General CV Advice

When writing your CV, you should keep in mind that the Head Teacher, manager, teaching staff and representatives of the education institution will be reading through it, with these questions uppermost in their minds:

1. Is the candidate qualified to do the job?
2. Does the candidate have the training and experience identified in the job specification?
3. Do we want to interview the candidate and find out more?

A Good CV:

• Is no longer than two pages
• Is printed on white unlined paper
• Has clear headings
• Outlines education, skills and experience briefly in bullet points
• Is adapted for each job in line with the position being applied for
• Identifies referees
• Lists courses attended that are relevant to the position
• Has impeccable grammar
• Is succinct

Some suggested headings

Start with your name. Next, type your address across the page, not down it. (Otherwise this information will dominate your CV).
 
Include your contact telephone numbers and email address. You may wish to add your date of birth, but this is not compulsory.

Some people put in their marital status, however it is of no concern to the selectors.

Having introduced yourself by name (and address), you may want to write a few lines about yourself, in an opening statement. This does not need a specific heading. e.g.: "A good honours graduate in chemistry with supporting qualifications in mathematics and physics. Recent teaching experience during PGCE in a large urban comprehensive school. Keen to contribute to other aspects of school life, particularly sport and IT."

Post Graduate Certificate in Education

If you are currently on this course, make it your next heading.
 
Give its start and completion date, the name of the institution and provide an outline of the course. Include its structure, key study areas and any special projects you have covered.  You need to emphasise in this section that you have undertaken effective professional training.

Next move onto Degree Qualification.

Include a summary of your degree and its main elements. Do not presume that the selectors will know what it involved. For example, what academic and educational topics did you study for your education degree? It is in your own interest to highlight your knowledge base.

Follow the details of your degree with a listing of Other Qualifications.

This should include; Diplomas of Higher Education, A2 and AS levels / GCSEs / AGNVQ's and GNVQ's etc.) They should be organised starting with the most recent first and in the order of where they were done, when, the type of qualification and finally the grade attained.

The next section is:

Teaching Experience or School Placements

Start with your most recent experience and work backwards. Selectors will want to know who you have taught, what you have taught and in what type of school (size, level, environment etc).

Consider including some of the specific contributions you have made in your placement schools, including extra curricular activities, projects, special needs and teaching materials

Remember that what you include here will give the selectors a clear indication as to how you will contribute in your new teaching appointment.

Relevant interest and skills

Again use this section to highlight ways in which your interests / skills can add to your effectiveness in the classroom and in the school in general. Areas to consider include playing musical instruments, participating, coaching or refereeing a sport, IT skills, participation in amateur dramatics or specific skills such as First Aid or speaking other languages.

Employment

If you have had any directly relevant full-time or vacation work (work with children, voluntary or community work, TEFL, youth work) then give a few lines of details and dates.

If you are entering teaching from another profession then again give dates and brief details. It is important to describe aspects of the job which relate directly to teaching such as; staff training, presentations, IT, design, science or laboratory skills.

Do not clutter your CV with lists of all your other vacation jobs and temporary work. You can always summarise this by saying “Other vacation work has included retail (Tesco), telephone sales and office assignments. Where you are moving to a new teaching position it is vital to identify all the schools you have taught in, including the age range and subjects covered along with projects you have taken part in and areas of responsibility.

References

Seek advice from your tutors if you are currently completing a teacher training course. References from your institution could well include reports from practice schools. Otherwise, referees should be drawn from either your teacher training institution, your practice schools or the last school you taught in.

Summary:

Your CV should have the following clear headings, however these can be adapted according to your own personal and academic experience.

1. Your name
2. Post Graduate Certificate of Education
3. Degree Details
4. Other Academic Qualifications
5. Teaching Experience
6. Other Work Experience
7. Relevant Interest and Skills
8. Other Information (You may use this for facts which just do not fit in elsewhere)
9. References