6 New Teacher Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

You’ve earned your degree and achieved your teaching license. Now you’re ready for your first teaching job in the classroom.

However, your teaching experience is limited.

Your new teacher resume needs to highlight student teaching experiences, internships, and any relevant volunteer work in educational settings to show principals that you’re the right candidate for the role.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• How to format your new teacher resume to highlight transferable skills and take the focus away from your limited work history.
• The best way to showcase hard skills and soft skills is to showcase what you will bring to the classroom.
• How to quantify the impact on your entry-level teacher resume to show how you will bring success to your target job.
• How to show your education and certifications so that hiring managers will know that you’re qualified to fill the role.

For other resume examples of similar teacher roles, check out some of our related guides:

• Teacher resume
• Substitute teacher resume
• First grade teacher resume
• Summer school teacher resume
• Teacher for career change resume 

New teacher resume example

Here’s what this applicant does well on their resume:

• Highlighting International Experience: Linda's experience as an English Teacher with UNICEF in Malaysia is a unique aspect of her resume. This international experience should be emphasized as it showcases her adaptability, cultural sensitivity, and ability to handle diverse classroom environments. These qualities are particularly valuable in multicultural school districts or in schools with a diverse student body.
• Emphasis on Specialized Training and Courses: The inclusion of specific courses like "Patience for the Classroom," "Teaching in a Post-COVID World," and "Dealing with Student Conflict" from the Association for Positive Education is a strong point. These courses demonstrate her commitment to professional development and her preparedness for modern educational challenges. Highlighting these courses can set her apart, showing that she is equipped with current and relevant teaching strategies.
• Demonstrating Versatility in Teaching Roles: Linda's varied roles as a Substitute Teacher and an English Tutor demonstrate her versatility and adaptability in different educational settings. Highlighting her experience in managing diverse age groups (from elementary students to adults aged 50) and different formats (one-on-one, small group, and classroom settings) would underline her flexibility and capability to handle various teaching scenarios.
• Showcasing Awards and Academic Achievements: The inclusion of the "Rising Star Award" and being listed on the "Dean's List" for academic excellence are significant accomplishments. These awards highlight Linda's dedication, excellence in her field, and her ability to go above and beyond in her endeavors. This can be attractive to employers looking for candidates with a proven track record of success and commitment.

How to format a new teacher resume

It’s important to get the formatting right when creating your new teacher resume. Teachers are organized, clear, and when appropriate, creative. All of this can be conveyed in your format.

When principals view your resume for an entry-level teacher position, your formatting should show the following:

• Functional skills-based layout - A functional resume focuses on transferable skills rather than work history, making it the ideal choice for a new teacher at the start of their career. Show principals how you’ve developed skills like conflict resolution, cultural sensitivity, and teaching strategies.

• Professional header - With a ton of resumes to sort through, principals need to be able to reach you quickly and efficiently. Include a header at the top of your new teacher resume that clearly states your title, phone number, professional email address, and URL to your LinkedIn profile or other online portfolio.

• Single page - As a first-year teacher, you won’t have a lot of experience to write about. Make good use of space by making your resume one page with no blank space. Format it as a PDF instead of a DOC to ensure readability and preservation of formatting.

• ATS optimized - Be sure to use fonts optimized for ATS readability such as those available in Enhancv’s resume builder like Rubik, Lato, Montserrat, Raleway, Exo 2, and Volkhov. Stay away from overused fonts like Arial or Times New Roman. As a new teacher, you want to convey relevancy and creativity.

How to write your new teacher resume experience

The experience section of your resume lists your work history along with a few bullets highlighting your top accomplishments in the role. This section shows potential employers what you will bring to their organization.

As a new teacher, your work history is limited. Don’t pad your experience section with irrelevant jobs. Include only prior roles that are relevant to your target position and focus on transferable skills.

Tutoring jobs, substitute teaching, and classroom assistant roles are great to include on a new teacher's resume.

Let’s take a look at an example.

What doesn’t work in this example:

• No measurable results - there are no specific metrics or data points that show how the candidate achieved success. Listing duties like “taught math and science” shows that you carried out tasks, but not that you did them well.
• Doesn’t show industry knowledge - don’t just scratch the surface with industry skills, show that you have specialized knowledge in the field by using relevant keywords.
• Makes blanket claims - “received positive feedback” is meaningless without specifics. One person’s version of a positive may be different from the next. Don’t leave anything up to interpretation.

Let’s make a few improvements and look at the same example again.

What works in this example:

• Uses real numbers - including “100% availability” and “classes of 30+ students” shows school principals exactly what you mean and takes the guesswork out of it.
• Shows industry achievement - mentioning a specific accomplishment like “Top 5 Most Requested Substitutes” will show potential employers the success you will bring to the role.
• Shows soft skills - highlighting things like flexibility and availability show industry skills that principals look for in new teachers.

How to quantify the impact on your resume

As mentioned above, it’s important to back up your claims with real measurable data. Showing specific results you achieved on the job will quantify the impact on your new teacher's resume.

When writing your resume, reflect on what numbers you can include to emphasize your accomplishments. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:

• Include the number of students taught in each role to demonstrate classroom management capability.
• Mention specific percentage improvements in student performance or grades to showcase teaching effectiveness.
• State the number of lesson plans developed to reflect planning and organizational skills.
• Indicate the size of the school or classroom to give context to your teaching environment.
• Quantify any increases in student engagement or participation under your instruction.
• Detail the number of educational workshops or seminars attended for professional development.
• Count the years of experience in any educational roles, including internships and volunteering.
• Specify the number of teaching methods mastered to exhibit versatility and adaptability in teaching styles.

How to list your hard skills and soft skills on your resume

Transferable skills are what make a functional format resume shine. Your new teacher resume will have hard skills and soft skills peppered throughout every section, but it’s a good idea to highlight a few in their own sections as well.

The difference between the two is that hard skills are the technical knowledge and abilities needed to perform job duties, whereas soft skills are the interpersonal and communication skills needed to interact with others.

Hard skills tend to be straightforward and can be listed without explanation. Here is an example of a hard skills section on an entry-level teacher's resume.

Soft skills can be open to interpretation, so it’s best to support these with a clear example. This is a good opportunity to highlight transferable skills you’ve developed outside your work history.

Here is an example of a soft skills section on a new teacher's resume.

The candidate in the example above shows how transferable skills were developed in roles like tutoring and working as a camp counselor.

Below are additional hard skills and soft skills to consider adding to your new teacher resume.

How to list your certifications and education on your resume

Certifications and education are crucial on a first year teacher resume. Most traditional schools will require that their teachers hold, at minimum, an active state teaching certificate. Many will also require a bachelor’s degree in the teaching subject area.

Some educational institutions, like Montessori or alternative schools, may have different education requirements.

Here is an example of an education section on a new teacher's resume.

Your education section should include:

• Name of institution
• Name of degree
• Location
• Years attended

Only include your GPA if it is exceptional (3.5 or higher) or if the job listing specifically requests it.

Since a teaching license is a requirement for traditional teaching jobs, it should be prominent on your new teacher's resume.

Your certification section only needs to include the name of the certificate and the issuing institution. Here is an example of a certification section on a new teacher's resume.

Specialized certifications in your teaching niche can be a great way to enhance your resume. Here are a few certifications to consider for your new teacher's resume.

How to write your new teacher resume summary or objective

A summary or objective is a great way to introduce yourself to school districts and highlight your top accomplishments in 3-4 sentences.

Though the terms are often used interchangeably, there is a slight difference between a summary and an objective.

A summary is a brief introduction that communicates your position and value in your industry. An objective looks to the future and captures what you are hoping to achieve in your new position.

A summary is more suitable for candidates with experience in the field, so your new teacher resume will focus more on your objective.

Let’s take a look at an example of a new teacher resume objective.

What doesn’t work in this example:

• Overused buzzwords - terms like “hard-working” don’t do much to enhance a resume, and may actually have the opposite effect. Hiring managers obviously want employees willing to work hard. Highlight qualities that are more specific to you.
• No measurable achievements - even though you have limited experience as a new teacher, don’t miss the opportunity to highlight a strength or achievement. Include an industry accomplishment or specialized qualification if relevant.
• Unclear goal - be specific in your objective and show the school principal how you will provide solutions to their challenges.

Let’s make a few updates and look at that example again.

What works in this example:

• Highlights industry certification - listing a special education certification in the summary shows school principals right away that this candidate is qualified for the position.
• Specialized skills - highlighting training in a specific area shows what skills and strategies the candidate will bring to the role.
• Shared goal - this candidate shows that their objective is aligned with the goals at their target school.

Additional sections for a new teacher resume

Since your new teacher resume will have a brief experience section, additional sections can be used to show how you developed skills outside of your work history.

Transferable skills can be achieved in a wide range of ways. Backgrounds vary from candidate to candidate, so reflect on ways you’ve developed relevant skills.

Here are a few sections to consider adding to your new teacher resume:

• Languages - speaking multiple languages can be a great skill for a new teacher, especially if you will be teaching students with diverse language backgrounds.

• Volunteering - volunteer work can include many different experiences and is a great way to show soft skills like team management, cultural sensitivity, and communication skills.

• Hobbies and interests - hobbies in a specific area like the arts or technology can be a great way to show transferable skills in your teaching niche.

Key takeaways for writing your new teacher resume

You are just about ready to write a great new teacher resume that gets interviews! Let’s go over a few key points before we wrap up.

• Use a functional format to create a skills-based new teacher resume that takes attention away from your limited work history and highlights transferable skills.
• Quantify the impact on your resume by using measurable results and real data to show school principals how you will bring success to the role.
• Include education and certifications that show you have the right qualifications for the role and the necessary skills to do the job.
• Add sections to highlight transferable skills you’ve developed through volunteer work, hobbies, or any other relevant experiences.