Teacher Assistant
Resume Example

Teacher’s assistants perform an important role in the classroom. Working under the direction of a lead teacher, they can be called upon to supervise students and provide extra instruction when they struggle, to assist with grading, and to develop new educational materials, including lesson plans and assignments.

Teacher’s assistants earn around $26,000 per year on average, and their salaries fall into a fairly narrow range, with few dipping below $22,000 or rising above $28,000. Their salaries are not strongly influenced by experience.

When writing your resume, follow these tips to stand out from other applicants and make a great impression before you even step in the door.

1. Start Your Resume with a Fantastic Career Objective

Your career objective is a list of your best qualities, skills, and accomplishments, all the things that make you a great teaching assistant. It’s one of the first things anybody who looks at your resume will see, so make sure you write a good one. It needs to be clearly written and concise–hiring managers sometimes decide whether to throw out or keep a resume in as little as six seconds. It should convey confidence without coming across as arrogant. When writing it, bear the following two things in mind:

It’s about why you’re right for the position, not why the position is right for you.

This is the number-one place where applicants go wrong. When you’re applying for your dream job, it’s easy to forget yourself and gush about why it would be perfect for your life and your career, but hiring managers are paid to consider their organization’s needs, not yours.

It needs to showcase your particular strengths.

Beyond demonstrating that you’re a great teacher’s assistant, your objective should show how you’re different from the other great teacher’s assistants who are applying. Whoever you are, there’s something special about you, some particular skill that most people don’t have. Maybe you’re a brilliant lesson planner, and the assignments you create are always fresh and different. Maybe you have the patience of a zen monk, and you can keep calm even when there’s a whole class of kids screaming at you. Whatever your greatest skill is, emphasize it.

It helps to research your prospective school and find out what skills they might particularly value. Whether it’s an elementary or high school, whether it’s public or private, whether you’ll be working with special ed students or not—all that will affect what they’re looking for. In our example, the applicant (for a public school) writes:

Strong multitasking ability, recognized for excellent communication skills and ability to manage and enthusiastically engage with classes of 30+ students.

It’s an unfortunate fact that over the past few decades, the average class size in most public schools has grown larger and larger. Handling large groups of students is demanding and can leave many teaching assistants overwhelmed. By noting that she is able to deal with this (enthusiastically, no less), the applicant sets herself aside from the competition.

Always do your homework before applying. It will pay dividends later.

2. Quantify, Quantify, Quantify

Quantifying your resume means, wherever possible, citing hard numbers and listing specific accomplishments. Quantified claims are clearer, stronger, more convincing. You might be tempted to write that you’re “committed to helping your students reach their maximum potential.” That’s admirable, but it’s vague. Instead, cite a time when you helped your students complete a particular assignment, or raise their grades by a specific amount.

In our sample resume, the applicant mentions that she created homework packets. She could have written,

Instead she wrote,

In the first quote, the hiring manager has only her word that her homework packets were fun. She’s asking them to trust her judgment, which is a lot to ask of somebody who hasn’t met you yet. In the second quote, she’s stating a fact.

There are a lot of opportunities in your job for quantification. As specifically as possible, mention:

Opportunities for Quantification

• Improvements you made in your students’ grades
• Awards you received
• How large your classes were
• How many assignments you created
• The number of colleagues you assisted or trained

The first two are the big ones. Grades matter, and if you demonstrably improved them, don’t be afraid to brag about that. Official commendations from your lead teacher, principal, or superintendent are a big deal, and should always be listed first.

3. Make It Clear That You’re Certified …

The requirements to become a teacher’s assistant vary significantly state by state. You don’t need a teaching certificate or a bachelor’s degree, but you do need a high school diploma (or equivalent). You’ll also probably be required to complete some college coursework, log a certain number of hours working with children, or pass a state examination.

There’s a good chance that your resume will be reviewed by a computer program, called an applicant tracking system, before it’s ever seen by a living human. You need to include everything in your resume that an ATS might look for, and that includes all the certifications required of you. That’s also the kind of thing hiring managers scan for first, even if they’re not using an ATS.

Make it very clear that you’re qualified to do the job. Mention that you’re certified in your resume AND your cover letter. In our sample, the applicant mentions it at both the beginning and end of her resume.

4. … And Mention That You’re Tech-Savvy

Gone are the days when you could teach with a blackboard and a piece of chalk. These days, you are expected to be familiar with educational software and technology.

Don’t neglect this on your resume. Your hiring manager will look for it. This is especially true if the lead teacher you’ll be working with isn’t tech-savvy, as is sometimes the case. Your job is to assist them, after all.

You need to be proficient with Microsoft Office, and able to browse the web and send emails without tripping up. You should be comfortable around basic office technology like printers and copiers, as well as classroom technology like SMART Boards and virtual learning environments like Blackboard Learn. In general, you’re expected to be familiar with the same tools that teachers are:

Classroom Software:

• Pearson ECollege
• Moodle Sakai
• Lore
• MyEdu
• GoinGon
• Instructable Canvas
• Blackboard Learn
• Canvas

Other Software Skills:

• Microsoft Office
• GIMP/Photoshop
• Windows Movie Maker or iMovie

Research Skills:

• Web browsing and online search abilities
• JSTOR and other research tools
• Google Scholar

If you have any formal qualifications, like a Microsoft Office certification, indicate that in the appropriate section of your resume. Here, again, it helps a lot to do your homework and find out what tools the school you’re applying to uses. When you list your skills, make sure to format and quantify them in a way that will beat an ATS and impress a hiring manager.