French Teacher Resume | How to Write a Brilliant CV

The International Federation of French Teachers in France states there are over 80,000 registered French teachers in the world.

If you’re just another French language teacher, competing for a well-paid position would be tough. Your school or institution needs someone who can solve their problems.

Throughout this article, we'll show you how to write a professional resume for French teacher jobs that convinces the hiring manager that you can meet their needs.

Even if you have little or no experience teaching French, we've got you covered. Keep on reading!

Need more examples and inspiration to write your teacher resume?

Take a look at these:

• Substitute teacher resume
• Resume for experienced teachers

If you’re in a hurry to create and send your French teacher resume to the next prospective employer, check out our ready-to-fill resume templates used by French teachers across the globe to land high-quality teaching jobs.

Salary & Employment Rates for French Teachers

Based on their experience, education, and preferences, a French teacher might be in different career stages:

• The average salary of a high school teacher in the USA is $50,000/ year
• The average salary of an elementary school teacher in the USA is $47,000/ year
• The average salary of a secondary school teacher in the USA is $49,000/ year

(Data provided by Payscale)

Notice that there are only minor differences based on who you teach. Most pay variations for teachers come with their experience and their involvement in curriculum development.

The perfect resume will help you demand what you're worth.

How to Make a French Teacher Resume

Writing a French teacher’s resume is no different than writing any teacher's resume. Here are some general guidelines to keep in mind while writing it.

• Keep your resume to one page.
• Write to the point: short and clear.
• Note down the keywords from the job description.
• Identify and prioritize your strengths.
• Use a standard layout and a format.

Education institutions receive thousands of job applications daily for advertised positions through different sources such as social media (LinkedIn), direct email, official websites, and recruitment agencies.

Before these applications reach the hiring managers, they go through an AI-based software called applicant tracking system (ATS) that checks your resume for keyword heaviness.

Shortlisted resumes go to the hiring manager. On average, a hiring manager spends less than 10 seconds reading a resume and that’s the time you have got to make a good impression.

If you fail, your resume will end up in the trash like most other resumes.

This article shows you how to write a French teacher resume better than 95% of the applications your hiring manager receives. We start with the layout and the format.

French Teacher Resume, Layout, Format, and Structure

If you have ever worked on developing a course schedule, then you know how important it is to develop a plan before you start: it will save you days of work and rework.

Similarly, we recommend that you begin by defining the format and layout of your resume.

In the layout, you should plan the resume: define the headings, subheadings, and content. A good layout will save you a lot of time while making sure all important information is included in the resume.

Here’s what we recommend for a French teacher resume:

• Header: name and contact information
• Professional summary/ objective summary
• Work experience
• Education
• Skills
• Additional sections: certifications, languages, interests

The resume format is the way you’re going to fill the resume. Based on how you write the experience section of the resume, there are 3 standard formats:

• Functional (skill-based): emphasizes relevant skills. Previous experience is listed based on the demonstrated skills.
• Reverse Chronological (traditional): most recent experience is given the priority while rest of the work experience is listed in reverse chronological order.
• Hybrid (combination resume): a mix of functional and reverse chronological formats.

For the resume of a French teacher, we recommend using the reverse-chronological format to list your work experience. Thus, your hiring manager can review your most recent or current employment first.

Here are a couple of tips to further structure your resume:

• Create your resume in both PDF and MS Word formats. Check the job description (JD) to see what format the recruiter expects.
• Maintain consistent margins throughout the resume. Depending on how they can fit all on one page, 1 inch from each side is recommended.
• Define the fonts you’re using and their sizes for headings, sub-headings, and body text

Use our ready-to-fill resume templates to create a great resume in ten minutes for your next French Teaching job.

The Header & Contact Information

The header of a resume is used to state your name and contact information. Despite its simplicity, this section is important because it contains the information that will allow them to contact you again.

Stuffing the header with unnecessary information will lead to creating a bad first impression for your resume: which most applicants do.

A good & a bad header

💡 CORRECT

Malisa Lawrence

French teacher

malisalaw@gmail.com

+1 244 26 34 77

https://www.linkedin.com/in/malisalaw

🛑 INCORRECT

French teacher

Malisa Lawrence

malisa@oise.com

+1 244 26 34 77

101, main street, apt 35,

Washington DC

USA

Follow these tips to create a great first impression with your header:

• State the first name and the last name.
• State your job title in the current job.
• Write a professional email: avoid your work email.
• Put your contact number: ideally your mobile number.
• No need to state the physical address if they didn't ask for it.
• Put the link to your updated LinkedIn profile/ portfolio.

Describe Your Experience Teaching French

Your experience section is undoubtedly the most important section of your French teacher resume. It is what the first thing hiring managers look at.

Also, the main reason we write our experience in reverse chronological order is so the hiring manager can find the latest experience quickly.

We are going to show you how to write a natural but keyword-heavy experience section to get past the ATS and the recruiter to get as many calls as possible.

Example for Substitute Teachers

INCORRECT

Aug 2017 to Present

EFI language center, Paris, France

• Prepared out presentations
• Conducted classes in the absence of the usual teacher
• Maintaining compliance
• Update class records completely
• Instruct students
• Prepared student progress reports
• Taught both high school students and grade school students
• Helped individual students to understand difficult language principles

CORRECT

Aug 2017 to Present

EFI language center, Paris, France

• Conducted French classes in absence of the teacher: due to the usual teacher’s maternity leave, conducted the elementary French class for 6 months straight
• Analyzed the learning outcomes and prepared learning materials
• Checked and updated classroom records of 50+ students every semester
• Taught the French culture together with the French way of living to make the learning experience interesting for students

Note down the keywords (the requirements) from the job description and write your experience around them even if your experience is not a solid teaching experience in a recognized institution.

Use numbers to add credibility to your statements.

Describe how you dealt with problems in the classroom environment, maintained relationships with children, and your willingness to learn and grow.

Also, check out how to write a resume for a substitute teacher step by step.

Regardless of how many years of experience you have as a French teacher, if you do not understand the recruiter's requirements and do not write a perfect experience section, your chances of landing a well-paying job are slim.

That brings us to another point: even without having much experience, you can land your dream French teacher job by correctly writing your resume experience section.

Example for Experienced French Teachers

INCORRECT

Aug 2015 to Present

French Language School, France

• Preparation of course materials
• Conducted classes
• Checked the test results
• Updated individual class records
• Communicated with parents
• Taught advanced students

CORRECT

Aug 2015 to Present

French Language School, France

• Conducted 4 secondary and 2 advanced language classes in the last 2 years
• Developed individualized study programs for 30+ students who had difficulties in the language tests
• Created a positive learning environment by inspiring students to research the French culture
• Designed language acquisition strategies for secondary and advanced level students and early second language acquisition strategies for elementary level immigrant students
• Introduced a student learning management and knowledge sharing system

If you have solid teaching experience as a French teacher, you should exploit it to the maximum.

Use keywords together with numbers. Describe your achievements as a teacher, the awards and recognition you received.

Include Your Education

This is another section recruiters look into in your resume. A mistake candidates make here is writing long paragraphs describing education. This section should be short and simple to understand.

Use a consistent format to put your education in the resume. You can use a simple format like this:

CORRECT

Degree, specialization, years

Institution, location

Main learning outcomes

GPA (if greater than 3.0)

You can further shorten this section by cutting down the learning outcomes. It depends on how much emphasis the recruiter has put on education. If they are strict about your educational qualifications in the JD, expand them.

Education

Best Skills for a French Teacher on The Resume

Most candidates use this section as a filler. However, this section has a meaning.

Anyone can write a set of generic skills in their resume because no one can measure them, especially the soft skills. Hiring managers obviously know this. Nevertheless, they will want to see at least if you have identified the skills necessary to be successful in the role.

Therefore, don’t ignore this section. Write a mix of soft skills and hard skills you believe are necessary to succeed in the position. Many of these are outlined in the job description.

Soft Skills:

• Effective communication in both French and English
• Analytical skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Ability to get along with children
• Presentation skills
• Teamwork
• Problem-solving
• Leadership and management skills

Hard Skills:

• Modern linguistic teaching methods
• MS Office
• Database management
• Classroom management techniques
• Project management

Professional Summary for a French Language Teacher

The professional summary is your sales pitch on the French teacher's resume. It is a couple of sentences that attract potential recruiters to read the rest of the resume.

It’s like the about section, or the bio in your LinkedIn: the summary of your experience, core qualifications, and achievements.

Check out the following example:

CORRECT

Energetic French teacher with 5+ years of experience seeks to join the French International School in California to continue providing a professional French learning experience to the students. Being an adaptable French teacher in my last job, I accepted the challenge to start a French language class for working students, completed with a 95% course success rate.

INCORRECT

As an experienced French teacher, I would like to join the French School in California to become a professional French language teacher

The first paragraph starts with an adjective describing you. Then your experience and how you could be a great choice for a future employer.

The second paragraph states how you helped the previous/ current employer for success together with your achievements. The use of numbers makes it extra appealing.

Ideally, you should write different professional summaries for different jobs.

Professional Objective

A professional objective is no different than a professional summary. If you are applying for an entry-level job without having much experience or you’re in a career transition, you should consider writing a professional objective.

The style and the format for a professional summary and the objective summary are pretty much the same.

In the objective summary, instead of emphasizing your expertise, highlight your enthusiasm in the role and the employer.

Additional Sections for Your French Teacher Resume

We generally use additional sections in a resume to provide a pleasant surprise to the hiring manager.

This is especially useful when the hiring manager is almost ready to shortlist your resume, but he needs a little nudge.

Also, if there is a particular skill certification that could put you at the top of the list, you could place it in a separate section for more exposure.

French teacher resumes may list computer skills and certifications, languages, and interests. Make sure the information you include is relevant. You should not include them in your resume if they are not, as that would do more harm than good.

Computing Skills & Certifications

Teachers these days need to deal with many software and systems in schools. Here’s some of them:

• MS Office
• Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Moodle
• Internet literacy

If you have completed courses in relevant software and tools or if you have worked with them previously, let the recruiter know.

Certificates are industry-specific. For example, if you have obtained a French teaching certificate from an authorized body, that would take your resume to the top of the list.

Make sure you list such certificates separately or bold them for more visibility. You shouldn’t let the hiring manager miss that.

Languages

There’s no other job where the language section is more important than a French teacher.

You should be fluent in French. Also if the students speak English, you should be well-versed in the language.

Having fluency in more languages would be to your advantage here. For example, if you’re proficient in German and Spanish, you could be in use in the absence of a teacher for those classes.

You should state the levels of fluency in each language for the recruiter to have a clear picture.

A simple guide to state your language proficiency levels is as follows:

• Elementary proficiency
• Limited working proficiency.
• Professional working proficiency.
• Full professional proficiency.
• Native / bilingual proficiency.

Interests

You should state your interests only if they add value to your profession as a French teacher.

Your interests convey a message about you and your personality.

If the recruiter is looking for an active character with an outgoing personality and is dedicated to learning and growing, your interests should communicate that.

Interests

Tips to Improve Your French Teacher Resume

Now we have given you the steps to create your next incredible French teacher resume. Be sure to apply for the highest-paying jobs available. To further optimize your resume, consider these pro-tips:

• If you haven’t got a professional French teaching certificate valid in your market, consider applying for one.
• A grammar mistake could ruin your resume and all your efforts: make sure you proofread with a tool like Grammarly.
• Remove all unnecessary information from your resume. Keep it to one page.

French Teacher Resume Summary

• Start your resume with the header: include name and contact information
• List your experiences in reverse chronological order. Write a keyword-heavy experience section
• Your summary is the hook of your resume; in two sentences, describe your skills, experience, and expertise
• Describe your education and learning outcomes relevant to the job: keep this section short
• Compose a combination of soft skills and hard skills; give priority to the hard skills
• Include skill certifications, interests, and languages as separate sections to make a pleasant surprise for the hiring manager. Ensure that all information is relevant and adds value.

Get More and Better Opportunities with a Cover letter

A cover letter is where you talk directly to the employer/ recruiter. This is where you communicate how you would be a great hire for them.

Writing a cover letter from the beginning is a tedious process. If you’re looking for cover letter ideas, check out these cover letter templates and how to write a cover letter for a teacher.

Your French teacher cover letter should be a short one. No recruiter has time to read pages of long cover letters.

In three paragraphs, describe how you can help the recruiter, tell the recruiter how you have already solved similar problems for your current employer, and explain why you are interested in the position and company/institution.

It’s pretty much the extended version of your professional summary.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a French teacher resume and an English teacher resume?

For any language teacher’s resume, the layout, format, and structure would be the same.

The difference comes from the content. Apart from the language they teach, most teaching jobs come with the same set of responsibilities and job duties.

Do French teachers get paid more than the other teachers?

While teacher salaries vary based on experience and what a teacher contributes to the institution, they are generally standard in many countries.

Teachers with more experience manage the institutions, design courses, and curriculums, and even hold senior management positions while teaching. They earn more than the average teacher.

More Resumes, More Opportunities