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Your CV is a document that contains all relevant information about you, your work history, and your skill set. Remember, although its primary function is to deliver content about you and your past, it is also a reflection of who you are and what you are like in the classroom. It should be neat, well set-out, well-written and clear, demonstrate good IT skills and not exceed two pages. Although there may be a lot that you want to say about who you are and what you have done, recruiters often trawl through hundreds of CVs in a day. Ones that are visually attractive and concise are far more likely to attract their attention…
Many candidates attach a photo of themselves. If you do, please use one that portrays you in a professional capacity (not one having fun at a party)!
At the start of your CV, be sure to include your personal and contact information. Whilst there are reasons why people prefer not to disclose age (and this is fine), some countries place age restrictions on work permits (55 in Qatar for example). For this reason, we do advise that you include your date of birth – so that recruiters can rule you in or out quickly and nobody’s time is wasted. The “personal” section of the CV should include contact details, specify whether you are married and have children (if so what age if they will be accompanying you), and your nationality.
After this, some people like to include a “profile” or “Teaching Philosophy” section – saying a little about who they are as an educator, what they believe, what their skill set is and what they have achieved. This is not necessary but is becoming more common on CVs.
Next should come your work history, starting with the most recent. Be sure to outline your current responsibilities in this section and highlight any major achievements here if you like. List other positions you have had in reverse chronological order going backwards from today. Please make sure that the work history is seamless, and if there are gaps between positions, explain why and what you were doing.
Following this, please give your qualifications. Your degree and post-graduate studies are important, as well as any leadership-related or professional qualifications you may have. A- level / Scottish Higher / Irish Leaving Certificate or equivalent results are not as important as your degree and are not necessary to include (although you might wish to, and that’s perfectly fine). Do not include anything below this level.
Although it is not necessary, you might like to include a list of recent professional development you have undertaken. It demonstrates your ongoing desire to learn, to keep professionally updated and to improve as a practitioner. Equally it can serve to show that you are preparing yourself for leadership opportunities in the future.
Please list your interests. A recruiter will want to know that you have hobbies, perhaps figure out if other staff have the same interests, or gage whether you will be able to pursue them “in country” – as well as just knowing that you are an interesting person and have something to talk about and do other than work
Finally, please list three referees. Do remember to ask referees in advance if they mind being contacted by recruiters. This process is a little circumvented by the Search Associates site as we ask for confidential references for you. However, we do recommend that names and contact numbers are additionally included on your CV as a matter of good practice.
Some more “modern-looking” CVs have “sidebars” with relevant information / quotes etc included. They look good and can be eye-catching if you have the skills to create one. Additionally, a number of teachers today develop their own websites* or web-based portfolios – including QR codes as links in their CVs. These can provide access to a broader spectrum of information about you and your teaching (perhaps offering video links to you teaching or showing photos of trips or classes). They are not necessary and can be incredibly time-consuming to do well. However, if you do take the time and have the skill to include this, it will speak to your technical proficiency and perhaps the time and skill you might put into such things at school and with children…
*Please note, for reasons of child protection and personal liability, please do not video scenes of children in your classes for your online portfolio or website.
There are a number of sites that allow you to download CV templates for free (including Microsoft 365 and Canva). Please see our Exemplar CVs here to give you an idea of what your CV could look like, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. You can spend an eternity seeking excellence with your CV. Please don’t get too wrapped up in making it perfect or giving it all the bells and whistles. Make sure it looks good, is well- written, has been carefully checked for spelling and grammar, contains everything it needs to and move on…
