Build Your Teacher Skills List & Get Hired Outside of the Classroom
When you decide to find work beyond the classroom, it can be hard to know how to present your skills. I talk to people all the time who have so many valuable years of experience as teachers, yet still feel like their skills are only applicable within the classroom. That’s why I love helping others build their own teacher skills list!
Just because you haven’t gotten a chance to use your skills in many circumstances doesn’t mean they’re not valuable! Building a teaching skills list can help you spend some time assessing your skills and reflecting on your experience.
But we won’t stop there! Thinking through how your unique teacher experiences and skills will be an asset in different roles can help you get hired for jobs outside of the classroom. Follow these three steps to get started!
Create A Teacher Skills List That Will Get You Hired
The best kind of skills for educators looking to make a change are teaching skills that transfer to other jobs. And even if you’ve only ever worked in a classroom, your experience as a teacher has helped you build an extensive teacher skills list.
Not sure how to identify them? Start here.
Look at Job Postings
Not sure exactly what types of teaching skills will make you marketable outside of the classroom? Look at job postings for clues. What skills and experiences are listed in the job postings? Reflect on whether your background may fit what these jobs are looking for. If so, use the language of job postings to guide how you write your resume and present your teacher skills list.
For example, if you’re looking for curriculum development jobs, look at different job postings. See if you can notice any trends or similarities in what the job postings are looking for. Pay attention to the verbs and terminology used in the postings, then use these in your resume and application materials as applicable.
Make a Skills Inventory
You have so many transferable skills, but it can be hard to see them. Take some time to actually write down all the many things you have done and put a teacher skills list on paper. Then reflect on what you have learned throughout your time in the classroom. Add those lessons to your list!
Finally, think about the skills you have developed. It can be hard to think about all your skills and experiences at once. Allow yourself to see your list as a work in progress that you come back to add to again and again.
Now that you’ve thought through your experience, transfer your teacher skills list to your resume. This doesn’t mean you need to put everything on your list on your resume. Instead, think about what particular skills are best suited for the particular jobs outside of the classroom that you hope to land.
If you’re interested in several types of jobs, you might consider creating different versions of your resume for each type of job. For example, think about creating one resume that showcases your coaching skills and another that showcases your curriculum skills.
Match Your Skills to the Jobs You Hope to Land
Consider looking at LinkedIn and finding people who hold positions you’d be interested in holding. Pay attention to the skills and duties they note on their profiles. Assess whether you have those skills and if you can learn anything from the way they present their experience.
Check the teacher skills list and resume(s) that you’ve created against the LinkedIn profiles and job postings. Does your resume make it clear that you’re a great fit for the jobs you hope to land? If the connections could be clearer, make them more explicit.
Expand (and Identify) Your Teacher Skills List
The best way to land teacher jobs outside of the classroom is by showcasing how your existing experience has helped prepare you for the new role.
Ready to get support presenting your skills in the most irresistible way? Our Beyond the Classroom course is designed to support you to find and land flexible jobs in education.
In the course, you’ll get support to assess your skills and create impactful resumes and cover letters. After gaining clarity about your skills, teach you how to present your experience to help you get hired outside of the classroom. We’d love to support you!
As always, you can contact Educator Forever with any questions you may have!