Your CV will be your most powerful tool when trying to find work as a supply teacher – it is most likely to be the first impression that an employer will have of you, so it is vital that you come across well, sell yourself and avoid any unnecessary mistakes.
You could be competing against a number of candidates with each assignment that you apply for and so ensuring that you have the best possible CV is crucial for finding work.
Writing a great CV
The first bit of advice when constructing your CV is to remember to keep it short and sweet – when a potential employer is looking through an endless pile of CV’s, it is unlikely that they will spend the time reading through a long and drawn out document.
Try to keep it to no more than two pages and get straight to the point, that way you can hopefully grab their attention.
So where do you start and what information should you include? Below are our top tips to writing a successful CV for supply teachers.
Who are you?
It shouldn’t be necessary to include a large ‘Curriculum Vitae’ headline at the top of the page – employers will know what it is that they are reading; it’s your name that should be the first thing they see.
Other information that should be at the beginning of your CV is:
Address
Home and mobile number
Email address
This way you are easy to contact should they get in touch.
Why you should hire me
The next part of your CV should be about selling you, your personal statement. It is likely to be the most difficult parts of writing a good CV, as you will need to really sell yourself while at the same time keeping to the point and avoiding going off on a tangent.
It can be so easy to ramble on and try to include information that you may see as being important, however, relevance is key so make sure to take your time over this section and to look into the position that you are applying for and match your skills – if the school is seeking a specific set of skills that you hold, put these at the top of the list!
For example, if you are applying for a school that specialises in special needs children, if you have experience in this field, it is important you talk about this is your personal statement.
My teaching experience
As a supply teacher, it’s likely that you will have a fair amount of experience and information to include, and so the best way to present this will be in the form of bullet points so that it is all organised in a clear and concise way.
Ensure that the order of each job starts with the most recent, look to include all of the relevant responsibilities and achievements gained and try to use plenty of verbs to make it a more interesting read, but without going too over the top.
The majority of people will add a hobbies section at the end of their CV. This can often be seen as being a bit of a waste of space, as they are usually just standard everyday interests that most people will have. So perhaps skip saying that you enjoy trips to the cinema and instead, focus on interests that could benefit the school – for example, sport and fitness is a hobby that could be utilised in a school environment.
Continuing professional development
Employers want to see your commitment to continuing professional development, so provide details of ongoing training and Inset days. If you are running short on space you could create a column to the left of the CV.
Presentation
Last and by no means least, presentation really is just as important as any other aspect of a CV.
Unfortunately, first impressions do count in this world and without being able to meet you first in person, a potential employer will just have your CV to judge you on.
As mentioned previously, it is much better to have a short and succinct document rather than a lengthy five page CV that no one has the time to read. You will also need to ensure that you stick to clear and simple fonts so that key information can be seen clearly – both Arial and Times New Roman in size 12 are good choices.
With each section of the CV, include standout headings (underlined and / or in bold) that are neatly divided and make sure that these are all put in a logical order.
If you’re feeling brave and spontaneous, you could make a creative CV. For example, you could make the CV in the form of a comic book or a snakes and ladders layout. A recipe book is always a good one too. If you’re a geography teacher or science teacher, this type of CV is great to get stuck in and creative with. The creative CV sure is likely to catch the attention of the recruiter, whether that’s the agency or the school direct, and can be a more daring route to getting them to have a read of the finer details of your CV.
And finally, never forget to proofread the final draft!
Grammar and spelling mistakes are completely unnecessary and can really damage your chances of getting a job – especially when there is so much competition out there. Just think if an employer has to choose between very similar candidates, but one hasn’t taken the time to detect and remove errors…
Don’t rely on a computer’s spell check to spot all of your mistakes either; look through and proofread the document properly at least three times – perhaps even get someone else with a good eye to read through it too.
It may also be worth printing the CV out and having a read through, as it is said that people find it much harder to detect errors on a screen compared to a physical piece of paper!
If you’ve been a supply teacher for a short period already, and you’ve been receiving your payment via an umbrella company, then the umbrella company has been your employer throughout that period of time. Some supply teachers wish to write the details of a contact at the end of their CV who will act as their reference. Your umbrella company is your legal employer and therefore would be able to write you a reference solidifying the dates you claimed to have been working are indeed true. You could even put down your recruitment agency or a contact at the school who will vouch for your achievements should you wish. If you are still studying, you can ask your tutor to be a reference or use either of the two schools you did (or are doing) your work experience at.
Good luck with securing your next teaching role. Regardless of the recruitment agency you’re working with, it is likely that we too work with them, therefore do not hesitate to get in touch with Orange Genie Education. We’re always on hand to help improve the lives of supply teachers.
To speak to Orange Genie Education about how they can help with your employment please call 01296 468 483 or email education@orangegenie.com.
Why Orange Genie Education?
We employ and pay thousands of supply teachers and education support staff every year. Our employment portfolio stretches over 10 years in the umbrella industry making Orange Genie Education one of the most trusted umbrella brands. With this in mind, there’s no wonder we have long lasting relationships with hundreds of recruitment agencies all over the UK. Upon joining Orange Genie Education you become an employee of ours benefiting from:
Single employer for all assignments
One payment for all different agency assignments completed in a week
Simplified and efficient taxation from single tax code
Guaranteed pay for the work completed
Continuous employment rights
Maternity and Paternity pay
Sick pay
Access to a workplace pension
Statutory rights
Improved personal credit references and rating
Extraordinary employee benefits including 24/7 access to a GP, counselling, support, fitness resources, and discounts & offers worth hundreds of pounds in day to day savings
Our aspiration is to improve the lives and wellbeing of supply teachers and education support staff.