ArizonaTeachers.org • 888.850.7740 • Teach@ArizonaTeachers.org
Employers use a resume as a quick guide to
decide whether to follow up with a potential
applicant. Employers usually key in on 3 areas of
focus: certification, eligibility for employment and
experiences working with children.
Be sure to check for typos, grammatical, punctuation errors and
other imperfections like coffee stains. Use the spell check feature
on your word processor and ask a friend to review the resume to
find any mistakes you might have missed. Your resume should
be printed on a good quality plain white paper. Avoid using
colored paper.
While you should go to great lengths to write an exceptional
resume, you should not write a resume that is exceptionally
great in length. One page is best, but if your extensive work
history warrants a two-page resume, then go ahead and create
a document that reflects the full range of your experience as it
relates to education and accomplishments. Keep your resume
legible—don’t reduce the font size in an effort to cram everything
onto one page.
The dates and titles on your resume need to be accurate. School
districts will typically verify work history.
Don’t include copies of transcripts, letters of recommendation
or awards, etc. unless you are specifically asked to do so. If you
are called in for an interview, you may bring these extra materials
along with your portfolio.
Limit all critical information to one page if possible.
CRITICAL INFORMATION SHOULD BE EASILY LOCATED
IN 15 SECONDS
There is no particular format for the resume. However, it is
important to note that the resume should showcase critical
information easily as well as focus on eligibility for employment.
Try combining information such as work history to keep everything
on one page.
PERSONAL CONTACT INFORMATION
The objective is that all information can easily be matched to an
application on file. Information needs to be current. Don’t include
information on your marital status, age, race, family or hobbies.
• Use “official” name(s) on resume. Nickname can be put in
quotation marks.
• Multiple last names should be included. Former last names
can be included in parenthesis.
• Distinguish between home and cell phone numbers.
• E-mail address is very important. If you don’t already have one,
create a professional e-mail address that includes your name,
such as maria.smit[email protected].
OBJECTIVE
Your objective needs to be simple and to the point. If you include
the name of the school or school district, be sure to change it
prior to sending it to a different school/district.
SUBJECT AREAS
Only list the content area(s) for which you are eligible.
HIRING STATUS
Current hiring status should be very clear.
EDUCATION
The most important information for a candidate in an alternative
certification program like Arizona Teachers of Tomorrow is that
the minimum requirement of a Bachelor’s degree has been
awarded. Include University and degree date. Do not include all
other universities from which a degree was not received. (You will
need to provide official transcripts from all universities/colleges
attended at the time of hire.) Be sure to include all majors/
minors.
WORK HISTORY
Summarize all work history beginning with current employment
and list backwards. State more than the job description jargon
from your company’s Human Resource manual. Present specific
accomplishments and achievements that would be beneficial to
a principal.
Teacher Resume
Writing 101
ArizonaTeachers.org • 888.850.7740 • Teach@ArizonaTeachers.org
Don’t include the reasons you are no longer working at each job
listed on your resume. The phrases “company sold,” “change of
career,” “relocated,” “moved closer to home,” are unnecessary.
Instead, focus on your accomplishments while you were there.
• Employers are looking for “gaps” in employment history
• Employers are looking for job responsibilities that transfer to
the teaching profession
• Do not focus on job responsibilities for each particular place of
employment especially if it is not relevant for the teaching
• Stay-at-home moms need to briefly put that information on the
resume to alleviate any concerns about gaps in work history
• Experiences working with children
• List any relevant work experiences with children other than
your own.
• Teaching experience in a private school
• Substitute teaching
• Boys Scouts/Girls Scouts
• Tutoring experience
• YMCA swim coach
JOB-RELATED SKILLS
Personnel managers are most interested in your experience
from the last ten years and experiences that will impact student
learning in the classroom. Focus on your most recent and most
relevant career experience and highlight activities within that
history that is related to teaching.
• Strong technology skills
• Strong customer relations/communication skills
• Training new employees
• Supervising 10 employees
• Graduate teaching assistant
REFERENCES
Best are supervisory in nature. Friends and family are usually
less important.
Reference list can be put on a second page, or they can be
excluded at this time and simply make the statement on the
resume that they are ‘available upon request’.
References listed do not replace the individual reference forms
that most school districts will require once you have been
selected for a position.
Include current contact information including email address,
position and relationship to applicant.
Teacher Resume
Writing 101 (continued)
ArizonaTeachers.org • 888.850.7740 • Teach@ArizonaTeachers.org
Resumes are one- to two-page summaries
(depending on your background) of your
qualifications with the goal of impressing
prospective school districts and principals. The
sole purpose of your resume is to make a good first
impression in order to gain an interview.
THE SOLE PURPOSE OF YOUR RESUME IS TO MAKE A GOOD
FIRST IMPRESSION IN ORDER TO GAIN AN INTERVIEW.
A resume is a personal document that outlines your past work
experience, education, and achievements, along with listing your
current objectives. It is your business card. Your resume has the
potential to open doors and help you secure an interview, and
just as quickly, it can close doors. How you write, format, and
develop your resume is critical to your success in securing a
teaching position.
How important is the resume format? The average principal,
human resource director, or recruiter spends only 10 seconds
looking at a resume. That’s 10 seconds you have to convince
them to meet you. In many schools and districts, recruiters and
principals are so overwhelmed with resumes, they are actually
looking for a reason not to interview you. There is no room for
anything but a flawless, compelling document that reflects who
you are and what you’ve accomplished in the most beneficial
light. You must have a professionally crafted resume to stand out
amongst the hundreds of other applicants.
Your resume is competing for the ultimate prize of getting an
interview. Any resume can list employment dates and job position
titles, but only the best ones speak the language employers want
to hear. You have to show principals that you are a cut above
the rest of the crowd by providing concrete examples of your
successes — especially success as it would relate to a classroom.
It is not enough to show that you are a good candidate, you must
show that you are the best candidate for the specific position you
are applying for.
e Whys and Hows
of Resume Writing
ArizonaTeachers.org • 888.850.7740 • Teach@ArizonaTeachers.org
It may seem like an exaggeration, but the vast
majority of resumes are much weaker than they
could be because of a few simple mistakes.
While spelling, punctuation and grammatical
errors are by far the most common, simple
oversights such as forgetting a name or failing to
put contact information happen frequently. Every
day, school districts receive many resumes from
great applicants that simply do not communicate
greatness. Don’t let yours fall flat! Spell checking
a document is always a good idea, but it is not
enough. You and several of your friends need to
review the resume.
1.CARELESS ERRORS
Careless errors are those simple, common mistakes that are
made by applicants on a regular basis. These mistakes are often
glaring and result in your resume being discarded before it is ever
read. Spelling, grammatical and typographical errors dramatically
undermine your desired impression as the best candidate for
the job. While using a spell checker is great, too often words like
principle and principal can be substituted for each other. Use a
second set of eyes! Using a thesaurus to substitute “big words”
for common words is not a good idea, especially if you are not
100% sure of the word’s meaning.
2.LENGTH: TOO LONG OR TOO SHORT
Keep your resume to one or two pages. Too short and you don’t
tell them enough. Too long and they won’t read it. If you don’t have
a lot of career experience then one page should be long enough.
3.UNRELATED OR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Keep your resume professional and to the point.
4.NO COVER LETTER WITH A RESUME
Be sure to include a cover letter letting the principal know why you
are sending a resume and what you hope to achieve by sending
the resume. Try to direct the letter to someone in specific, such
as a principal or Human Resource recruiter. Be sure to review our
resources on cover letters.
5.ADDRESSES WRONG PERSON
When sending a resume, always take the time to verify the
address and the name of the principal or hiring official before
sealing the envelope. For every ten resumes a principal receives,
one will have the wrong name on the cover letter or have his or her
name spelled incorrectly.
6.E-MAIL ADDRESS
Hotlegg[email protected], [email protected], and
[email protected] are all fine e-mail address between
friends, but not on a resume. You need to list an e-mail address
on your resume, and it needs to be appropriate. If you do not
already have one, develop an email address that is professional
and easy to read. [email protected], or TeacherJim@
example.com are good examples of e-mail addresses that would
be appropriate. Avoid mixing numbers and letters!
7.RESUME LACKS FOCUS
A sharp focus is an extremely important resume element. Given
that principals typically screen resumes in less than ten seconds,
a resume should show the employer at a glance what you want to
do and what you’re good at.
One way to sharpen your focus is through an objective statement.
Your objective statement can be very simple and straightforward;
it can simply be the title of the subject area(s)/positions you’re
applying for. You can embellish your objective statement by
adding language describing how you’ll benefit the principal or
how you are the best fit for that particular district. If you have
education related experience, a “Philosophy of Education” can
replace the “Objective” statement.
What Not to Do:
Avoid these 10 Common
Resume Mistakes
ArizonaTeachers.org • 888.850.7740 • Teach@ArizonaTeachers.org
8.RESUME IS DUTIES-DRIVEN
Resumes should consist primarily of high-impact
accomplishment statements that sell your qualifications as the
best candidate. Accomplishments are the points that increase
reader’s interest, stimulate a request for a job interview and really
help sell you to a principal.
Never use expressions such as “Duties included,”
“Responsibilities included,” or “Responsible for.” Instead,
focus on accomplishments that set you apart from other job
candidates. In each job, what special things did you do to set
yourself apart? Describe or list activities that communicate how
these accomplishments will help a principal. How did you do
the job better than anyone else? What did you do to make it
your own?
9.RESUME BURIES IMPORTANT SKILLS
Principals are looking for certain skills. It is important to highlight
skills and experiences throughout the entire resume, not just
listed at the bottom. It is critical to always consider who your
audience is and what your audience is looking for. Skills that may
have seemed important in your current job may not be important
to a principal.
10.RESUME IS NOT BULLETED
If your resume contains significant history, use a bulleted style to
make your resume more reader-friendly. Use bullets consistently.
Some teachers bullet most of their resume but don’t bullet the
certification section. Often candidates will list the overall scope
and responsibilities for each job in an un-bulleted section before
beginning a bulleted section describing accomplishments. If you
are going to use bullets, it’s best to bullet consistently throughout
the resume.
What Not to Do:
Avoid these 10 Common
Resume Mistakes (continued)
