Try Module 1 of our Flagship PS Interview Mastery Course For Free - Click Here
02 5104 7344
PS Careers Logo

Day: 15 March 2025

Posted on

Top Tips for Writing a Resume for Teachers

If you’re looking to secure a teaching position, having a well-structured and compelling resume is essential. Your resume should showcase your skills, qualifications, and experience to demonstrate why you are the right fit for a role in education. In this guide, we’ll outline how to craft a teacher resume that effectively highlights your strengths and increases your chances of securing a position.

Is a CV Necessary for Teachers?

When applying for teaching roles, you will often be required to submit a CV. This document serves as a concise summary of your skills, education, and professional experience. The more detailed yet focused your CV is, the greater your chances of impressing hiring managers.

 

While many teaching jobs require candidates to complete an application form, some positions may also request a CV in addition to the form. Therefore, it’s important to have both readily available.

 

Furthermore, your CV should be tailored to suit each specific role. Having a flexible teacher resume template that can be easily adjusted for different positions—such as early childhood education or secondary school teaching—will save you time and ensure your application aligns with the employer’s requirements.

Key Skills to Highlight on a Teacher Resume

A strong teacher CV should highlight both technical and soft skills. Below are some essential skills to showcase throughout your personal statement, education, experience, and skills sections.

        • Patience: Not all students are active learners, and some may require additional support. Demonstrating patience is crucial, and you should provide examples of when you have successfully guided students through challenges.
        • Communication: Teaching is fundamentally about communication. You must effectively convey complex ideas to students, parents, and colleagues. Include examples of how you have delivered lessons, engaged with students, or liaised with parents.
        • Lesson Planning: Effective lesson planning is essential for student success. Highlight your ability to create structured lessons and long-term learning plans.
        • Empathy: Understanding the emotional and social needs of students can make a significant difference in their learning experience. Demonstrating empathy helps build trust and supports student development.
        • Adaptability: Classroom environments can be unpredictable, so being able to adjust your approach when necessary is a valuable skill. Provide examples of how you have adapted lessons or strategies to meet the needs of different learners.

What to Include in an Effective Teacher CV

There is no single perfect teacher resume, as every job application will have different requirements. However, your CV should always be tailored to the specific position. If a school is looking for experience with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), for instance, this should be emphasised. If they prioritise forest school experience, highlight your background in outdoor education.

 

Your teacher resume should be adaptable, allowing you to tailor it for each role. Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all template, ensure that you adjust the content to align with each job description.

 

Additionally, your application will be much stronger if you provide evidence of your impact. Instead of making general statements, use concrete examples with measurable results. For instance, if you helped a class achieve high exam scores, include the statistics and compare them to national or regional averages. This quantifiable data strengthens your application and showcases your effectiveness as a teacher.

 

Similarly, if you are using an application letter, avoid copying generic samples from the internet. Your cover letter should be unique, reflecting your individual skills and experience while directly addressing the needs of the specific school or institution. If needed, consider seeking professional assistance in drafting a strong application letter.

Common Teacher Interview Questions & How to Answer Them

Once you secure an interview, you need to be prepared for the types of questions you may be asked. While every interview is different, there are several common teacher interview questions that you should expect. Below are some typical questions along with suggested approaches for answering them.

Why Do You Want to Teach?

This question aims to assess your passion and motivation for teaching. Your answer should demonstrate that teaching is your true vocation. Share what inspires you, what you enjoy about working with students, and how you find satisfaction in helping them succeed. Provide a specific example of a moment when you felt particularly fulfilled in your teaching role.

Why Do You Want to Work at This School?

This can be a challenging question, as it requires research into the school’s values, ethos, and approach to education. Rather than giving generic responses, tailor your answer to the school’s mission, teaching philosophy, and any unique programmes they offer. Emphasise how your teaching style aligns with their approach and why you are particularly interested in contributing to their community.

Can You Provide an Example of a Safeguarding Issue You’ve Encountered?

Safeguarding is a critical concern in schools, and interviewers want to gauge your understanding of child protection responsibilities. When answering, outline a specific situation where you identified a safeguarding concern, explain the actions you took, and highlight how you followed appropriate procedures. Demonstrating a strong awareness of safeguarding policies is essential.

How Do You Handle Resistance from a Student?

Some students may struggle with motivation or engagement. Your response should demonstrate your ability to build rapport, identify barriers to learning, and use strategies to encourage participation. Provide an example of a time when you successfully engaged a resistant student and how you adapted your teaching approach to support their learning.

Final Tips for Writing a Teacher Resume

        • Every teaching position is different, so tailor your resume for each application.
        • Use tangible evidence to demonstrate your skills—quantifiable results can make your CV stand out.
        • Keep your CV clear, well-structured, and concise. Avoid long paragraphs; bullet points can be useful for readability.
        • Proofread thoroughly to ensure there are no spelling or grammar errors—attention to detail is crucial for teaching roles.
        • Prepare for common interview questions by reflecting on your experiences and structuring clear, confident responses.

By following these guidelines, you can create a compelling teacher resume that effectively highlights your qualifications and demonstrates your suitability for the role.

Posted on

Adding Interpersonal Skills On Your Resume

When it comes to job application, it isn’t just your academic accolades or work achievements that matter, it is also the number of soft skills that you possess and can apply to your work that matter. Interpersonal skills are a significant part of your soft skill set and can distinguish you from your competitors.

What are Interpersonal Skills?

Interpersonal skills are soft skills which help you interact with others in the work environment. They might include how you work with senior leadership, co-workers or those who you lead in the team. They might also cover how you engage with customers such as how you can deliver excellent customer service, respond to complaints and deal with conflict.

 

These soft skills, unlike many academic or technical skills, can be challenging to demonstrate because they don’t have certifications. It is only through examples on your resume and applications that you can provide evidence for their possession.

However, many different types of interpersonal skills can be covered, which include:

 

Active Listening: The skill of listening to someone else in a conversation to gather information and engage them with purpose. Active listeners avoid conversational distractions, such as mobiles, laptops, others in the room, and more. They are also good at asking questions, answering questions when prompted, and more.

 

Dependability: Those with dependability can be relied upon in a given situation. It could be anything from time keeping to completing tasks. Dependability is a skill required at all levels of the organisation and is critical to success to both teamwork and customer service.

 

Empathy: Your emotional intelligence, or empathy, is about how you understand the needs and feelings of those you’re interacting with. Those with higher levels of compassion and empathy can often create a more positive and high-functional work environment, supporting others to achieve goals and resolve conflicts without drama.

 

Decision Making: Being able to look at a scenario and then determine whether a course of action is critical for most positions in the public and private sectors. It isn’t just about making the correct decision, and not all decisions will be right, but it is about the time it takes to come up with a decision and the logic behind those decisions that can be important.

 

Leadership: Leadership is one of the most important interpersonal skills when you’re looking for a promotion. Leadership is generally specified as the ability to convey an idea, ascertain who is going to do what and then getting people to follow through on those tasks. But other aspects of leadership can include helping others to develop and resolving differences between team members.

 

Teamwork: Being able to demonstrate that you can work with a diverse set of people can be critical to success. Most work involves some sort of teamwork and demonstrating how you’ve participated in projects with others for a successful conclusion can prove a positive attitude.

 

Flexibility: Being able to compromise in some circumstances is a good skill to have. But there has to be a balance here. Sometimes being too compromising can harm the organisation, so you need to show how you can set boundaries as well.

 

Motivation: You need to show some desire to achieve goals. Goal setting, hard work and commitment to the results can demonstrate motivation. As can your verbal and body language.

Why are Interpersonal Skills Important?

Interpersonal skills go beyond technical expertise, demonstrating your ability to collaborate effectively and navigate workplace dynamics. They are essential for achieving professional goals and excelling in almost any role, as they enable you to understand the needs of colleagues, adapt your workflow accordingly, and deliver results within the given context.

 

Even if much of your work is independent, the success of a team is often interdependent. If the team’s objectives are not met, it can reflect poorly on everyone, including you. However, by actively supporting your colleagues, you contribute to the team’s overall success, strengthening your department’s performance and enhancing your value to the organisation.

 

Moreover, strong interpersonal skills improve your ability to engage with customers and stakeholders. By identifying underlying issues and applying a more empathetic approach, you can develop more effective solutions, ultimately saving time and resources—advantages that may be overlooked by those with weaker interpersonal abilities.

How Do You Add Interpersonal Skills On Your Resume?

Many people assume that interpersonal skills cannot be effectively showcased in a resume, but this is far from true. There are several sections within a resume where you can integrate examples of your interpersonal skills, helping to strengthen your application and demonstrate your ability to collaborate, communicate, and problem-solve effectively.

 

Below are key ways to incorporate interpersonal skills into your resume:

Opening Statement

Your personal statement or opening summary is the ideal place to highlight your interpersonal skills. Many candidates make the mistake of simply listing these skills in a generic manner, but providing concrete examples with measurable results can set you apart.

 

For example, rather than stating that you have ‘strong empathy and active listening skills,’ you could say:

 

“Demonstrated strong empathy and active listening skills when supporting customers, leading to a 95% satisfaction score in post-service surveys.”

 

Alternatively, if teamwork and motivation are key strengths, you might say:

 

“Highly motivated team player who successfully led a project to completion ahead of schedule, receiving commendation from senior management for efficiency and collaboration.”

 

As this is one of the first sections hiring managers will review, incorporating specific evidence of how your interpersonal skills have had an impact can make a powerful impression.

Work History

The work experience section provides another opportunity to showcase interpersonal skills in action. Rather than vaguely mentioning teamwork or leadership, use specific examples to illustrate how you applied these skills in professional settings.

 

For example, instead of stating:

 

“Worked in a customer service role and handled complaints.”

 

You could say:

 

“Led a customer service team in resolving complaints 30% faster by introducing a structured feedback system, improving customer retention rates.”

 

Similarly, if collaboration is a key strength, you might include:

 

“Provided critical support to colleagues by managing overflow casework, reducing team backlog by 20% and improving overall efficiency.”

 

Since space is limited in this section, keep examples concise while ensuring they highlight real contributions.

Skills Section

The skills section is often underutilised, with many candidates simply listing interpersonal skills without context. Instead of a basic list, add brief explanations demonstrating how you have applied each skill effectively.

For instance, rather than writing:

 
      • Communication
      • Teamwork
      • Problem-solving

You could refine it as follows:

      • Communication: Delivered clear and engaging presentations to senior stakeholders, leading to the successful approval of a new project proposal.
      • Teamwork: Collaborated with cross-functional teams to streamline processes, reducing project turnaround time by 15%.
      • Problem-solving: Identified and resolved bottlenecks in service delivery, improving customer response times by 20%.

Adding context makes your skills more meaningful and demonstrates their real-world impact.

Final Word

Interpersonal skills are a vital component of any job application, and incorporating them effectively into your resume can significantly enhance your chances of securing an interview. While some candidates find it challenging to highlight these skills in a structured way, using specific examples within key sections—such as the opening statement, work history, and skills section—can make your application stand out.


By providing evidence of how you have successfully applied interpersonal skills in past roles, you demonstrate your ability to contribute positively to a workplace, making you a more compelling candidate for the role.

Posted on

Referees on Resume: A Quick Guide

Whether you’re applying for your first role, or for a promotion, one area which can often be confusing is the referees on resume documents. There are lots of opinions on what details to include and how to list them.

 

The reference section is often one of the smallest areas on a resume, and therefore, can sometimes not have as much time dedicated to it. So in this article, we’ll look at the referee resume section and talk about how to show references on a resume to boost your chance of landing an interview for a dream role.

References or Referees?

One of the first questions that is often asked is whether you should name the section references or referees. It can depend around the world what term is used, but in Australia, the preferred term in referees, with references being the term best described as the written statement or information provided by the previous employer or other trusted individual about you.

 

Therefore, when creating your resume, be sure to name the section referees.

 

This section should be at the bottom of the resume, allowing for all the information such as your skills, work history, personal statement, and qualifications to come first.

Should I List Referees on My Resume?

Every application you send to hiring managers should include a section for referees. A referee resume section is relatively easy to add on and has very little space dedicated to it. A good resume reference example would be like this:

 

Manager Name, Position, Company, Phone Number, Email

 

This simple format allows for all the information to be included and allows for the individual to be contacted with ease. It is highly recommended not to put “Referees available on request”. It portrays the idea that you don’t have any referees to provide, which can harm your application chances.

Should You Have References on Resume Documents?

A reference for resume applications should never be directly added to the document. There are two reasons for this:

        • It takes up valuable space on your resume. Ideally you should have a resume be about 1-2 pages, and never any longer. References can be several lines long.
        • Some hiring managers prefer to ask a preset of questions, which a referee might not answer in their statement, so would need to be contacted regardless.
        • The information you provide is not reliable because it hasn’t come independently. There is no way for the hiring manager to know that you’ve not created the references.

How Do You List References For A Resume?

So if you’re wondering ‘how do I list references on a resume’, the simple answer is you don’t. 

 

You shouldn’t know what a referee has said about you and you don’t know what information the hiring company wants from the contact.

 

Therefore, just list the referees on your resume. These can be done relatively easily.

How Many Referees on a Resume?

Numerous opinions exist on how many referees you need on a resume. The first thing you should do is look at the job application specifics to see if there are particular instructions. Otherwise, it is best to list three referees on your resume.

 

Three referees are enough to provide evidence for your soft skills and work ethic. Be sure that you ask all those that you’re putting on your resume that they will be happy for you to list them. A call out of the blue might be a little concerning for them, and they may be less willing to provide the reference for you.

What If You Don’t Have Enough Referees For a Resume?

Some people struggle to find three people to act as referees for any job application. If you’re new to the job market or haven’t kept in touch with some of your past working colleagues, then this can be a real concern.

 

However, there are several ways that you can get past this. Here are some suggestions for you to consider when you’re low on referees for a job application.

 

Forrmer or Current Managers: Those who have been in a leadership position at your previous job roles.

 

Colleagues: Colleagues can provide an objective view of your job performance and soft skills.

 

Volunteer Managers: If you volunteer anywhere, then you can use managers or fellow volunteers to act as a referee for you.

 

Teachers/Professors: Those that you’ve done studies with can help with referees. They can normally attest to your work ethic.

 

Clients: Those who’ve worked for themselves in the past can sometimes include clients as good referees.

 

Friends: As a last resort, friends in a profession (lawyer, accountant, health worker, etc.) can be used when you’ve not got anyone else. These people should also be known for at least one year.

What If You Don’t Want Current Managers To Know?

One issue that you might have is that you haven’t told your current boss that you’re looking for a new role. There can be numerous reasons for this, such as your current manager not being good at handling people leaving, or that you don’t want to damage any working relationship if you don’t get the job.

 

Or you might not trust the individual to keep your current job search discreet from others in the work environment.

 

Therefore, you sometimes might want to say that you don’t want to have certain people contacted until your application has progressed. This can be done, and is often accepted by hiring managers. However, if you need to do this, it should be limited to one referee, and then two who can be contacted.

Final Word: Referees on Resume: A Quick Guide

Referees on resumes can be relatively confusing for many applying for public sector roles. Above is a quick guide on some of the best practices that you can use to ensure that your application is progressed through the good work of those who’ve worked with you.

 

Remember that referees are not going to get you an interview in many job applications, but they can be the difference between a successful job hunt and staying in your current role. Carefully choosing those that will provide you with a good reference is critical to success. You should attempt to reach out to these people first and be sure that they’ll be happy to provide you with a reference.

error: Content is protected !!
Close

main menu

Guidance by Level

PSCareers – the experts in Australian State, Federal and Local Government recruitment – helping you get that next job!