Write down the name of every education related course you take. Write down the exact title and the exact date you completed it.
2. Go to District Workshops: Most districts force teachers to attend workshops, sometimes during the school day. Write down the exact name of the workshop. People who do these seminars love to give them important names.
3. Take Advantage of Staff Development Days: Most people think staff in-service days are a waste of time. Those people are wrong. Write down the names of the individual in-service meetings and jot down the names of the impressive sounding ones to add to your resume.
4. Teach a Class: Teach at a staff development day. This makes you look like an expert.
5. Get an Advanced Degree: This takes a little more work, but it comes with a pay raise and looks good on your resume.
6. Volunteer for a Committee: At most schools, committees meet once a month, and with the exception of a few go-getters, require very little extra work. Committee memberships look good on a resume.
7. Evaluations Count: Teach well. Naturally, the better your evaluations, the better your resume.
8. Publish an Article: It doesn’t matter if anyone reads it or if it’s any good. If you’re published, you’re smart. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be about education. It could be about cross-country skiing or your travel experiences in Italy.
9. Sponsor a Club or Coach a Sport: I still get a lot of mileage out of my years as a basketball coach. I wasn’t even any good.
10. Document Everything: I repeat: document everything. Any time you take a class, participate in an extra curricular club, go to a training seminar, or attend an in-service day, write it down.
