Prepare Your CV/Résumé

This guide has been designed to help you to prepare your CV. Included are some general tips and guidelines as well as some minimum standards, which will ensure you make the best possible impression on a potential UK employer.

Your CV will be a very personal document, the details, language used, presentation and layout is all up to you. However, we recommend that you use the guidance notes here to ensure that your CV is 'fit for purpose'.

Practical tips

• It should be a maximum of 3 pages.
• No spelling mistakes!
• Pages should be printed on one side only, and on white paper
• Clean and neat, free of pictures, text, or graphics

Your CV must also include the following standard details:

Personal Details

You should indicate only the following personal details:

• Name
• Address
• Usual contact details
• Address
• Telephone/ Fax Numbers (home, work, mobile)
• Email
• Date and place of birth
• Nationality/ Citizenship
• Qualifications

You must include the following details about your teaching qualifications as well as any other tertiary level diplomas you have been awarded.

• The title of the qualification you received (i.e. Diploma of Education)
• Any additional information about each qualification (i.e. Honours/General, 2:1/2:2, specialization in pre-primary, primary or secondary)
• The date, both the month and year, that you began and completed each qualification
• The name of the institution that awarded you the qualification

Employment History

This is perhaps one of the most important sections of your CV. Your work history should be set out chronologically with your current or last employer listed first. Newly qualified teachers should include their teaching placement within this section.

You must include the following details regarding your previous roles:

• The name of the institution in which you were employed
• The ages of the students and subjects you taught
• The dates, both months and years, that you were employed in each institution

You should also include details that will add to an employer's understanding of your work history. Although details on non-teaching work should be kept to a minimum:

• Any additional responsibilities you had in each post (i.e. extra curricular participation, management roles, administrative roles, attending parent evenings)
• Experience working with students with special needs and be specific (i.e. detail the type and severity of special needs)
• Experience you have had with students that speak English as a second language
• Average number of students taught per class
• Experience of team teaching or team planning.
• Other experiences as part of school life (i.e. implementation of special programmes, involvement in parent teacher organizations, drug programmes, breakfast programmes, inclusion policies, anti drug policy, behaviour codes)

Relevant Volunteer Experience

Elaborate on any volunteer experience that has enriched your professional ability as a teacher. Note the institution or organization in which you volunteered, the dates, as well as your role and responsibilities. This is an excellent section for newly qualified teachers to add detail to their background.

Additional Training/ Awards/ Experience

Add any additional brief details that you feel would further reflect your experience as a professional. This section also gives you the opportunity to personalise your CV by adding special details about your skills (i.e. languages), knowledge, or recognitions. You should keep these details brief and to the point.

References

We require professional referees to cover the last five years. Newly qualified teachers may nominate a professor and/or a teacher that supervised their practical placements or academic study. You may provide us with open testimonial letters or for newly qualified teachers, practicum assessments. For each referee you nominate (including those which composed an open testimonial) we will require some further details including:

• Name of referee
• Position
• Postal Address
• Telephone contact
• Fax
• Email

The personal statement is an opportunity for you to introduce further personal details as well as elaborate on your teaching experience. This should be no longer than three paragraphs and may include comment in the following areas:

1. A brief statement of what you feel about your role as a teacher

• Why have you chosen to teach?
• What are your perceptions of your role in the classroom?
• What type of teacher are you?
• What type of teaching methodologies do you use?
• What strategies do you adopt for different types of learners?
• What classroom management strategies do you employ (i.e. behaviour strategies)?
  
• A description of the types of schools you have worked in.
• Have you worked in particularly challenging schools?
• Were the schools in underprivileged or poor economic areas?
• Was the student population culturally or ethnically diverse?
• Was there a high percentage of students with special needs or students requiring additional support due to language barriers?
• Was the school placed under any special measures by the education authority?
• Do you have any international teaching experience?
• How has this added to your knowledge, understanding, skills, and interest in teaching?
• Choosing the UK to further your career. You may find detail of the UK National Curriculum helpful so that you can compose your personal statement: www.nc.uk.net
• Why are you interested in teaching in the UK?
• How will the knowledge and experience you have gained as a teacher assist you in UK schools?
• How does your experience contrast to what you know or what you expect of teaching in the UK?