A CV is designed to get you an interview, not a job. This article looks at the content of your CV and how to make the most out of marketing the skills you have acquired.

CV Writing. Putting the meat on the bones!

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

• Contact details
• Placement 2
• Placement 1
• Previous experience (keeping it relevant to your role as a teacher i.e. transferable skills)
• Education
• Hobbies (if applicable)

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 placements?

List your most recent placement 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 a 0.6 timetable and that you taught KS3 and KS4 in your placement 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 whetting 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.

What should I put in my previous experience?

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:

• Spending 5 lines on your teaching experience and 3 pages on your previous job
• Not making your contact details easy to find. 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 1 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 did on your placement. 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
• Unbelievably some people do not list what subject their PGCE is in. Then even within talking about their placements they list what they did but you are still none the wiser as to whether they are a Biology or PE teacher. A school does not want to have to guess that you are in fact a Geography qualified teacher applying for their Geography teaching role