Cover Letter – Page 11 – TP Javeton WebNet

Whether you are new to teaching, are returning to teaching after time off, or are leaving your corporate job for a teaching position, you will need to make sure that your resume and cover letter address the most important elements of your decision to enter the teaching field, including questions your potential employers might have like those provided in the following paragraphs.

about resumes, cover letters and interviews

Compelling reasons for teaching

Why do you want to be a teacher? This question is very important and you must address it in both your resume and your cover letter. Keeping in mind that the career objective listed in your résumé should have a well-developed statement about your passion for teaching, and your cover letter should elaborate on your goals and teaching style; also your career objective should be more extensive than that of an objective found on corporate-driven resumes.

Your career objective as a teacher should really provide more of a summary of your passion for teaching, as well as the qualifications you bring to the position; and your commitment to students and their education should be among your top priorities, no matter their level of academic accomplishment. These goals must be clearly communicated as are among the most critical aspects of being a teacher, and doing so can set you apart from other applicants.

Qualifications for the position you seek

Do you have the qualifications necessary to be a teacher? The education and certifications you’ve acquired should immediately follow your career summary statement, which of course, is the section that should be titled “Academic Credentials” and should list the various degrees and certifications which make you a qualified candidate for a teacher’s position. Having proper credentials for the job you are applying for is critical in the teaching field.

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In addition, you should point out any cluster of courses you have taken in school that makes you qualified to teach a specific subject; and if you have been published in academic journals, or have written and published textbooks, it may be a good idea to create a separate section on your resume for publications. Also make it a priority to include a comprehensive list of all of your credentials on the resume. Just don’t sell your self short.

Comparative professional experience

What part of your professional experience qualifies you to be a teacher? Unlike corporate-focused resumes, where jobs are outlined in chronological order, teachers have to focus on not only their experience teaching (if applicable) but on any professional achievements which make them a great candidates for a given teaching job. In other words, if you are applying for a teacher’s job, and have prior experience in teaching, you should use a functional resume resume formatted with a list that will showcase your work history.

However, if you are new to teaching, you will need to list any experience you have that helps make you a great teacher; but don’t get discouraged if you consider your inexperience, because you’ll find that you have the qualifications to be a teacher, as long as you just focus on those qualifications that meet your career objective. In other vwords, you should use a functional resume because that format will be more suitable for your purposes.

Do a little research and find examples of teaching resumes that you can model your own resume after; and if you are entering the teaching field with corporate experience, list any training you have developed and taught at your company as credible and comparably suitable experience for the position you are seeking. If you have recently graduated, list any mentorship or teacher’s assistant positions you may have had, or any practical coursework you took part in.

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You can reference any volunteer work, or community involvement that supports your goal of becoming a teacher. For example, if you volunteered your time to an organization like Big Brother/Big Sister, and you mentored a child, note that on your resume. Utilize any experience you may have that demonstrates your leadership, passion for educating others and your ability to motivate and pass on knowledge to others.

Sharing your professional goals

What are your long term professional goals? Similar to requirements, concerns and information gathering in a corporation, the school in which you are interested in teaching will want to know, not only why you want to be a teacher, but what your long term professional goals are. You should make a brief mention of your long-term goals in your career summary, and your cover letter or teaching philosophy should elaborate on your long term goals.

Will you be returning to school for a Master’s degree or a Ph.D.? Are you interested in becoming a high school dean in the next ten years, or will you want to teach more than one subject? Are you interested in teaching grade school first, and possibly teaching high school at the later time? Do you have interest in becoming a department chair at a university? If you are driven toward a long term goal, make your potential employer aware of it; but make sure you have an action plan on how to get there, one which shows your employer that you understand what it takes to reach that goal.

The importance of getting it right

As important as anything else that was already said, make sure that your resume is error-free, and that you have incorporated key words specific to the teaching field; key words such as teaching jargon and acronyms. Do your research and model your well-written resume after samples of other teachers, with the consideration of their experience and teaching level. Demonstrate your passion, your commitment to education and your patience. Doing so will help schools realize how passionate and qualified you are for the position you seek.

The task of resume preparation

Anyone who has ever written a resume will probably agree that composing and structuring one of these documents is a very difficult task, a task which you will have to undertake in the preparation of your own resume; because it takes time and patience to fit your entire professional history within one or two pages, in a way that presents you as the best candidate for the job. While we focus so much of our energy on what must be included in our resumes, we often forget to stop and think about the information that should never be included.

With that in mind, there are at least five pieces of information you should exclude from your resume, and they are listed in the following paragraphs as an informal guide you can refer to when composing your own resume:

The first two exclusions

1. Do not get personal – Any information that discloses demographics should not be listed in your resume. Items such as your age, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, marital status, physical appearance, or your personal philosophies that are not critical to your job performance must be excluded, as these pieces of information could become detrimental, and be used against you – or be mis-used in the hands of an ethically challenged individual. So such information should never be listed on your resume.

Presenting yourself as a professional to your potential employers is the goal, and as such, the method (resume document) in which you use for your presentation should not be a list of your hobbies or interests. On the other hand, it must be a well formatted listing of your education, qualifications and employment history; so stick to the information that is relevant to the job, as well as to your career objective.

2. Do not list historical salary information on your resume – This is a strict rule and you should follow it as closely as you possible can, since your employer is more concerned with what your desired salary is, than of what you earned in your first job out of college. If you are asked to provide historical salary information do so in your cover letter, not your resume. As a best practice, always list the minimum of what you are willing to accept for the job, and avoid using a salary range.

Having said that, it is important that you do your research so that you will have a good workable knowledge and understanding of what an acceptable salary is for the job in which you are interested. Whenever possible, leave all salary conversations for the interview with your potential employer.

Other Omissions: jargon and personal webite

3. Do not use jargon or too many “big words” – Unless you are absolutely certain that the person reading your resume will understand the terminology you are using, avoid using jargon in your resume. Pattern your resume as if it was being directed toward recruiters, rather than to an immediate hiring manager, because the human resources associates are usually first to scan your resume. While it is important to showcase your knowledge of a particular field through your education and experience, it is ill-advised to use jargon since it has no place on your well-written resume.

In addition, avoid using too many “big words” since you don’t want to give the impression that you’re hiding behind your vocabulary; and keep in mind that making your resume overbearing is the fastest way to ensure losing the interest of your employer. Just use the action words that are relevant to your career level.

4. Do not list your personal web site – As a rule, you should not include your personal web site if it contains your photo or other photos that may be viewed as inappropriate, especially if it contains jokes (even if they are clean jokes), or your personal blog. In other words, if the site you have is entirely for personal purposes, you are best advised to leave it off your resume. Only include a link to your web site if the pages are set up in a way that showcases your professional portfolio, a copy of your resume, reference letters, presentations, photos taken for professional use, or your web development skills.

Critical little nuisances must be removed

5. Do not allow typos or other errors to remain – The most important factor in achieving a winning resume is proof reading. Understanding that you want to put your best foot forward, errors on your resume will defeat the purpose; so if your resume contains grammatical and spelling errors, your potential employer will get an impression that you are not detail-oriented. S/he may also come to the conclusion that you are somewhat sloppy, and as such, will do sloppy work if you are hired.

As basic a task as proof reading is, there is no other way to say that it is also very difficult to proof read a document you have been working on so closely, so it may be a good idea to use spell check – although this tool does not catch grammaticl errors. So ask your friends and family members for help, or meet with a career counselor; Dbut do your best to present the most polished and well-written resume you possibly can to your potential employers.

Category: Cover Letter

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