
35+ Successful Cover Letter Tips & Advice (With Examples)
Cover letter writing tips—sure to turn any boring letter into something employers want to read.
Convey your exeptional teaching skills and achievements to the high school principal with the perfect resume. Follow our tips and nail that interview.
You might be as cool as Michelle Pfeiffer's character in Dangerous Minds, but wearing a leather jacket to work might not be enough to gain the respect of a high school principal. You need to prove you have the credentials, knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to control and train those fantastic beasts, a.k.a. students.
I get it, you're not excited about writing a resume when you have stacks of tests to mark, reports to write, and lessons to prepare. Paper, paper, paper, that's all you can see. But your high school teacher resume is the key to landing that dream teaching job.
This guide will show you:
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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume samples here.
See other helpful guides for the teaching positions:
Nicole Goodman
High School Teacher
nicole.goodman@email.us
564-875-2996
linkedin.com/in/nicolesgoodman
Passionate high school teacher of Chemistry with 4+ years of experience in teaching high school students, along with introducing state curriculum and introducing standardized testing. Proficient in AP exam preparation procedures. At Louis Pasteur High School in Chicago, implemented AP Chemistry curriculum and helped 43 out of 50 AP students receive 3 or a better score on the AP Chemistry exam. Sensitive towards adolescent students needs, continuously ensured social and emotional student development.
High School Teacher—Chemistry
Louis Pasteur High School, Chicago, IL
September 2015–July 2018
Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Key Achievements
Student High School Teacher—Chemistry
North Bridge High School, Chicago, IL
September 2014–July 2015
Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Key Achievements
2010–2013 BA, Comprehensive General Chemistry
University of Chicago
Here’s how to write a high school teacher resume that proves you’re the perfect candidate for this position.
Busy curriculum, tests, homework assignments, and most of all 30 teens in the classroom—
To manage all these you need to keep things in order.
Same applies to your high school teacher resume—the proper resume format keeps all sections organized and easy to follow.
Here’s how to format your high school teacher resume in a thoughtful way:
Imagine the principal’s office:
She’s snowed under with papers. Her inbox is full. And there’s a line of students waiting for her in the corridor.
There’s no time to waste. You need to get her attention quickly.
How to do this?
By writing a great professional profile for your high school teacher resume.
It can be either a resume summary, or resume objective.
Here’s the difference between the two:
If you teach for more than 2 years, write a resume summary. It focuses on your professional experience and highlights your accomplishments.
If you’re a beginner teacher or you don't have any teaching experience, go for a resume objective. It will help you present your skills and show your motivation to work in this place and no other.
Pro Tip: No matter if you’re a math or English teacher—putting numbers on a resume is always a good idea. If possible, make your teaching achievements quantifiable.
Following the predictions of The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of high school teaching jobs is going to grow by 8% until 2026.
Higher demand? It also means high competition.
That’s why—it does matter how you describe your work experience on a resume.
Do your homework first and tailor your resume to the job description.
Plus follow these tips on how to write a great resume experience section:
Pro Tip: Describe your responsibilities in a way that also promotes your skills. E.g. “Organized weekly field trips to cultural institutions for up to 30 students.” It’s a great way to show that you’re a class management pro.
Education requirements for high school teachers vary from state to state, but they’re huge.
To convince the principal that you’re capable of explaining some abstract concepts to young adults—
You also need a convincing resume education section.
Here’s how to write one:
Pro Tip: In the education sector—certifications and licenses matter. If you haven’t completed a traditional teacher preparation program yet, you can always choose alternative licensure.
Kaywanda Lamb, a non-traditional education major and high school teacher of Spanish, with 14 years of experience, says:
You know how to explain the intricacies of geometry and how to make magnesium burn.
Hard skills and solid subject knowledge are a must when applying for teaching positions.
But—
Take it Stars Hollow or Chilton, all high schools are full of drama. Love stories, heart breaks, big dilemmas, and big life choices.
To handle all these—you need to be a coach and a friend. And have plenty of soft skills in place.
Use the list below to choose your key high school teacher skills:
Pro Tip: The list of skills is a great occasion to include some keywords to your resume. Read the job description closely and select the skills they’re looking for. Resume keywords will be recognized by ATS software.
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.
When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.
If you want to get some extra points on the test—
Consider adding one of the following sections to your high school teacher resume:
Pro Tip: To teach in a public high school you need a licensure. But state certificate is not the only relevant certificate. Did you attend any psychology courses or maybe you’re a licensed social worker? Add such details to your high school teacher resume.
If you ask yourself a question: do I need to send a cover letter?
The answer is yes!
For most of school principals, a resume is not enough. Show them that you care and write a high school teacher letter that makes a difference.
Here’s how:
Pro Tip: You’ve sent your cover letter and don’t know how to proceed? Follow up on your job application. This will show the school principal that you really care.
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
And here’s how you write a job winning resume for a high school teacher!
Are you writing your high school teacher resume for the first time? Or perhaps you’re a teaching veteran ready for a career change? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Cover letter writing tips—sure to turn any boring letter into something employers want to read.
Employability is the ability to gain and maintain employment. You need a certain set of skills and personality traits, and proper education to be able to find a job and meet its requirements.
Interview coming up, and you just don’t know what to expect? Here’s a compilation of the most common interview questions that you might hear and how to answer them.