Teacher Resume Skills with Examples, Tips, and Guide
- Why Teacher Skills Matter on a Resume
- Top Teacher Skills To Include on Your Resume
- How To Identify Your Key Teaching Skills
- How To Include Teaching Skills on Your Resume
- Examples of Teaching Skills for Different Educational Roles
- Tips for Developing and Showcasing Teaching Skills
- Common Mistakes To Avoid When Listing Teacher Skills
- Additional Resources
- Frequently Asked Questions About Teacher Resume Skills
Applying for teacher jobs can sometimes be very competitive. In addition to having the necessary licenses, one of the key ways to stand out from your peers is to showcase your various teaching-related skills on your resume.
This guide will identify the key skills for teacher resumes, show you how to list teaching skills on a resume and provide some bonus resume tips for teachers.
Why Teacher Skills Matter on a Resume
When employers, in this case, principals and school administrators, consider candidates for hire, they look at a person’s job history, credentials, and some insight into their teaching abilities.
The role of skills in showcasing your teaching abilities
One of the ways to demonstrate teaching effectiveness is to bring your teaching skills to life on your resume. Including some of the top skills for teachers on your resume shows that you have what it takes to handle yourself in a classroom. It can also help differentiate you from other candidates who might not list teaching skills on their resumes.
How skills impact hiring decisions
Principals and administrators generally look at teacher resumes to find qualified candidates whose work has resulted in good student outcomes and who have developed the necessary skill sets to help them be successful.
The skills you include must be relevant to the specific role. For example, the capabilities of high school teachers might differ from those of elementary school teachers.
Top Teacher Skills To Include on Your Resume
When creating your resume, it’s your job to articulate the various skills that make you a strong educator. Use the following teacher skills list for your resume to help you get started.
Communication skills
Perhaps the most fundamental skills group for teachers is verbal and written communication in the classroom. You must speak in front of a class, correspond with students and parents in digital workspaces, and engage students during lessons.
Examples of how to demonstrate communication skills on a resume:
- Led a class of up to 25 students in second grade, maintaining good relationships with both parents and their students through regular communication and conferences
- Conducted workshops for parents and guardians to strengthen the link between home and school learning
Classroom management
A teacher must maintain a productive learning environment in which students can focus on the lesson at hand. This involves using various classroom management techniques to maintain order.
How to highlight classroom management skills on a resume:
- Maintain order in the classroom by enforcing rules and promoting respectful dialogue among students
Lesson planning and curriculum development
Creating effective lesson plans and adapting curriculum are also cornerstones of teaching. You have to turn learning materials into lessons that connect with students of all abilities
Examples of demonstrating lesson planning abilities:
- Created and implemented tailored lesson plans across different age groups and subjects, receiving positive feedback on student engagement and learning outcomes
- Designed personalized lesson plans tailored to individual student’s needs and learning capabilities
Technological proficiency
Familiarity with educational software, smart boards, and online learning tools is important for modern learning environments. This can include incorporating technology into lessons, corresponding with students and parents via apps or portals, and helping students become familiar with these modalities.
How to showcase technological skills on a teacher resume:
- Employ interactive teaching strategies and integrate new classroom technology
Adaptability and finding solutions
Not all students learn the same way, and not every school day will go exactly as planned. That’s why having the skills to adjust to different learning styles and handle unexpected situations is crucial to teaching.
Examples of adaptability in classroom scenarios:
- Assisted students struggling in English and mathematics by providing one-on-one tutoring sessions, improving average grades by 20%
- Proactively modified lesson plans to cater to different learning styles and needs of students
Leadership and team collaboration
Successful teachers also must work well with fellow educators, staff, and administration. You might also take on mentorship roles to help new teachers or work with a teaching partner or teacher’s aides in your classroom.
Examples of leadership roles within the school setting:
- Increased library use by 30% through collaboration with school librarian to launch special grade-specific reading programs
- Achieved full compliance and zero corrective action requests when leading the school through an accreditation renewal process
Empathy and student engagement
Most teachers would agree that you’re not just there to teach the subject lesson. You’ve also got to be in tune with students so that you can build relationships and recognize when they might need additional help or support. Whether you call it emotional intelligence or empathy, the skill of helping students feel supported is a great one to highlight.
Examples of fostering a supportive learning environment through empathy:
- Develop student success programs for those needing extra support
- Provide an inclusive environment and celebrate students’ diverse backgrounds and perspectives
Assessment and evaluation
Teachers are also responsible for evaluating student performance and must prepare their students to meet standards. On your resume, mention your skills in testing, grading, and providing feedback.
Examples of how to show assessment skills on a resume:
- Raised standardized test scores by 10% in one school year by analyzing student assessment results and delivering targeted instruction
- Report each student’s progress, detailing discussed topics, completed assignments, and any incidents or issues that arose during the sessions, to parents and relevant school administrators
How To Identify Your Key Teaching Skills
If you’re creating your teacher resume, you may be wondering how to determine which skills you have. Here are a few exercises that can help you.
Reflecting on your teaching experience
Do a self-assessment by listing out the top skills you’ve learned or that you use regularly in the classroom. Go through your day and you’ll recognize skills like adapting your lesson plans for different learning styles, presenting material to a classroom, maintaining order, and keeping the class engaged.
Feedback from students, parents, and colleagues
Lean on feedback you’ve received to help discover other skills you may have. For example, if a parent commended you for being responsive or helping their child with an academic challenge, those could be examples of communication and empathy.
Reviewing job descriptions and school needs
Aligning your skills with the requirements of specific teaching positions can help you stand out as a candidate. Look at what employers are seeking in their job descriptions and think about how you embody those skills – and add them to your resume if applicable.
How To Include Teaching Skills on Your Resume
Skills can appear on your resume in a few different ways, not just in a skills section.
Incorporating skills into the resume summary or objective
The first section of your resume is the profile that summarizes your qualifications, experiences – and yes – your skills. It’s like your elevator pitch to grab the reader’s attention and call out your most important attributes.
Example summary statement for teachers:
- Early education specialist known for developing engaging, hands-on learning experiences. Passionate about community partnership to enhance resources and student opportunities. Champions an inclusive learning environment that inspires curiosity and critical thinking.
Highlighting skills in the experience section
Use the STAR method to showcase both teaching skills and achievements in the work experience section. STAR refers to “situation, task, action, and result.” Within your professional experience section, describe situations and tasks you’ve had, actions you took, and the outcomes you achieved to show your skills in action.
Example of integrating skills into job descriptions:
- Engaged in curriculum planning aimed at adapting teaching strategies for the unique needs of each class
Creating a dedicated skills section
Including a skills section as a bulleted list is an easy way to emphasize teaching abilities. It can also help include keywords that will help your resume get flagged by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
Example of a well-organized skills section:
Key Skills
- Adaptive learning technology
- Cross-departmental teamwork
- Curriculum development
- Parent collaboration
- Relationship building
- Student data analysis
Examples of Teaching Skills for Different Educational Roles
When incorporating skills into your teacher resume, align them with the type of teaching that you do.
Elementary school teacher skills
Key skills for elementary school teachers will involve managing younger students and fostering foundational learning.
High school teacher skills
At the high school level, being skilled at engaging older students and preparing them for future education is most important.
Special education teacher skills
Special education teachers need to adapt to meet diverse learning needs.
Skills for online and remote teaching
Even classroom-based teachers should have some basic online and remote teaching skills since there could be times when you’ll be doing hybrid learning with your class. Include that you have key competencies for digital teaching environments such as using Google Classroom, video conferencing, and such.
Tips for Developing and Showcasing Teaching Skills
Teachers continue to build their skills throughout their careers, and that commitment to lifelong learning is important to convey on your resume.
Continuous professional development
Whether required or not, it is important that teachers pursue ongoing learning, new certifications, and other continuing education.
Networking and collaboration
Building relationships with other educators is another way to enhance skills. Attend seminars, workshops, and professional conferences to stay updated on the latest developments in your teaching specialty.
Using examples and metrics
Just as important as conveying that you have various teaching skills is demonstrating how you’ve put them to good use. On your resume, aim to quantify your achievements to demonstrate the impact of your skills.
Common Mistakes To Avoid When Listing Teacher Skills
Just dumping a whole bunch of smart-sounding skills onto your resume could backfire. Some of the common mistakes resume writers make include:
- Being too vague or generic: It’s always better to use specific examples that showcase your skills rather than cliches and platitudes.
- Listing too many skills: Focus on quality over quantity so you can go more in-depth about the most impactful skills you have.
- Not aligning skills with job requirements: Include the skills that best match the specific role and school needs.
Additional Resources
Teacher resume templates
- Substitute Teacher Resume Examples and Templates
- Teacher Resume Examples and Templates
- Tutor Resume Examples and Templates
Online professional development for teachers
Career advice articles and guides for educators
- Action Verbs To Use on Your Resume
- Resume Vs. Curriculum Vitae: What’s the Difference?
- Tips on Writing the Education Section of Your Resume
Frequently Asked Questions About Teacher Resume Skills
While you may have many different skills, focus on the top 10 or so that best relate to the role you are seeking. You can include a mix of hard and soft skills.
Remove any skills considered common knowledge (such as Microsoft Word or typing). Also, avoid using skills that would be embellishments of your actual abilities such as saying you’re bilingual if you’re not fluent in the language.
If you’ve worked in other types of jobs, some skills can be applied to teaching. These may include conflict resolution, presenting, planning and organization, and communications.
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