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An ESL teacher needs to be extremely skilled and have excellent interpersonal skills. Our ESL teacher resume examples will show you how to display these elements in your own resume.
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Our ESL teacher resume samples will help you craft the right resume for an ESL job. Just follow our examples' organization and structure.
An ESL teacher is a teacher that specializes in teaching English as a second language. For this position, you’ll need to have all the skills associated with classroom teaching while also having professional expertise related to teaching the English language to ESL learners.
The right professional resume for this job will display your skills, experience, and certifications that fulfill the role’s duties to hiring managers. This should include evidence of teaching experience, classroom management skills, experience creating lesson plans, knowledge of different teaching methods, and principles of ESL education.
Create your resumeThe structure of your ESL teacher resume will depend on which resume format you choose. There are three main formats:
Regardless of which format you choose, your resume will include the following sections:
Header
Your contact information goes in your header, and should be easily visible to the recruiter. You should include your full name, address, email, phone number, location, and any relevant social media links like your LinkedIn profile. This gives the hiring manager a full rundown of options to contact you.
Your resume summary or resume objective sits underneath the header at the top of your resume.
The resume summary is a snapshot view of your teaching career thus far. Only a few sentences long, it summarizes your strengths as a candidate. For example:
“Professional ESL teacher with a master’s degree in TESOL with over ten years of classroom experience. Proven track record of mentoring ESL students and improving ELL language skills in both middle school and high school.”
A resume objective is slightly different in that it is more aspirational. Use it to outline our career objectives to show your goals align with the organization you’re applying to. The resume objective is the better option for less-experienced candidates: “Recent graduate seeking professional development in an ESL learning environment. Experience teaching TEFL in small groups and measuring student progress.”
The best resume will have a comprehensive skills section that mentions the necessary hard and soft skills to be a responsible ESL teacher. Consider using these bullet points as inspiration to include in your ESL teacher resume:
This list is by no means exhaustive. Being a teacher is a highly skilled profession. The classroom setting means that soft skills are a significant need for teachers as they navigate student needs. Check the job description for specific skills the recruiter is looking for. This information will help shape your skills section.
List your previous relevant work experience in reverse chronological order in this section. The perfect work history section refers to plenty of educational responsibilities and achievements that show your teaching skills as a second language teacher. If you are a trainee teacher, refer to roles where you have collaborated with other teachers to aid student learning.
If you have no experience in a teaching job, highlight roles that showcase transferable skills. This section is about making the connection for recruiters between your previous experience and the advertised position.
In your education section, establish credibility by listing any professional qualifications or certifications you may have. That could be a bachelor’s degree or a certificate from a professional development course you attended. Any ESL-related certifications will also be good to highlight here.
Create your resumeHave questions? We’re here to help.
Yes, a professional job application always needs a cover letter. Your cover letter is an opportunity to add some detail to your resume and show off a bit of your personality. It’s also an opportunity to explain why you are applying for that school in particular and why you’re a great fit.
You can still use this ESL teacher resume even if you don’t have much teaching experience. Use a functional format for your resume and use your skills section to demonstrate all the important skills you’ve gained through your teacher training and any related experiences (e.g., internships or summer/volunteer teaching work).
You should always tailor your resume to each individual job you apply for. To do this, use the job ad, job posting, and job description to look for clues as to what the hiring manager is looking for. You’ll use this information to tailor your resume accordingly. For more resume tips and writing tips for your cover letter, check out our free samples.
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