Your CV is the gateway to employment. It is how you introduce yourself to your

potential employer and an opportunity to make an excellent first impression. We

strongly advise that you spend time adjusting your CV to make it specific to each job

application. Given the competitive nature of the current job market it is imperative

that you devote ample time to writing and perfecting your CV before your

consultants can help you to enhance it (which they are happy to do!)

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:

Structure

Most recent employment / qualifications always listed first (the whole CV

should be in reverse chronological order

Interests should always be at the end

Supporting statement should be at the top of the CV and concise (max 3

sentences!)

CV should be no longer than 3 pages

Content

Always use action verbs when describing your duties and skills. Eg. Achieved,

initiated, supervised, developed, presented, organized

Be specific as to which key stages you taught in each of your previous job

roles as well as exam specifications (Edexel/AQA/OCR)

Use terminology relevant to the UK Eg. ‘year’ as opposed to ‘grade’

If you are a recent graduate with minimal experience, expand on your student

teaching rounds or any teacher’s aide work you may have done.

In each job role, be sure to include pastoral roles and/or positions of

responsibility. Eg. Yr 8 head of curriculum, 6TH form tutor, etc.

Interests are not necessary unless they are a) things that make you stand out

from the crowd (eg. climbing Everest) b) relevant to education (eg.

conferences you have attended, publications)

Style

Font size, type and formatting should be consistent throughout

Avoid inserting textboxes

Avoid large gaps between headings. One or two lines is sufficient

Writing style should always be professional, grammatically correct, concise

and to the point. Always proof read and do not rely on spell check.

ALWAYS REMIND YOURSELF:

Relevant - what makes YOU the right person for THIS position?

Concise - The shortest way of saying something is always the best way!

Consistent - Formatting and layout should be the same throughout. The easier your

CV is to read the more likely your potential employer will read it though and request

you for an interview!

Writing a CV to get you the perfect position

What is the point of a CV?

A CV is designed to get you an interview, not a job. Your whole focus

regarding your CV is to get you to the interview stage at a particular school

and it should therefore be tailored for every job accordingly

Recommended structure

1. Contact details

2. Profile

3. Most Recent teaching experience

4. Previous teaching experiences (working chronologically backwards)

5. Previous experience (keeping it relevant to your role as a teacher i.e.

transferable skills)

6. Education

7. Hobbies

What to put in your profile?

A profile is distinct from a cover letter in that it sits in the body of your CV.

Remember a lot of employers will not have the time/inclination to read a

Cover Letter so do not put all of your good points in there and not your CV!

A profile should be no more than four sentences. Make it specific the school

you are applying for (e.g. if the school is 4 form entry say you are looking for a

job in a 4 form entry school)

What else can you offer? Can you speak another language, play an instrument,

teach another subject? If so, put it in your profile so that it does not get

missed. It could be the things that give you that added value over another

candidate. You can expand upon it in the body of your CV

How do I write about my teaching experience?

List your most recent experience first. You are evolving as a teacher. When you

have your interview you want to talk about you as a teacher now and what

you have learnt. Make sure that you list your most recent (i.e. your best)

teaching experience first so that is the first thing an employer is looking at.

Combination. Simply listing that you taught KS3 and KS4 is not enough to

make you stand out. Remember, so did everybody else applying for the role. A

potential school wants to you know you are as a teacher. So think in terms of

three steps:

1. What was the biggest challenge?

Think about what you found to be the biggest challenge specific to

your placement. Was there behaviour management issues? Were

the children not engaged with the subject? Were there learners of

very mixed abilities?

2. What did you practically do to overcome this challenge?

Once you have identified the challenge, think about what you did to

combat it. Did you use certain new resources (if so, be specific), or

use certain behavioural management techniques (name them). If

you had to differentiate your lessons, give an example of a lesson

you had to do it in (what extension exercises did you use/what did

you use to help lower abilities students)

3. What was the learning outcome?

So you have identified a challenge and faced it head on. Now is the

time to show why it worked. How did it help the class or individuals

achieve their learning objective? How could you have developed

things further if you had stayed longer at the school?

Using this simple three step rule you are demonstrating the kind of teacher you are.

Use examples. By wetting the appetite of your potential employer, you will get them

to immediately start visualising you working at their school. If they can do that, they

will have to see you for an interview. You will also find that if you talk in specifics

during your interview you will be asked about them and you can start to dictate the

interview and bring it to your strengths.

Should I put in previous experience before teaching?

This can vary depending on what you did before you trained to be a teacher. If it was

another role that was child related then you can write about how you developed and

the decision that led you to want to train to become a teacher.

If your experience was in a completely different sector then think about what

transferable skills you can take from that role in relation to the classroom. I have

spoken to accountants or journalists who have trained to become Maths and English

teachers. They are able to demonstrate a passion for their subject and often can

develop their own resources based on their previous experiences.

Education

A lot of people put their education at the top of their CV. This is fine but make sure

you are not listing all your GCSE and A Level results. Page 1 is where you grab the

attention of your potential employer, not where they get to know you got a C at

GCSE Geography, especially if you are a Chemistry teacher. I would never list more

than your degree and your PGCE/ITT course on the CV anyway. I have never known

an interview that has included any questions about anything prior to these.

Hobbies

This is where, if necessary you can expand upon the points you made in your profile

in terms of what else you can offer a school e.g. play instruments, sing in a choir or

speak other languages. Use this as a chance to show that you can help with school

productions, after school clubs, sporting events, school trips.

Common mistakes:

Not making your contact details easy to find. Put them at the top. Surely you

want to be called!

Do not just list your placements. This is all a potential employer has to decide

if you are the right candidate. If you just list your placements without going

into detail about them, a school cannot know what you can offer them as a

teacher

Put your most recent experience at the bottom of the CV. This is also a time

issue. If an employer cannot see at the top of page one that you are suitable

for the role they will look away. If you a brilliant teacher but the first thing on

your CV is when you worked at Boots when you were 16 you are not getting

their attention where you need it

Simply listing what you have done in your job. A Head Teacher knows what is

involved in a PGCE placement. They are looking for what makes you stand out

from the other 30 applicants. They want to know what you did but more

importantly how that has formed you as a teacher