4 ‘CV Dos’

Your CV is a snapshot of your experience to date. This snapshot should be clear and concise, and when done effectively, 2 pages are certainly enough to convey all that you need a potential employer to know.

Here are some handy tips to help you lay out your CV in an effective way

1. If you have little/no subbing experience, DO put your current Teaching experience or Teaching Placements before your Education section.

An employer wants to know what kind of teaching experience you have. We can assume that a teacher applying for a position has the requisite education if they have managed to undertake ITE and get teaching jobs.

2. DO use power verbs in your CV.

Power verbs imply action. Instead of saying that you were in charge of a certain project, imagine the impact of using the power verbs Managed, or Led, instead. ‘I led a project in which I was in charge of implementing a new initiative in the school’. The impact of these words on the reader are much more pronounced.

3. DO use odd numbers - they look more aesthetic.

It’s a simple trick of the eye but using odd numbers to outline work responsibilities, skills, hobbies etc. can make your document look more attractive.

4. DO show where you developed communication and leadership skills.

Perhaps you undertook a certain CPD course and found new skills that you incorporated into your skill-set for the classroom. Or perhaps you took a lead of a project in the school or perhaps you did something pioneering in your own classroom - outline what you did and what you learned from it. Your continuous learning and improvement is an important aspect of your development as a teacher. Be sure to communicate this evolution in your CV and SAF.

Also check out ‘5 CV Dont’s’ here.

If you need help with effective CV or SAF writing, get in touch with me at hello@orladempseycoaching.ie or find out more here.