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Without a doubt,
teaching jobs
can be quite
difficult to
secure these
days. Just go
to any popular
teaching forum
or teacher
discussion board
and look at all
the posts from
teachers who are
desperately
trying to land a
good teaching
position.
Due to the fact
that teaching
jobs are so
difficult to
secure, teachers
must do
everything they
can to stand out
form the crowd.
One of the most
important
aspects of
getting a
teaching job is
your teacher
resume. What
makes the
teacher resume
so important is
that it is the
first, and often
times the only
thing an
administrator or
teacher
interview
committee will
see or hear
about you. As
the old saying
goes…you only
get one chance
to make a first
impression…
Therefore, you
need to use your
resume to make
that first
impression.
There are many
features that
make up a
quality teacher
resume, but this
article is about
one specific
part of that
resume…the
references.
Remember, just
like anything
else, a person
is most likely
going to
remember the
first and last
thing they
hear/see/read
etc. The same
holds true for
your resume…to
stand out you
must open with a
bang and close
with a bang.
Unfortunately,
this is where
many people miss
the mark.
At the end of
every resume is
where the
applicant should
list their
references.
However, I am
shocked at how
many people
still simply
write
“references
available upon
request”. This
is a huge
mistake. Why
make it
difficult for
your potential
employer to seek
out your
references? Are
you trying to
hide something?
Because that is
exactly what
“references
available upon
request”
indicates.
What you should
do instead is
make sure you
list your
specific
references at
the bottom and
make sure to
provide their
title/position,
telephone
number, and
email address.
Again, you want
to make it as
easy as possible
for the
interview
committee to
contact your
references.
Another mistake
people make is
not listing
enough
references. All
too often people
will list only
three
references. Any
qualified
teacher should
be able to get
many, many
references.
Now, while you
will not need to
list them all,
by listing 5-10
of them you are
separating
yourself from
all the other
teachers who
only listed
three, or worse,
stated
“references
available upon
request”.
The bottom line
is that you want
your teacher
resume to say
loud and clear
“Go ahead, check
my references…I
encourage you do
so!”
Again, your
references are
the last thing
the reader will
see when reading
your resume. By
ending with
several
references that
are easy to
contact, you are
ending with a
bang that will
make your
teacher resume
stand out
amongst all the
others. |
