Paraprofessional Resume Examples for You to Use This Year

Any paraprofessional resume will follow a structure that best emphasizes the experience or skills that you have. Here are the three resume formats you can choose from:

• Functional: A functional resume format is perfect for anyone who doesn’t have extensive work experience. The functional resume format allows you to focus on the skills that make you a great fit for the role. 

• Chronological: If you have several years of work experience, a chronological resume format is your best choice and is favored by hiring managers. 

• Combination: Choosing a combination resume format will allow you to focus on your skills and experience. This format is best for job seekers who have an employment gap or are changing careers. 

Header

Your header section is an important element of your resume and allows the hiring manager to easily contact you to schedule an interview. Include your name, phone number and email address. Also, if you have professional social media links, like your LinkedIn profile, be sure to include them here.

 

You can use a resume summary to give the hiring manager a brief overview of your skills and achievements that make you a suitable candidate. Your summary should only be 2-3 sentences long, and it should grab employers’ attention with your top qualifications and achievements. Here is an example: 

 

“Seasoned paraprofessional with three years of experience assisting special needs students and helping the classroom teacher create lesson plans that keep individual students’ disabilities in mind.”

 

Your skills section is a chance for you to highlight all the qualities you have that make you the right candidate. Many employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) that will be looking for keywords in your resume, so study the job description to select key skills to use throughout your resume. 

 

These bullet points list some of the common hard and soft skills employers will be looking for when filling a paraprofessional position:

• Experience working with small groups of students
• Understanding of IEPs and how to accommodate individual students’ needs
• Lesson plan implementation
• Proficient with Microsoft Office, including Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint
• Experience working with special education students 
• Behavioral management techniques
• Interpersonal skills 
• First aid certification
• Classroom activity planning
• Behavioral management
• Monitoring of student progress and student performance
• Problem-solving
• Crisis intervention
• Preparing instructional materials

Work experience

Even if you choose to use a functional resume format, you should still include a work history section in your resume to give recruiters a good understanding of your professional work experience. If you lack professional experience, you can include work you have done as a volunteer, a student, or as an intern, as long as it relates to paraprofessional work.

 

Paraprofessionals require many interpersonal and social skills you can pick up from other job roles. If you are applying for a special education paraprofessional role, you will need specific experience working with students with special needs. 

 

When applying for a paraprofessional position, you will be required to at least have a high school diploma and complete a local academic assessment to show that you are capable of a sufficient level of reading, writing and assisting. Use your education section to outline your top, most relevant qualifications, including the type of qualification (i.e., degree, certification), and the name and location where you got the credential from.

Now that we have covered the various sections and what you need to include in your resume, follow these do’s and don’ts to ensure you can write the best resume. 

 

Do:

• Use a professional resume example to guarantee you follow a resume structure that can be easily read by hiring managers. 
• Use bullet points and short phrases rather than long, drawn-out sentences.
• Mention all work experiences that have transferable skills which you can use in a paraprofessional job. 

Don’t:

• Forget to proofread your resume before you submit it to the hiring manager. This helps to show that you have good written communication skills which may be vital for supporting students.
• Mention work experience from more than 10 years ago, doesn’t feature any responsibilities that are relevant to paraprofessionals. 
• Include any personal or classified information regarding past students you worked with.