Writing a Job-Winning English Teacher Resume
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Writing a Job-Winning English Teacher Resume

Being an English teacher can be an exciting and fulfilling job. You get to impart students' lives and even inspire the next generation. However, to land an interview for your dream job, you need to write a top-notch resume that hiring managers can’t resist.

Last update:
9/8/2024

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two column english-teacher-resume resume example
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English Teacher Resume Example

James Brown
English Teacher
5034 Spruce Drive Los Angeles, CA
555- 342- 432-50
Jbrown12@gmail.com
Likedin.com/in/jamesbrown

Motivated, passionate English teacher with expertise creating engaging lesson plans to suit diverse students. Excellent communication and organization skills and several digital learning methodologies.

Work Experience

High School Teacher
Victorians High School
2010-2014

  • Responsible for managing a class of 30 students.
  • Demonstrated strong communication and leadership skills to help students learn, read, and write English.
  • Created and delivered interdisciplinary literature studies based on the new curriculum.
  • Created a conducive learning environment where all students felt comfortable.

Education:

University of California
Master of Arts in Teaching English and Literature
2018-2021

University of California
Bachelor of Arts in English Literature
2014-2018

Languages

  • English - Native
  • French - Advanced
  • Italian - Intermediate level

Skills

  • Excellent communication skills
  • Strong organizational skills
  • Great time management
  • Technological skills
  • Proficiency in other languages
  • Improving test scores

Interests

  • Community service: Do volunteer work at a local community twice a month
  • Playing the piano: 10 years playing the piano with regular lessons and practice
  • Artistic activities: Actively involved in graphic design and painting.

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While you may be good in the English language and know several tricks to ace essays, you need to put a lot of consideration when writing your resume. Writing a high-quality English teacher resume can be overwhelming, even if you have tons of experience teaching. You should always include relevant keywords and skills in your resume.

If you are looking for effective ways to create a job-winning resume, I am glad to help. In this article, I will take you through how to make an English teacher resume that adequately demonstrates your teaching potential and gets an instant reply from the hiring manager.

Here is an English teacher resume sample to guide you.

For more tips, check out our resume examples.

Salary & Employment Rates for English Teachers

💰 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that English teachers teaching in public or private K-12 schools can earn a median salary of about $58,000 in middle school and $60,000 in high school. The median annual salary for English instructors at colleges and universities is about $78,000.

Typically, an English teacher’s salary is dependent on numerous factors such as degrees/certifications, years of experience, employer, and the English level.

What Schools Look For in an English Teacher - No Copyright

How to Make an English Teacher Resume

When making an English teacher resume, your goal should be to demonstrate how you are fit for the job position. A good resume must show your relevant experience for the job and your passion and enthusiasm for the position you are applying for.

It should have a clean layout, and the details on the resume should be concise and clear. Here are tips for crafting an English teacher resume:

  • The teacher's resume should be personalized.
  • Use the reverse-chronological English teacher resume formatsince it highlights your current or most recent work experience first.
  • Include a cover letter in your English teacher resume to emphasize why you are fit for the job.

Here is what to put on your resume as an English teacher:

  • Your contact information
  • Your education and credentials
  • Your relevant teaching experience
  • Your relevant teaching skills
  • Awards and certifications

English Teacher Resume Format and Structure

As a teacher, you are expected to organize your document with the right layout and structure that hiring managers appreciate. Here is a layout you may follow:

  • Header
  • Introduction
  • Work experience
  • Education
  • Skills

Follow this format for your resume:

  • Layout- Chronological resume
  • Fonts: Calibri and other best resume fonts
  • Font size: 11-12
  • Line spacing: Single line spacing
  • Margins: 1-inch margin
  • Subheadings: Use easy-to-read titles on each subheading

You may want to check out our resume templates for the right structure.

What An English Teacher Resume Should Be Like?

Are you wondering how to describe English teacher on your resume? Before you start writing, you need to choose the right format to improve your chances of getting an interview. Typically, there are three resume formats to choose from, including a chronological resume, functional resume, and hybrid resume.

  • Chronological Resume

This is a resume type that places much focus on your work history. This resume lists your work history in reverse or chronological order based on when you held each position. It starts with your most recent job, allowing you to put your most relevant work experience at the top.

  • Functional Resume

In a functional resume, much focus is placed on your relevant professional skills and strengths crucial to your potential employer. Unlike the chronological resume, a functional resume deemphasizes your English teacher's work history.

  • Hybrid Resume

As the name may suggest, the hybrid resume combines the most critical elements of the other two resume types. This means that it emphasizes your skills and puts much focus on your work history in chronological order.

When choosing the best format for your English teacher's resume, I highly recommend the chronological format. This allows you to showcase your most relevant experience for the position you are applying for. However, if you don’t have much experience teaching English, a functional resume would be your best bet.

The Header & Contact Information

You need to start with a well-written header and contact information to ace your English teacher resume. A resume header is extremely crucial since it is the first thing your potential employer will see. A good header for an English teacher's resume should be professional and include crucial details like your full name, profession, and contact information.

In this document, every piece of information matters, including this section. Otherwise, the application can be considered useless.

The most basic information to include in your data is your name, email address, and phone number. Nevertheless, we highly recommend adding a job title, address, and LinkedIn URL; adding your address may not be necessary, especially if you live in a different state.

For the contact information section, ensure that you include:

  • Your full name
  • Professional job title
  • Mailing address
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • LinkedIn URL (Recommended)
📌Pro Tip: When updating your contact information, ensure that you also update your LinkedIn URL.

A Good & a Bad Header

CORRECT
James Brown

English Teacher

5034 Spruce Drive Los Angeles, CA

555- 342- 432-50

Jbrown12@gmail.com

Likedin.com/in/jamesbrown


INCORRECT

James Brown

555-342-432-50

5034

Los Angeles


What Makes a Great Teacher Resume - No copyright

Demonstrate Your Experience Teaching English

The work experience is another important section that your potential employer would like to see. Before you state your educational qualifications, it’s best to write your professional experience, including your previous work, job title, and responsibilities.

Example for Substitute Teachers

Here is an example of asubstitute teacher resume:

Substitute teacher, 2020-Present

Bright High School

Duties and Responsibilities

  • Substituted for absent high school English teachers
  • Regularly engaged students and developed team-building activities to increase their participation and engagement.
  • Managed after-school programs like after-school tutoring when permanent teachers were held up or unqualified in these areas.
  • Incorporated digital technology across the curriculum to impart the necessary skills to students.

Example for Experienced English Teacher

Here is a resume for experienced teachers example.>

High School English Teacher, 2016-Present

Winfield High School

Duties and Responsibilities

  • Administered standardized tests to evaluate students’ strengths and weaknesses.
  • Created and revised an interactive curriculum that integrates reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
  • Incorporated new strategies and engaging learning methods to promote corporation among students.
  • Incorporated the use of different English teaching methods and audio-visual aids.

  • Established different methods for assessing each student’s understanding.
  • Planned more than 20 school trips to cultural institutions to promote students’ growth.

Example for ESL Teachers

ESL Teacher

State House High School, TX

2015-2019

  • Taught ESL to over 200 students from Grades 2 to 5.
  • Customized and engaging curriculum for 1-1/2 educational program to prepare beginners students for the final exam. Recorded 99.9% positive exam results.
  • Offered after-school assistance to individual students.
  • Planned extra-curricular activities to increase student motivation in learning.
  • Prepared students for ESL tests like TOELF.

Describe Your Education

Most hiring managers look at your educational qualifications to be considered for an English teaching job. `All schools in the United States have various requirements regarding the education of an English teacher.

Nevertheless, you need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree to become an English teacher in the US. While you can land an interview with a bachelor’s degree, you will get better chances with a Master’s degree.

Ensure that you highlight your education in your resume, making it easy for the recruiter to notice. A good rule of thumb is to start with the name of the degree. This is then followed by the name of the school and the year of completion.

Any related specialized training or certification will be an added advantage in resumes for English teachers. For instance, if you have taken short, professional courses to gain skills in a specific area like teaching English online, adding it to your resume can be advantageous.

CORRECT
University of California

California

2010- 2014


The Best Skills for an English Teacher on the Resume

To positively impact the students and meet the school’s mission, teachers need a combination of hard and soft skills. It helps to come up with a list of English teacher resume skills relevant to the English teaching job you are targeting. Some of the hard and soft skills that English teachers need to possess include:

Hard Skills

  • English language proficiency
  • Technological skills
  • Wring/editing
  • Great command in other languages
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Office

Soft Skills

  • Excellent communication skills
  • Crisis management
  • Classroom management and learner assessment
  • Teamwork
  • Patience
  • Compassion
  • Adaptability
  • Time management
  • Critical thinking
  • Creativity in creating instructional activities
  • Planning and organization skills
  • Leadership
  • Strong work ethic
  • Self-motivated
  • Collaborative skills
  • Conflict resolution
Here are tips to include your skills in an English teacher resume:
  • Combine both hard and soft skills.
  • You can add 5 to 10 skills to your resume.
  • Ensure that the skills you provide are honest and can be proven.

english teacher

Professional Summary for an English Teacher

Being an expert in English literature, you most likely know how important it is to have a good introduction, and this is no exception with your resume. If you have a lot of professional experience, a resume summary can come in handy to outline your accomplishments.

You can leverage a professional summary to provide an overview of your experience teaching students. Let’s see how:.

CORRECT
Committed high school teacher with ten years of classroom experience teaching 11th and 12th-grade students. Highlights from 10 years of teaching experience include enhancing the classroom experience for students and improving the college admission rate by 45%.

INCORRECT
With ten years of teaching experience, I am looking for a similar role that pays better. I have a great experience, and I am very good with children.

While the first example details years of experience and includes figures, the second example is ambiguous, vague, and doesn’t include relevant information.

Professional Objective

If you are inexperienced and applying for entry-level jobs, your resume should describe a professional objective on your professional summary. This is a great opportunity to summarize your skills and convince the recruiting manager why you are fit for the position.

Here, you can display your skills and career goals that align well with the company. Also, you can use it to show your enthusiasm for the position you are applying for.

CORRECT
Passionate and committed English literature graduate seeking a position of English teacher at XYZ High School. 1-year supervising classes at ABC Middle school and creating a classroom climate to make students feel secure and supported. Skills include general teacher skills, classroom management, classroom engagement, and virtual learning environments.

Additional Sections for Your English Teacher Resume

You are free to add any other sections to your English teacher resume model as long as they are relevant to the position you are applying for.

Computing Skills & Certifications

Now more than ever, the classroom has incorporated technology, making it necessary for English teachers to be proficient in computer applications and technology.

Digital media in schools also enhances communication and makes lessons more interactive. Therefore, it is an added advantage if you possess computer skills and have the certifications to prove it.

Your knowledge of programs like PowerPoint and popular digital communication platforms like Skype or Zoom can go a long way in making your resume stand out.

Examples of computer skills and certifications in this area include:

  • Remote teaching
  • Awareness of grade management software
  • Certification in education software

english teacher

Languages

It is unarguably important for an English teacher to possess good knowledge of the English language to impart the necessary skills to students. This is especially crucial if you teach in an ESL classroom where the learners will rely on you as their primary source of knowledge.

Besides mastery of the English language, it comes in handy if you have an excellent command of other languages. For instance, you can state that you’re a native English speaker and can communicate in another language like French, Chinese, or Italian.

However, you must prove that you speak a foreign language by providing certification. For example;

  • TOELF or IELTS certification for English ( A score of 30 or higher)
  • DELF for French (A score 70% or higher)
  • German proficiency certificate (A score of 65 or higher)

📌Pro Tip: You can mention your level of proficiency in the other languages that you speak. If you speak French, note it as the beginner level. However, if you can communicate clearly in French, you can say ‘Good level.’

Interests and Hobbies

While interests and hobbies may not be the most important sections, they can help highlight essential interests that can help the recruiters connect with you at a personal level. Generally, interests indicate that you would want to explore to your potential employer and may prove helpful to the school.

On the other hand, hobbies allow you to communicate additional skills and how you spend your free time.

Interests and Hobbies to Include in an English teacher resume:
  • Community involvement/ volunteer work
  • Art
  • Traveling
  • Research and blogging
  • Learning foreign languages
  • Reading
  • Listening/making music
  • Marketing
  • Podcasting
  • Collecting
  • Gaming and sports
  • Childcare
  • Photography
💡 Pro Tip: To save time when including your interests and hobbies in a resume, find out what you enjoy doing and focus more on its unique aspects. Also, be honest and avoid listing anything generic but instead be more specific. If you love reading, be more specific on the type of books you love reading.

CORRECT
  • Reading romantic novels
  • Traveling: I have traveled to more than ten countries
  • Collecting: Collect rare antiques and stamps
  • Learning languages: Have a mastery of Japanese, French, Italian

INCORRECT
  • Reading
  • Blogging
  • Music

How to List Hobbies and Interests in Your Resume
  • List up to 5 interests and hobbies that are relevant.
  • You don’t have to be creative but simply focus on the unique aspect of the interest or hobby.
  • Be as specific as possible.
  • Title the section as Interests & Hobbies. Do not separate them as this will take up much space.
  • Mention the list at the bottom of your resume and remember: it’s optional to include your interests.

Tips to Optimize Your English Teacher Resume

A poorly written resume will not get you through an interview. Your potential employer will use your resume to judge whether you are a good fit for the job. Here are effective tips for writing a good English teacher resume.

  • Take the time to carefully craft your resume, ensuring that it is relevant to the position you are applying for.
  • Research the keywords in job postings to know what kind of candidate the employer is looking for.
  • Be honest in your resume and avoid being generic at all costs. Hiring managers have probably seen the same things repeated by other candidates, which will only lower your chances of getting an interview.
  • Always use a professional font.
  • List your accomplishments and how you can solve the hiring company.
  • Format your resume appropriately. Use a logical format, font, and bullet points to highlight important aspects.
  • Research the internet to get the right English teacher resume template to use.
How to Improve Your English Teacher Resume - No copyright

Summary: Make an English Teacher Resume Masterfully

All said and done, your English teacher resume should be easy to read, highlight your relevant experience, and summarize your skills and accomplishments. As shown in the English teacher resume sample above, it should be conscious and to the point.

Before submitting your resume, ensure that you have included all essential information, including your contact information, header, professional summary/objective, work experience, education, and skills.

Once you have written your resume, take the time to proofread and edit and ensure no grammar or spelling mistakes. You can also use a third party to polish your resume.

And, don’t forget to try our resume builder and templates to have your resume done in a matter of minutes.

Complement Your Resume with a Cover Letter

Yes, it is good to include a teacher cover letter with your resume as it gives you the chance to showcase your skills and experience to your prospective employer. It is your chance to explain why you are best suited for the job, which can make your English teacher resume noticed. Here are more cover letter examples worth checking out.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most common mistake on the English teacher's resume?

A common mistake that most people make is being too general in the resume. A good resume should be personalized and quantify what you can do. Also, it is best to avoid jargon words as this will only render your resume difficult to read.

What career opportunities are there for English teachers?

English teachers can find job opportunities in public and private schools in the US. If you have an advanced degree, you could land a job in a college or university. Alternatively, you can find English teaching jobs overseas, where the demand for English teachers is high.

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