As the author of Proven Resumes: Strategies That Have
Increased Salaries, which has been used and proven highly effective by
over 2 million job seekers, hundreds of employment security, workforce
and college programs
(click here to read dozens of client and career professional
testimonials), I've used all of the techniques presented in
that book to create Proven Resumes
& Cover Letters for Teachers ... That Double & Triple
Interview Rates!
A big mistake teachers make when writing their resumes, is not knowing
what skills, experience and achievements schools are seeking.
Most teachers just sit down, with little forethought, and begin
describing their work experience or copy sections of other teacher
resumes that sound good. Then they pass their resume around
having others, sometimes even professionals like HR Directors or
principals, look at their resumes and give it the seal of approval.
However, many teachers are very disappointed, after much feedback and
many revisions, that the resumes they mail for dozens and even hundreds
of teaching positions generate few if any calls for
interviews. In contrast, by learning how to follow these
simple steps in analyzing teacher job ads you can learn how to create a
powerful teaching resume that can increase your calls for interviews by
10%-100%! I have many client success stories that describe
sending out 10 resumes and getting 10 calls for interviews.
While that may sound fantastic .. the light bulb will go on when you
realize why your teacher resume is not working.
To write
Proven Resumes & Cover Letters for Teachers ... That Double
& Triple Interview Rates!,
I gathered 50 ads for elementary teacher jobs and in doing that
identified 18 skill categories that were not only requested
repetitively in Elementary Teacher job ads but were also requested in
all teacher job ads. I found the base of skills requested in
those 50 job ads are transferable across all teaching categories
whether for elementary or adult classes or for specific coursework such
as High School Chemistry or Adult ESL Teachers. So, if you
are
searching for a way to improve your teaching resume, then I recommend
you consider buying Proven Resumes
& Cover Letters for Teachers ... and follow
the examples for analyzing job ads to compile your own highly
customized list of skills needed for the teaching jobs you want.
Now, let's review an
abbreviated version of an Elementary Teacher job ad from Proven Resumes
& Cover Letters for Teachers ... That Double & Triple
Interview Rates. BEFORE YOU SCROLL DOWN,
read through the ad and on a piece of paper make a list of what you
feel would be the top 4-6 skills to address in a cover letter for this
job ad. REALLY,
YOU'LL LEARN MORE if you take the time to do
this before reading on.
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BEGINNING OF
ELEMENTARY JOB AD
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Elementary
Classroom Teacher: 1-6
_______________________________________
DESCRIPTION
OF POSITION
Westlake Elementary seeks an experienced elementary teacher. Key
responsibility will be providing an educational program for pupils in
grades 1-6, or a combination thereof, and assisting in other school
programs as assigned.
MAJOR
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Prefer an experienced teacher with proven ability to instruct pupils
in citizenship, basic communication skills, and other course of study
as specified by state law, administrative regulations and procedures of
the school district.
- You will teach reading, language arts, social studies, mathematics,
science, health, art, physical education, and music to students and
utilize assigned course of study.
- On a daily and weekly basis, you will develop lesson plans and
instructional materials and provide individualized and small group
instruction to adapt curriculum to the needs of each pupil.
- To
ensure highest academic standards are attained, it is essential that
you evaluate pupils' academic and social growth, maintain appropriate
records and progress reports, and communicate regularly with parents
regarding each student's progress. Experience administering group
standardized tests in accordance with district testing program is
preferred.
- Following school classroom decorative guidelines you will create a
functional and attractive environment for learning through display,
bulletin boards and interest centers.
-
In addition to utilizing required/supplied textbooks in classroom
study, you will select and requisition books, instructional aids, and
instructional supplies, and maintain all required inventory records for
supplemental learning programs.
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END OF ELEMENTARY JOB AD
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Now
that you've compiled your list, take a moment and compare it to the
skill headings I created below with abbreviated statements adapted from
the job ad above. Which list of teaching skills--meaning your
list or the list below--would land you more interviews for Elementary
Teacher job ads similar to this one? Which list would create
an image of you as being more qualified? Which list could
help you land a higher pay grade or promotion? As you can see
with this simple example, effectively analyzing job ads can help you
create a much more powerful teacher resume.
LESSON
PLANNING / INDIVIDUAL & GROUP INSTRUCTION
- Provide an educational program for pupils in grades 1-6
- Teach reading, language arts, social studies, mathematics, science,
health, art, physical education, and music to students and utilize
assigned course of study
- Provide planned learning experiences to motivate pupils and maximize
time available for instruction
- Develop lesson plans and instructional materials and provides
individualized and small group instruction to adapt curriculum to the
needs of each pupil
FOSTER ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT &
CITIZENSHIP
- Instruct pupils in citizenship, basic communication skills, and other
course of study as specified by state law, administrative regulations
and procedures of the school district
- Evaluate pupils' academic and social growth, maintain appropriate
records and progress reports, and communicate regularly with parents
regarding each student's progress.
- Administer group standardized tests in accordance with district
testing program
- Establish and maintain standards of pupil behavior needed to achieve
a functional learning atmosphere
CREATE
ATTRACTIVE & FUN LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
- Create a functional and attractive environment for learning through
display, bulletin boards and interest centers
SELECTION
OF LEARNING MATERIALS & INVENTORY CONTROL
- Select and requisition books, instructional aids, and instructional
supplies, and maintain all required inventory records for supplemental
learning programs
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WHY PEOPLE WRITE WEAK RESUMES &
COVER LETTERS
I originally discovered why people write such weak resumes and cover
letters when teaching a resume class one day. Inadvertently, I asked a
class to read a job ad for a Delivery Driver (example provided in
Proven Resumes - Strategies That Have Increased Salaries). It was a
tiny ad only about 3 lines long. Being so short I was shocked when I
asked the class to tell me what skills and abilities they felt should
be addressed in cover letters for the driver ad. The ad actually asked
for these 5 skills:
2+
Years Driving Experience
Delivering High Value Products
Knowledge of Puget Sound Area
Customer Service Experience
Corporate Accounts Experience |
In
contrast to the list above, people in my classes very often came up
with lists of skills like the ones below, that make sense, but that
didn't address the 5 skills actually requested in the job ad.
Being
Bondable, Trustworthy, Dependable, Self-Motivated
Possessing an Excellent Driving Record
Knows the Area
Likes to Deal with People
Being Detail Oriented
Possessing Accounting Skills & Time Management Skills |
Which
list of skills, used in a cover letter, would do a better job of
landing more interviews for the driver job ad? This example, even
though from a different industry, shows how important effectively
analyzing job ads is ... and illustrates why some resumes and cover
letters land far more interviews!!!
Having
analyzed 50 teacher job ads and extracted all skills from them, I've
compiled 18 categories of skills and hundreds of skill statements, that
are highly transferable for all teacher jobs. I spent about 2 weeks
gathering the job ads and then another week analyzing them and creating
skill headings for use in teacher resumes and cover letters.
If you consider the
time you'll save in gathering and analyzing that many teacher job ads
... such time and effort would cost you far more than what I charge for
the $7.95
- Proven Resumes for Teachers ... That Double & Triple
Interview Rates! ... or the $9.95
- Proven Resumes Strategies That Have Increased Salaries.
Using
Proven Resumes & Cover Letters for Teachers
will guide you through every step of creating a powerful teacher resume
and then the extensive resume and cover letter writing chapters in
Proven Resumes Strategies That Have Increased Salaries to
help you write powerful, transferable skill descriptions for any
non-teaching jobs that you've held.
Click
here to read a full description of the $7.95 - Proven Resumes &
Cover Letters for Teachers!
Click
here to read a full description of the $9.95 - Proven Resumes
Strategies That Have Increased Salaries!
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Buy TEACHER RESUMES & COVER LETTERS now for
ONLY $7.95
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Contents, Regina Pontow, 1997-2011