Teacher Career Change Resume Example (With Writing Tips)

Updated 30 September 2022

Creating a new resume is one of the most important steps for starting a new career outside the teaching profession. Writing a resume that celebrates your transferable skills and experiences can help you make a good impression on employers outside the teaching sector. The impression your resume makes can help you secure an interview for a job in a new field. In this article, we explain how to write a resume to leave teaching, provide an example of a teacher career change resume and provide tips for writing one of these resumes and transitioning out of teaching.

Teacher career change resume example

Here is a teacher career change resume example that you can use to inspire your own resume:

William Allen

Hobart, Tas | 0401 129 435 | wallen@email.com

Professional Summary

Caring and dedicated professional seeking to transition from the field of education to community youth work. An expert in building relationships, communicating with people of all ages and empathising, I hope to become an asset to the Brighter Smiles Services team.

Work Experience

Volunteer youth mentor
Hobart, TAS, Camp Sunshine, 2020-current

lead chat for five to ten camp attendees
lead games and activities
chat one-on-one to children requiring extra support
refer children in need to clinical psychologists
report on each day's activities to camp supervisor

English teacher
Hobart, TAS, Hobart High School, 2015-current

create lesson plans based on state English curriculum
lead class discussions on set texts and concepts
encourage creativity and expression
set and mark exams and assignments
coordinate events and programs with colleagues

Education

Certificate IV in Youth Work
Hobart TAFE, graduated 2022

Bachelor of Education (Secondary)
Tasmania University

Key Skills

Mentorship, interpersonal communication, counselling, strategic planning, leadership, teamwork, organisation, self-management, empathy

Awards and Achievements

2021 Coach of the Year

received after coaching under 12s soccer team, Hobart Hurricanes, to grand final victory

2019 Player of the Year

received after captaining Hobart Hurricanes men's soccer team to semi-finals

Working with Children Check

held since 2015

Hobbies and interests

Volunteering in my community, playing soccer, reading

How to write a resume to leave teaching

Here are the common steps for writing a resume to help you change careers after teaching:

1. List your contact details

Listing your contact details at the top of your resume can help an employer easily contact you for an interview. Including your full name and your preferred contact method is important. You may include a range of contact methods, such as a mobile phone number, landline number and email address. Many people also include their city and state or territory to show they're located close to the business. This is optional and less important for remote jobs.

2. Write a professional summary

A professional summary tells an employer who you are and what you want to achieve with your career change. Some employers decide whether to read the full resume based on the professional summary, so it's important to engage them with this statement. Two or three sentences is the ideal length for a professional summary.

3. Outline your work experience

List your most recent work experience in reverse-chronological order, including any relevant volunteer. Include your job title, the employer's name and location, and the period of time you held the job. Underneath each job heading, you can include a bullet-point list of key duties and achievements. It's a good idea to make your duties more general than you would when applying for another teaching role. This approach can make your skills seem more transferable. For example, Entered student marks into digital school records could become Performed manual data entry.

4. Explain your education

List any periods of study and qualifications in reverse-chronological order. You can include current study and any completed courses. You may include any type of study, from degrees to short online courses to attain new skills for your career change.

5. List key skills

A list of key skills can show employers that you have the skills to successfully transition into their industry. Include a list of five to ten of your skills that can help you succeed in the vacant role. The job posting and online job descriptions can give you an idea of the skills important to the position.

6. Include optional sections

Optional sections, such as sections for awards and hobbies, can help employers understand why you're moving away from teaching. It can also highlight skills and experiences you've acquired outside your career. For example, if you're moving into gallery curating you might mention your love of painting and sketching in a hobbies section.

7. End with a references section

A references section is the traditional way to end a resume. You could write a statement saying that your references are available on request. You could also list your referees and their contact details. While this approach is less common, it's a good idea if one of your referees knows the employer or is well-known in your new industry.

Tips for writing a resume to leave teaching

Here are some tips that can help you write a resume to enter a new field after a teaching career:

Focus on transferable skills

Transferable skills are skills you acquired as a teacher that you can apply to your next job. Transferable skills are often soft skills. The duties you performed as a teacher can prove to an employer that you have these desirable skills.

Include only the most relevant duties

Teachers have a wide range of duties, so it's important to be selective about the ones you include on your resume. Consider what the new role entails and how your past duties are similar. For example, overseeing the school orchestra is relevant if you want to move into music production. This duty may be less important for a teacher moving into business administration.

Include industry terms you understand

Including terms from job postings can help you pass through applicant tracking systems and get noticed by employers. It's important to make sure you understand all the words on your resume, as you may get asked about them later. Online resources can help you become more comfortable with technical industry language.

Customise your resume for each role

Every job you apply for has slightly different requirements. Customising your resume to reflect the employer's preferred and essential skills and experience can help you seem like the ideal candidate. Matching your language to the job posting can help employers see your suitability at a glance.

Tips for moving from teaching to another career

Here are some tips that can help you successfully transition from a teaching career to another role:

Assess your skills

Analyse the skills you've gained through teaching and any volunteer work and consider how they could help you in a new career. You might decide which career to pursue based on your existing skills. Once you've decided on your preferred career path, consider extra training to acquire new job-related skills.

Research your new career

Researching your new career helps you understand the knowledge, skills and experience that people in this field have. Your research can help you learn technical terms and acronyms common in your new sector. It can also help you identify common qualifications that competitors for the role may have. Understanding more about your new sector can help you prepare for your career transition.

Discuss your transition in your cover letter

Being honest about your reasons for moving into another field in your cover letter helps employers understand you better. You might write that you're seeking a new challenge or you want to work in an area that you're passionate about. If possible, it's a good idea to draw comparisons between your teaching duties and your potential new role. For example, you might explain that while you enjoy helping students care about fitness in your physical education classes, you want to become a cricket coach to help elite athletes in a sport you love.

Teacher Career Change Resume Example (With Writing Tips)