If you are burned out from being an educator or just ready for a change, our guide to writing a resume to leave teaching can help you make the transition to another career. Many teachers have noticed how education has evolved over the years, and the coronavirus pandemic caused even greater shifts and demands. According to a recent study, between the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years, eight percent of public school teachers and 12 percent of private school teachers left the teaching profession. Therefore, moving out of the classroom can offer a much-needed change of pace and enable teachers to use the skills they have gained in different ways.
A Basic Guide to Writing a Resume to Leave Teaching
The resume you use to find teaching positions likely won’t be as effective in finding corporate roles. While your experience is the same, how you present it should change to appeal to those outside of education.
Explore Different Career Options
Before you dig into writing your resume, take some time to look at the various positions available. Take some time and find roles that interest you and that you feel are a good fit in order to tailor your resume around the requirements and qualifications. Network with others to learn more about their jobs and see if they have recommendations or connections. Some popular options for former teachers include:
- Corporate Trainer
- Project Manager
- Writer/Editor
- Content Marketer
- Consultant
- Sales
- Customer Success
These positions value strong communication skills, relationship building, problem solving, organization, and analysis. After all, teachers are great at explaining complex concepts in easily understood terms, reviewing data to measure performance and identify opportunities for improvement, coordinating multiple tasks and teams, and resolving problems. Remember that you likely have a wealth of experience dealing with administrators, colleagues, parents, and students and de-escalating tense situations.
Focus on Transferable Skills
Not everything you do in the classroom is relevant to the business world, but there are many skills that do transfer. Get creative and look at your experience from a different perspective. It may help to talk through what you’ve done with a non-teacher friend and get their opinion. For instance, they may help you see how creating IEPs is similar to developing performance improvement plans or action plans. You have to define the problem, set a goal, and put processes in place to achieve it.
As alluded to earlier, here are a few transferable skills to consider:
- Communication
- Strategic Planning
- Problem Solving
- Training and Development
- Data Analysis
- Collaboration
These are all things that you know how to do, you just have to look at them outside of the normal lens of being a teacher. Reflect on when you create lesson plans. In this regard, you are breaking down information into manageable pieces, presenting it in an engaging manner, and helping students practice those skills. The same applies to teaching an adult how to follow a certain process or learn about a product they have to sell.
As a teacher, you are constantly analyzing data and using that information to guide your planning and decision making, to determine how effective different strategies or projects were, and to make improvements. Don’t forget that the corporate world is all about data too.
Don’t limit yourself to what you think you can’t do simply because you haven’t done it in that specific setting before. Remain positive and keep an open mind.
Highlight Your Accomplishments
Quantifying your achievements makes a positive impact on your resume. Even though you were working in a school and not an office, it shows your ability to hit goals and make a difference. Show how you grew the percent of students reading at or above grade level or scoring a 3 or 4 on end of grade tests. Emphasize results by combining them with phrases such as exceeded, surpassed, increased, improved, reduced, or decreased.
A Formatting Guide to Writing a Resume to Leave Teaching
Now that you know what you want to include when writing your resume, it is time to focus on how to format everything. A major rule of thumb is to keep it simple. You don’t need fancy fonts, graphics, images, or colors. Those elements may actually prevent your resume from being accurately read by applicant tracking systems (ATS).
- Use Standard Headers
Don’t get too creative with how you label each section of your resume. Stick to the traditional headers of Professional Experience, Education, Licenses and Certifications, Core Competencies, Volunteer Experience, etc.
- Break Content into Bullet Points
No one wants to read long blocks of texts. Doing this can make your resume look crowded and overwhelming. Instead, make each statement a separate action- or results-oriented bullet point. Take some time and show what you did and what it accomplished rather than a laundry list of responsibilities.
- Create a Compelling Summary
Objectives are a thing of the past. Your goal is obviously to get the job for which you are applying. Start your resume off with a strong summary that highlights your key strengths and what you bring to the table. What makes you a good fit for the role?
- Add a Solid List of Core Competencies
These are keywords that emphasize your hard and soft skills. Shift away from education-focused terms and use corporate language. It’s wise to read through various job openings and pull from the terminology. Look at what skills consistently pop up in the roles you’re considering.
- Save Using an Accepted File Format
It’s preferable to save your resume as .doc or .docx as these are the most widely accepted types of files by ATS. Usually, the application will tell you what file format to use, so read the application form carefully. Avoid saving your resume as a Pages or JPEG file–these formats can lead to rejection. Some ATS can read PDF files and some cannot, so Word documents are usually the safest bet.
Remember to put your contact information in the body of your actual resume, not in the header or footer, so it doesn’t accidentally get overlooked or removed by the ATS. Images and graphics may also be stripped, so create a text-based resume.
- Include a Cover Letter
Unless a job posting explicitly states not to include a cover letter, it is recommended to include one. If you have a well-crafted cover letter that clearly demonstrates your interest, experience, and abilities, it will your chances of landing an interview. By not writing a cover letter, you put yourself at a disadvantage against other candidates who did.
Set Yourself Up to Change Careers and Leave Teaching
Having a professionally written resume that is free from errors, presents you in a positive light, and highlights your transferable skills is essential for changing careers. Contact Grammar Chic at resumewriting@grammarchic.net or call (803) 831-7444 to get started. Begin your journey today and find a job outside of the classroom.
