Secondary school teacher CV: example, skills and writing tips

Secondary school teacher CV example

The example below shows how the advice in this guide fits together on one page. The person, the schools and all the figures are invented: use the structure, not the content, and replace every detail with your own.

Notice what makes this CV useful to a school: every line says which subject, which age groups, in what type of school and with what responsibility. The rest of this guide explains how to build each section in the same way.

Job title and professional summary

Put your subject and age range in the title

“Teacher” on its own rarely tells a school enough. Your title should say what you teach and, where useful, to which age groups. For example, when it reflects your experience:

Secondary Mathematics Teacher – ages 11–18 – 7 years’ experience
English Teacher – lower and upper secondary, exam preparation
History and Geography Teacher – secondary
Physics and Chemistry Teacher – upper secondary
Teacher of Spanish – fixed-term and cover posts

Your subject is usually far more useful in the title than a generic phrase such as “education professional”.

Secondary school teacher, subject teacher, cover teacher: which title fits?

Schools use several titles for teaching roles, and the names of school levels differ between countries. Pick the one that describes what you actually do, and always check the job description.

Professional summary example: experienced teacher

The professional summary (often called a personal profile or personal statement in the UK) is three to five lines saying what you teach, to whom, for how long, and which responsibilities you can take on.

English teacher with 8 years’ experience in lower and upper secondary schools. Teaches pupils aged 12 to 18, prepares exam classes for written and oral assessments, provides individual follow-up and has contributed to several cross-curricular projects.

Professional summary example: newly qualified or first post

[Subject] graduate ([degree], [year]) applying for a first teaching post, with [X] weeks of school placements and two years of tutoring pupils aged 13 to 16. Experience of preparing lesson resources and leading small groups.

Do not describe yourself as an “experienced teacher” if your background mainly consists of placements or private tutoring, and replace generic adjectives such as “patient” or “passionate” with concrete facts.

Teacher CV skills by area

Teaching is not only about mastering a subject: planning, adapting to different pupils, assessment, individual follow-up and teamwork all matter. Select the skills you genuinely use and phrase them so a school can see how.

A skills line such as this gives little information:

Teaching – Patient – Good listener – Dynamic

This one is far more useful:

Mathematics, ages 11–18 · Exam preparation · Schemes of work · Differentiation · Form tutoring · Google Classroom

Describing your teaching experience and achievements

Lesson preparation, marking and staff meetings are part of every teaching job, so listing them under each post says little. For each line, follow this order where possible:

context → your own action → tools or method → scope → result

For example: “In a 1,100-pupil secondary school (context), I ran weekly revision sessions (action) using past papers and online quizzes (method) for two exam-year classes (scope), which pupils attended throughout the spring term (result).” The figures in this sentence are illustrative.

Too generic

Teaching English
Lesson preparation
Assessing pupils
Attending meetings

More informative

Illustrative figures.

Taught English to 6 lower-secondary classes, pupils aged 13 to 15
Designed teaching sequences in line with the curriculum
Prepared pupils for written and oral end-of-stage exams
Set up differentiated activities for mixed-ability groups
Followed up pupils individually and kept regular contact with families
Took part in class councils and the school’s teaching project

The second version shows the age range, the scope and your responsibilities. Add figures when they are accurate and useful: number of classes, number of pupils followed, age groups taught, years of experience, number of projects or colleagues involved.

Achievement examples to adapt

Replace [X] and [Y] with your own verified figures, or leave the line out if you cannot support it. Mention an exam or progress result only if it is measurable and can reasonably be attributed to your work.

• Taught [X] classes across ages [Y] to [Z], including [X] exam classes.
• Followed the progress of around [X] pupils over the school year.
• Form tutor for a class of [X] pupils: progress reviews, meetings with families and subject-choice guidance.
• Coordinated a cross-curricular project with [X] teachers and [Y] classes, ending in [exhibition / performance / trip].
• Created [X] differentiated resources now shared across the [subject] department.
• Ran a weekly [revision / homework / catch-up] club for [X] pupils over [period].

Digital tools: show how you used them

List the tools that were genuinely part of your practice, with what you used them for. Depending on your schools, this may include Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Moodle, interactive whiteboards, your school’s management information system, video-conferencing tools or subject-specific software.

Google Classroom: setting homework and giving written feedback
Moodle: sharing resources and online activities
Microsoft Teams: remote lessons and document sharing

This is more informative than:

IT: very good
Digital tools: confident

Avoid an endless list. A few tools with their context are enough, and you should be able to talk about each of them in an interview.

Education and qualifications

Use the format qualification – subject – institution – year, and add your teaching qualification or status where it is relevant:

[Degree] in [subject]
[University] — [year]
[Teaching qualification or licence] — [year]

Teaching qualifications and licences differ from country to country, for example Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England or a state teaching licence in the United States. List a qualification only if you hold it, and write “in progress” with an expected date if you are still preparing it. Do not present a qualification from one country as equivalent to another country’s: give an accurate description, or an official recognition statement if you have one.

If you are experienced, education can take less space than your recent posts and responsibilities.

Making your teacher CV easy to read for ATS

Some schools, education authorities and training providers use recruitment platforms to collect and search applications; some also ask for an application form as well as, or instead of, a CV. The aim is not to “beat” or trick software: it is to make sure your key information is extracted correctly and easy to find.

• your subject and the age groups you teach;
• explicit job titles, schools and dates;
• experience organised post by post;
• qualifications and teaching status stated clearly;
• skills and digital tools written as text, not only as icons or rating bars.

When applying for a mathematics post, “Mathematics Teacher – secondary, ages 11–18” is far more explicit than “Secondary education teacher”, for both the software and the person reading your CV.

Tailoring your teacher CV to each post

Two posts in the same subject can ask for quite different things. You do not need to rewrite your career, but you can bring forward the experience most relevant to each school.

Before you send your application, it helps to see which elements of the job description your CV already covers and which are missing. CVReader compares your CV with a job description and highlights the points of correspondence.

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New teacher or career changer

With little teaching experience, develop what you have actually done, and keep each experience’s status clear.

• Trainee and newly qualified teachers: describe school placements like real posts: classes observed and taught, age groups, resources prepared.
• Career changers: bring forward experience close to teaching, such as tutoring, professional training, coaching, university teaching, workshops or volunteering with young people.
• Qualification in progress: state it with the expected date, never as already obtained.

A school should be able to tell paid teaching experience apart from placements and training at a glance.

Former engineer moving into mathematics teaching, currently completing [teaching qualification]. Two years of volunteer tutoring for pupils aged 14 to 16 and [X] weeks of placements in a secondary school.

Trained or working in France?

If your teaching background is French, a few adjustments make your CV clearer to English-speaking schools.

French competitive exams and qualifications

Onisep, the French public information service on education and careers, describes the main routes into secondary teaching in France, including competitive exams and contract posts (Onisep: Professeur / professeure de collège et de lycée (in French)). Keep the French names and add a short explanation:

• CAPES: French competitive exam for certified secondary school teachers (“professeur certifié”) in general subjects.
• Agrégation: a more selective French competitive exam; successful candidates become “professeurs agrégés”.
• CAPET, CAPLP and CAPEPS: the equivalent French exams for technical subjects, vocational upper-secondary schools and physical education respectively.
• CAFEP: the route used for some posts in French private schools under contract with the state.
• Master MEEF: a French master’s degree in teaching and education (“Métiers de l’enseignement, de l’éducation et de la formation”).

There is no automatic equivalence between these exams or diplomas and teaching qualifications in other countries, so do not present them as equivalent. If you are preparing one, write it clearly: “CAPES in English – in preparation”, not “CAPES in English”.

CAPES in Mathematics (French competitive exam for certified secondary school teachers) — [year]

French school levels and job titles

Translate the role and the level, not the words. “Collège” is lower secondary (pupils aged about 11 to 15) and “lycée” upper secondary (about 15 to 18); “professeur contractuel” is a teacher on a contract rather than a civil-servant post. A “professeur principal” follows a class closely, a role close to a form tutor. Keep the names of French exams, such as the “brevet” and the “baccalauréat”, with a few words of explanation.

French tools such as Pronote (school management and communication with families) or an ENT (school digital workspace) deserve a few words of context. An “académie” is a regional education authority.

Mistakes to avoid and final checklist

Leaving out your subject

“Teacher” alone is too vague. Name your subject in the title.

Not stating the age groups taught

Lower or upper secondary, exam classes and age ranges are key information for a school.

Listing only obvious tasks

“Teaching” and “marking” do not set your experience apart. Show context, scope and responsibilities.

Turning the CV into a teaching statement

Keep the CV concise. Your teaching philosophy belongs in a cover letter, a personal statement or the interview.

Listing qualities without evidence

“Patient, good listener, caring” convinces less than a concrete example of follow-up or adaptation.

Mixing placements with employment, or claiming an exam not yet passed

State the status of each experience and qualification clearly.

Checklist before you apply

• My title states my subject and, if useful, the age range and my experience.
• My summary fits in three to five lines and contains facts, not adjectives.
• Each post shows the type of school, age groups, my responsibilities and, where possible, a result.
• Every figure is accurate and can be explained in an interview.
• Each digital tool listed is one I have actually used, with its context.
• Foreign qualifications keep their original name, with a short explanation and no claimed equivalence.
• Placements, contract posts and permanent posts are clearly distinguished.
• I have brought forward what matches this school’s post.

Secondary school teacher CV: frequently asked questions

What skills should I put on a teacher CV?

Choose skills you genuinely use: lesson and sequence planning, classroom management, assessment, differentiation, individual follow-up, exam preparation, work with families, teamwork and the digital tools you have used.

How do I write a teacher’s professional summary?

State your subject, your experience, the age groups you teach and two or three significant responsibilities. A few lines are enough.

Should I put my teaching qualification on my CV?

Yes, if you hold it and it is relevant to the post. You can mention it in your title or in the education section. If it is still in progress, say so.

Should I mention the classes or age groups I taught?

Yes. They let a school understand your experience immediately: lower or upper secondary, exam classes or specific age ranges.

Is a teacher resume different from a teacher CV?

“Resume” is the usual American term; “CV” is used in the UK and much of the world. For a teaching application, the advice in this guide applies to both. Some schools also ask for their own application form.

Should a teacher CV fit on one page?

A new teacher can often fit their background on one page. An experienced teacher with several schools, responsibilities and relevant projects can use two pages.