How To Write an Eye-Catching Teaching Assistant CV

A CV is typically your first line of communication with a potential employer. Nothing is more important than a first impression, so the quality of your CV can make the difference between a rejection and a new job. As a teaching assistant looking for work, your CV needs to look professional and sell your skills to employers effectively. 

While the UK’s Covid-19 lockdowns are thankfully fading from memory, school employers have still not forgotten the essential contribution that teaching assistants made to keeping their schools running. TAs are sure to be in high demand for the next academic year. 

Whether you’re just starting out in your teaching career or come with years of experience, perfecting your CV is the most important aspect of the job search process.

To put you in the best possible position to secure a great job for September, familiarise yourself with the most important steps to take when writing a teaching assistant CV that stands out. 

Your personal profile is your chance to catch an employer’s eye. This is the section of your CV where you can really sell yourself, particularly if you don’t yet have any prior teaching experience.

This section of your CV acts as your introduction, so let your personality shine through as much as possible. Include every detail that will persuade recruiters to continue reading your CV, such as original content about your unique skills and qualities.

Try to avoid CV clichés such as having fantastic ‘communication skills’ or being ‘a team player’. Stand out from the competition by writing something creative and appealing to grab the employer’s attention.

Although it takes more time to tweak your CV for each application, it's more than worth doing. Each school will require different qualities from their teaching assistants, so you must accentuate what skills you can offer to meet their varying criteria.

When writing your teaching assistant CV, try to think like the employer and keep in mind at all times what they would ideally expect to read. They are looking for someone to succeed in a particular role, and it is your job to tailor your CV to the job. It’s crucial that you are crystal clear about what type of teacher you are.

For example, the recent push for inclusive education has resulted in a rise in the employment of teaching assistants who can provide tailored support to children with special learning and behaviour needs. If a school is looking for a teaching assistant with experience working with students that require special education needs support, make sure that your CV reflects the skills that you have to succeed in that role.

When writing about your previous experience as a teaching assistant, you should take care to always foreground your tangible achievements.

Include a description of the school you worked for, the number of pupils you were responsible for and any other features that give the employer a clearer picture of your working environment.

Next, it’s vital that you tell the reader about your most notable achievements. These might include any innovative teaching methods you put into practice, tangible improvements in attainment seen amongst your pupils or classes and any extra-curricular responsibilities you took on. Schools will value concrete examples of your involvement in many different aspects of school life.

Schools will scan through many CVs when hiring for a new teaching role, and they won't have the time to look at yours in any particular detail. Long CVs with an overload of information will almost certainly result in an immediate rejection. Recent data shows that the ideal CV length is 475 – 600 words, yet 77% of CVs were either longer or shorter.

Remember, employers will take a quick scan of your CV and make a quick judgement about whether they want to learn more about you. That’s why it’s so important to keep it short and to be succinct. Write your CV in an effective and concise manner with bullet points to break information up into readable chunks.

Now you know what it takes to write an eye-catching teaching assistant CV, all that's left to do is put these tips into action and find your next job as a TA.

As the UK's leading education recruitment agency, we place thousands of teaching assistants each year into rewarding roles up and down the country.

To start working in classrooms as soon as September, browse our primary teaching assistant jobs, secondary teaching assistant jobs and special needs teaching assistant jobs. You can also take advantage of a one-stop service for storing, updating and submitting your CVs through our CPD Academy. All you have to do is register with us.