Resume vs CV: What’s The Difference & Does it Matter?
Resume vs CV. The ultimate job-hunting battle royale. Are these two contenders evenly matched? Who'll claim victory in this epic bout? You’re about to find out!
As a teaching assistant, you’re used to providing one on one support to students. With your help they can reach their full potential but now it’s time for you to get something back. You’re about to get expert one on one support to reach your full potential in your search for the best TA jobs.
And the lesson we’ll explore together is how to write a job-winning teaching assistant cover letter. We’ve even got a sample cover letter for teaching assistant jobs that you can adapt and use to write your own.
Let’s get the lesson started.
Want to write your cover letter fast? Use our cover letter builder. Choose from 20+ professional cover letter templates that match your CV. See actionable examples and get expert tips along the way.
Teaching Assistant Cover Letter for a CV—See more cover letter templates and create your cover letter here.
Teaching Assistant Cover Letter Example
Rina Tozzi
65 New Farm Close
London
N11 3RT
6th July 2020
Timothy Perkins
Head Teacher
The Beeches School
20 Fortnum Road
London
N17 6DW
Dear Mr Perkins,
As a passionate advocate for supporting the needs of children with learning disabilities I was delighted to see an opening for the role of SEN teaching assistant at The Beeches. It would be an incredible opportunity to be able to use my calm, outcome focussed approach to help maximise your students’ learning outcomes.
By offering support individualised to the needs of each student I have helped provide support to five students with learning difficulties this year alone in my current role. All of them have had improvements in behaviour and engagement and improved their test results by a minimum of 10% each. I pride myself on working with parents and teaching colleagues to achieve the best learning results for each student I work with.
I am aware of The Beeches’ reputation for excellence with a series of ‘Outstanding’ assessments from Ofsted and a special mention of the stellar support given to SEN students. I would be proud to further develop my skills in such an environment and learn from the best practice you have developed.
Thank you for taking the time to review my application. I’d be happy to speak to you at your convenience so we can discuss how my calm, level-headed approach is particularly effective in assisting students with behavioural issues.
Yours sincerely,
Rina Tozzi
You’ve just seen a great cover letter sample for teaching assistant jobs, and next you’ll get a step-by-step guide to write your own. But remember—
Every good teaching assistant cover letter needs a teaching assistant CV to pair with, and we’ve got a writing guide for it here: Teaching Assistant CV Example & Writing Guide
And we’ve got a great selection of cover letter guides for other jobs too.
- Sales Assistant Cover Letter Example & Guide
- Retail Cover Letter Example & Guide
- Cover Letter for an Internship Example & Guide
- Graduate Cover Letter Example & Guide
- Speculative Cover Letter Example & Guide
- Motivation Letter Example & Guide
- Career Change Cover Letter Example & Guide
- Customer Service Cover Letter Example & Guide
- Graphic Design Cover Letter Example & Guide
- Consulting Cover Letter Example & Guide
- Architecture Cover Letter Example & Guide
Cover Letter Template for a Teaching Assistant
Now here’s how to write a cover letter for teaching assistant positions.
1. Begin With a Neatly Arranged Cover Letter Format
The secret of an efficient classroom is planning and preparation. A well-organised lesson plan is a must. It’s the same when writing a cover letter, careful planning and preparation gives you the best end result. Here’s how to ensure your cover letter is as well planned as your lessons.
- Use a cover letter template that matches your CV. Spacing should be single or 1.15 and you need to have one-inch margins on all sides of the page.
- Choose an easy-to-read font, the best fonts for a CV are perfect for cover letters too. We’d recommend a sans serif font as they’ve been proven to be easier to read when displayed on a screen. Calibri, Tahoma and Verdana all look great.
- And keep the best cover letter length in mind. You should never exceed one page.
Read more: How to Create The Perfect Cover Letter Format
2. Write Your Teaching Assistant Cover Letter Header
This is the very first part of your cover letter and it needs to follow standard UK business letter rules. A little attention to detail will ensure you’ve got it right. Here’s what to do.
- Get the cover letter address right. Put your personal details first, making sure the text is right-aligned. Then leave a space and write the date, using the proper format e.g. 7th July 2020.
- Then you need to change to left alignment and write the hiring manager’s personal details, and do try to find out their name and use it.
And finding out the hiring manager’s name is genuinely important. Using ‘To Whom it May Concern’ is impersonal and outdated. If you use the hiring manager’s name though you’ll instantly activate their brain and make them pay more attention to your letter. Just phone the school and find out who’s responsible for reviewing TA applications.
Read more: How to Address a Cover Letter
3. Start the Lesson With a Personal Greeting and an Impressive First Paragraph
Think of hiring managers as an unruly group of pupils, you’ve got to work hard to grab their attention right at the outset of the lesson. Or in this case, the first paragraph of your teaching assistant cover letter. Here’s how to do it.
- Use the standard formal letter greeting. ‘Dear [Hiring Manager’s Name]’ or ‘Dear Hiring Manager’ if you don’t know their name.
- Name the role you’re applying for in your first sentence, this makes your intentions clear and shows you’ve gone to the effort to target your cover letter to the job.
- And then, include a hook to impress the hiring manager. Mention an impressive professional accomplishment that shows your abilities as a TA and you’ll be sure of having their attention.
Read more: How to Write Your Cover Letter Opening
4. Show That You’re the Perfect Candidate in Your Teaching Assistant Cover Letter
Next, reinforce what you’ve already taught the hiring manager. Use the second paragraph to add even more proof of your expertise as a teaching assistant.
- Before you write this paragraph, plan it as thoroughly as a good lesson. Do your research by reading the job advert and noting all of the experience and skills it mentions.
- Then pitch your own experience and accomplishments to match with what the job requires. Make it even more convincing by using numbered achievements and accomplishment statements to structure your sentences.
Read more: 14+ Job-Winning Cover Letter Tips
5. Show How Much You Want the Job
The third paragraph is where you need to show why you want this teaching assistant job at this school. It’s especially important to show passion for the career when you’re writing a teaching assistant cover letter with no experience. It shows you’ll be an enthusiastic and committed learner in your new career. Here’s how to do it.
- Show your enthusiasm and energy by researching the employer and finding out something positive about them that has inspired you to want to be part of the team.
- And mention how you can help to solve their challenges and contribute to their future growth.
Read more: Cover Letter Structure: All the Essential Parts to Include
6. End With a Call to Action and Say Thank You
It’s almost time for the bell to ring, but we need to keep up the pace with our last paragraph. Time to make sure our student doesn’t forget a single thing they’ve been taught. Here’s how to end the lesson properly.
- Increase your chances of an interview with a call to action. All you need to do is ask the hiring manager to get in touch with you so you can discuss the TA role further.
- Say thank you too. Apart from being good manners, gratitude has been proven to be the ‘social glue’ that strengthens relationships. The end result is that the hiring manager will view your application more favourably if you simply say thank you.
- You can add another professional achievement here to help seal the deal, or for a teaching assistant cover letter with no experience you could mention your career goals.
- And you really don’t have to say ‘please find attached my CV’.
Read more: How to Finish a Cover Letter
7. Sign Off in Style
And last of all, your teaching assistant cover letter sign-off. Again, follow standard UK business letter formatting and you’ll be set.
- Put your full name in your sign-off and add a digital copy of your handwritten signature.
- Sign off with ‘Yours sincerely’ if you used the hiring manager’s name and ‘Yours faithfully’ if your letter was addressed anonymously.
- And include your contact details in your signature if your cover letter is being sent as the body of an email.
If you’d like a more comprehensive guide to writing your cover letter, then read more here: How to Write Your Cover Letter: Complete Guide
And now that you’ve just written the perfect cover letter, make sure you write the perfect CV to accompany it.
When making a CV in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your CV here.
When you’re done, Zety’s CV builder will score your CV and tell you exactly how to make it better.
Class dismissed! Thanks for reading. If you’d like advice for specialist areas such as writing a cover letter for special needs teaching assistant jobs then please ask in the comments section. Anything at all, please ask and I’ll be happy to help.
