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Improve your Teaching Application for your next Teacher job

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teaching application

Teaching Applications are getting more and more competitive.

Greater numbers of teachers in the market mean a greater number applying for that role you have been waiting for. The sole purpose of your teaching application is to get you an interview. So how do you ensure that your application gets you that interview for the teaching job you want?

Follow these 3 simple steps to ensure you are not failing at the first hurdle.

  1. Value-added Teacher applications.
  2. Keywords are critical to getting past the algorithm.
  3. Your Teaching Philosophy is key.

teaching application

 

Value-added Teacher applications

What do we mean when we talk about Value-Added Teacher application, well quite simply, what Value will you bring to the school and team you are applying to? If we look at everyone’s roles and responsibilities from any submission they will pretty much be like for like. Develop a Scheme of work, Plan lessons, deliver, mark, assess, and analyse to find the gaps right?

But what value did you actually add in doing this? The BIGGEST Value Add will be the results of your teaching, how many 9’s did your cohort get? Have you achieved this over 2-3 years with a variety of learners? Progress 8 is also a great stat for a Senior Leader application.

Can you show the improvement made, Subject progress index is a great way that every Principal will be able to see clearly and concisely?

Failing that can you describe any specific wins with key groups, strategies that made a true impact (and be able to demonstrate this)? You have to set yourself apart from the next teacher whose application is next on the pile!

 

teaching application

Keywords are critical to getting past the algorithm

Most schools use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) of some sort these days. Looking at the Job Description and Person Specification are there specific keywords that come up over and over again? You will probably need to highlight these words to make sure your application is visible. Why not use a free word cloud to identify an app like Rezi.ai that will allow you to upload the job description and give you a keyword analysis of what keywords you will need to include in your teaching application to get past any Applicant Tracking System. This is even MORE important if you are applying via an Indeed or TES website.

 

teaching application

Your Teaching Philosophy is KEY!

Your Teaching philosophy is critical to your Teaching Application. FACT. More importantly, your ability to concisely communicate this within your application is just as critical. The Principal will need to understand fully who you are as a Teacher and what you believe in. This needs to align with their own beliefs and values, so ensure you do your due diligence before you spend time applying. Visit the school, check them out on look at their Ofsted report, follow them on social media, local news, and also perhaps set up a Google Alerts with the school name or Principal name so you get all new and recent information about them.  Do your due diligence!

Why you don’t hear back from your teaching job applications

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If you are one of those individuals who rarely receives any positive feedback from online teaching job applications, then this post will shed light on how you need to optimise your online job application.

The first place most people go to when looking for a new teaching opportunity is TES or other well known job boards. Teaching applications via online channels have become the norm with various platforms available all across the world, giving you the opportunity to browse through thousands of the latest job vacancies.

 

Understanding How Education Recruiters or Employers Filter Applicants 

Most online teaching job application platforms let you browse the various available jobs without having to sign up for any sort of account. However, the minute you want to apply, sign up is required. Once this happens, you have an online profile to develop on that particular platform. You may add your CV to the database, giving you the opportunity to be searched/found. Most platforms allow recruiters and employers the option to browse through the “CV database”, you must keep this in mind when filling out your profile as it is vitally important.

 

Teacher Application Form

Education recruiters and employers do not have the time to look at every single application, and generally, when they search their database they would use keywords to narrow down the search parameters of teaching applicants. E.g. “Teacher of Humanities Manchester” or “Year 6 Teacher London”

The system would also use an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to filter through the multitude of teacher applications/CV’s and order the profiles that best match the job description/search criteria. An ATS is filing cabinet with a ‘CV robot” that searches for keywords/terms on a CV/profile, then selecting the one with the best matching criteria to creating a shortlist for the hiring manager to look at.

Keywords Application

How to Optimise the text content of your teaching CV/Application.

Now that you understand how your CV/application would be filtered through an online job portal/databases, it’s time to optimise your teacher CV so that you are one of the individuals that make it through the “CV robot” to get an interview.

Your CV has to be readable by the ATS algorithms, while having pictures and graphics on your CV may be something that you think looks great, unfortunately, the “CV robots” are not able to read them.

The same goes for the Design Technology and Art teachers out there, having a graphic or arty CV might seem like a fantastic way to showcase your design and creative skill set, the ATS, would not be able to read it.

Importance of Job Keywords

As mentioned, the ATS searches for keywords in your CV, and you would need to include all relevant keywords pertaining to the vacancy you are applying for. For instance, if the vacancy is for a Head of Business Studies who has experience dealing with demotivated learners, engagement, and outstanding teaching are all important keywords that must, where possible, be included on your CV.

Readability of Your CV

When writing your teacher CV/application it is important to remember that whoever is reviewing it, has reviewed hundreds of CVs/applications. Keep to one font, and standard font sizes for headings and the body of the text making sure your headings are bold enough to catch the eye. It is important to keep your CV to two pages. Think less is more.

Ensure you upload your CV in a readable Docx or PDF, many pdf converter websites take a snapshot of your CV so it is almost like a picture instead of a PDF. So it would be best if you save it as a pdf.

If you think you need some more help optimising your CV, feel free to book a one-on-one CV & LinkedIn Review with Hadfield Education.