How to make a TEFL CV and impress hiring managers covers writing a winning TEFL CV that should pass the eight-second test. You don’t have long to impress the hiring manager when applying for F2F (face-to-face) or online EFL or ESL teaching roles. Studies show that Directors of Studies (DOS) spend between five and eight seconds on average looking at a prospective TEFL/TESOL candidate’s CV. That’s less than the time it takes for the water in your kettle to boil. Read this article and start writing a winning CV today.
How to make a winning TEFL CV
What does your TEFL / TESOL CV say about you?
A winning TEFL CV should pass the eight-second test. After that, you don’t have long to impress the hiring manager when applying for F2F (face-to-face) or online EFL or ESL teaching roles. Studies show that Directors of Studies (DOS) spend between five and eight seconds on average looking at a prospective TEFL / TESOL candidate’s CV. That’s less than the time it takes for the water in your kettle to boil.
So how can you ensure your application lands in the ‘yes’ pile with such little time to impress? At EBC Trinity College CertTESOL, we have been in the hiring market for quite a time now (we hit our 18th year in 2022!!!), and we want to share our guide on passing the eight-second CV test with you.
Keep your TEFL CV short
TEFL CVs are never one-size-fits-all, so tailor yours to fit the job description.
However, it depends on how much information you share. Most hiring managers say you must limit it to two pages; more than three will be a definite turn-off.
The key is to “cut the fat”. Ask yourself, “is this sentence vital to the TEFL or TESOL role I’m applying for?” If you say no, then drop that sentence. That sentence should not make the final cut.
Now let’s talk about your educational qualifications. When it comes to your skills and qualifications – be specific. Add start and end dates, qualification types and grades. Of course, you don’t need to add all of your qualifications either. At least two or three will usually be fine. For example, suppose you have an MBA, a business degree, Trinity College CertTESOL or another OFQUAL Level 5 (entry-level teaching) certificate. In that case, you may find that you can exclude GCSEs, A-Levels or Secondary school qualifications from your CV.
Capture the hiring manager’s attention
Whatever job you’re applying for, you must tailor your TEFL CV to include relevant examples of your work. Doing so shows the Director of Studies or Hiring Manager that you fit the role.
That is even better if you have a specific role in mind (VYL, TEYL, Business English students, General English, etc.). Look at the job specs and the type of experience they are looking for, and use your TEFL CV to match the job specs. This shows the DOS or the Hiring Manager that you’re the right match – not to mention dedicated enough to work on your TEFL CV and job application.
And if you find that your experience doesn’t match the job description, don’t panic. Instead, think about your transferrable skills and show that you’re willing, able and equipped to handle the duties.
Follow a logical, easy-to-navigate layout
Good use of formatting is vital to a successful TEFL CV.
Choose an easy-to-read structure with clear headings, and use bullet points to highlight key points and relevant information. Emphasise the info you want employers to see first, and always use a logical order.
For example, if you haven’t got much previous TEFL or TESOL experience, focus on your statement, qualifications and skills instead. If you have done a similar role, show the relevance of that role to the teaching role for which you are applying. Then, follow up with your recent CertTESOL or another OFQUAL 5 entry-level teaching EFL/ESL qualification.
This will allow hiring managers or the DOS to find what they’re looking for immediately and see if they can match your skills with their TEFL and TESOL availabilities. Without sounding repetitive here, you need to make the most of those precious 8 seconds the hiring managers take to comb through your CV.
Don’t bury your strong points in layers of waffle.
Ditch the clichés
Nothing’s more likely to make a hiring manager switch off than a generic application.
Avoid phrases like “great team player” and “excellent communication skills”; all they do is make your TEFL CV look like everyone else’s.
If your TEFL CV looks like many others, yours won’t stand out when a hiring manager scans it.
Instead, keep things positive and back up your skills, attributes and relevant work experience with real examples. After all, saying, “I increased the schools’ number of clients and their revenue by X amount”, sounds much better than simply saying you’re a hard worker.
Hiring managers or those tasked with staffing the language schools are just as bored of reading the exact, overused and typical phrases as you put them on your CV.
Include these essentials when you make a CV
Your contact information
This is a vital part of your TEFL CV. You’ll never get that call or email if you send out your CV with a contact information mistake. Put your full name, address, phone number and email. You may also want to put your nationality and visa status.
A summary profile
Explain a bit about yourself, your teaching objectives, what makes you different, and why you’d make an excellent addition to the teaching team.
Skills and languages
Briefly describe your skills and how they relate to teaching, and if you speak multiple languages, let your potential employer know.
Education
Include all your qualifications, starting with the latest. Indicate the year they were awarded, the school, the qualification, and the subject.
Work history
This is where you convince your employer that your work experience is relevant to what they are looking for. It would be best if you listed your jobs starting with the latest. Include the job title, company name, location, start and end date and a description of what you did. The description is critical. Tailor your description to highlight any experience you had teaching, training or mentoring.
Here’s a real-life example. I worked with an EBC student on his CV. He was young, and his only experience was working in his aunt’s restaurant. He wrote that his job was “Helping in my aunt’s restaurant”. I saw this and asked what he did. It turns out that he set schedules, established supply reorders, managed the kitchen, supervised staff and trained up new employees working as servers and kitchen staff. I told him to write that instead. He had a job within a week of EBC sending out his CV.
Other relevant experience
Describe and highlight any experiences you have that are related to teaching. It could include private tutoring or helping your peers. Travel and other cultural or volunteer experiences are also good to mention.
Review what you wrote
When you make your CV, please don’t write it and send it. Instead, reread it a few times. Make sure that there are no spelling mistakes or grammar errors. Once you are happy with your CV, send it out.
By following this advice, you’ll get interviews and may soon be travelling off on your first or next TEFL adventure.
As an FYI, this is the approach we take in our worldwide job placement programme, which has a 100% success rate in helping EBC graduates get English teaching jobs.
Need more CV advice?
It takes an employer eight seconds to save or reject a job applicant’s CV. Therefore, creating a brief CV is crucial to land that ever-important job interview.
Get an expert opinion
It can be challenging to spot the flaws in your TEFL CV.
So instead of going through every line, and agonising over every little detail, save time by letting experts point out exactly where you might be going wrong.
There are some companies composed of teams of CV writers. They can sometimes help get your application to the top of hiring managers’ inboxes. Some will allow you to upload your CV to their site, and you’ll receive an expert CV review and evaluation within 72 hours – free of charge. I would think twice before paying an arm and a leg for additional expert advice. An accessible yet equally effective option is to ask any friends you have who are EFL/ESL teachers. Ask them to review your CV and tell them you need honest feedback.
Get started on building a winning TEFL CV
If you’re ready to put your TEFL CV to the test, have a serious look at it, ask the expert advisers to review it, or even ask your friends who are practising teachers.
Find out today how your CV sounds to them. They might tell you that it needs some tuning up, but it was not that bad to start.
All the best, and welcome to TEFL and TESOL’s exciting and challenging world.
