Depending on the type of
resume format you choose, how your resume looks can vary.
Usually, there are three main types of resumes you can choose: chronological, functional and combination. Chronological resumes focus on employment history, while functional resumes place most of the focus on skills. Combination resumes combine both of these elements for candidates who might have lots of industry experience and knowledge. Regardless of the format you decide to use, your resume is likely to have the same sections that show off your skills, experiences, licenses, certifications and more.
Header
The resume header section contains your contact details like name, phone number, city and state of residence and email address. If you have a portfolio or networking site like LinkedIn, you can also include a link to this in your header section.
Including this information is super important, as the hiring manager or recruiter will use this to contact you with updates.
Resume summary or objective
The resume summary or objective is usually made up of short statements that sum up your resume. Introduce your expertise, teaching experience and special skills you believe make you the best candidate for a school teacher job. To make this section stand out to the hiring manager, include some of your biggest achievements.
Your resume summary is a short paragraph detailing your career background. It should be clear and concise to share your highlights – not longer than three sentences.
Alternatively, you can opt for a resume objective. This is slightly different because it details your career goals and ambitions. This is good if you want to show that your career aims align with your potential employer.
Skills
Your skills section might be the most important section, depending on the format you choose. Your skills section should have a good mixture of hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are specific to the teaching industry, and soft skills are a mixture of intangible and personality traits.
These skills are often used in student teacher resumes:
- Time management
- Microsoft Office
- Critical thinking
- Communication skills
- Collaborating
- Teaching both small groups and large groups
- Middle school and elementary education
- Written English
- Behavior interventions
- Teaching students with English as a second language (ESL)
- Specialized in social studies
- Listed in last year’s Dean’s List
- Experience in after school tutoring sessions
- Smartboard operation
- Lesson planning
Work experience
Your work experience section will act as a record of your previous employment experience. As a student teacher, your teaching experience may be limited, but you can include relevant experiences such as after-school childcare, babysitting, nannying and more. You may also have experience as a teacher assistant or similar role, so you can include some key accomplishments and primary responsibilities in this section.
You can also include experience in providing special education or individualized education programs (IEP).
You should list your experience in reverse chronological order, starting from the most recent example and going backward. Doing so makes sure you present the hiring manager the most up-to-date information first.
Education
The education section is very important to a student teacher resume, as your teaching experience is likely to be tied to your college or education program. You should include your GPA and degree title, such as Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. Including your grade levels shows the hiring manager you have the correct and relevant knowledge to pass on to children and young adults.