What Should I Include on My CV After a Year of Supply Work?
A good CV is crucial for finding work, but putting the perfect one together can be a challenge that many of us simply are not prepared for. Knowing what to put on your CV after a year of supply work can be the difference between you landing that role and missing out on it, and we want you to get to where you want to be and achieve your dreams—because that’s what life is about!
Does Supply Teaching Count as Valuable Experience?
Supply teaching can look fantastic on your CV for a number of reasons, but you need to be able to highlight it in a way that truly makes it shine. Many employers might not understand the full range of benefits of supply work, so you need to take the time to outline them in a clear and concise way to fit with the rest of your CV and make you stand out from the crowd. Not everyone will have decided to do supply teaching, and that means that not everyone will have experienced what you have—which means that you will have extra skills that employers will love.
Preparing your CV after a year of supply work is crucial whether you want to continue working as a supply teacher, or try to move onto a full-time role instead. To do this, you need to be able to lean into the skills you learn as a supply teacher and the unique experience it gives you, and create a CV that employers won’t forget. Everyone’s CV will be unique, but you need to make sure that yours shines.
What Should You Highlight on Your CV After a Year in Supply Teaching?
To write a CV after a year of supply work, you need to follow the usual CV layout and include your basic and contact information, a quick personal summary, your core skills, work experience, certificates and education, and any additional information you might wish to add that could be relevant, such as languages, arts, music, or something else.
You should mention where you have done supply teaching (including any agencies you have worked with, as well as schools/colleges/academies etc you have taught at), and mention your top qualifications such as degrees, QTS, and PGCE. Next, you need to clearly outline your skills, with curriculum delivery, classroom management, behaviour management, and more being key to show off what you have learned as a supply teacher.
It is key to showcase your adaptability to different timetables, classrooms, and year groups to highlight your teaching experience, and mention your adaptability to be ready on short-notice while remaining professional. If you wish to continue teaching, this will be something that is key, as lessons will not always go to plan, and you might have to cover for another teacher, whether you are a supply teaching or working in a full-time role at a school.
What Transferable Skills Are Gained From Supply Work?
Transferable skills are key in any CV, and supply teaching is a fantastic opportunity to build on skills that you will need for many different jobs. Creating your CV after a year of supply work will mean that you can talk about flexibility and adaptability, classroom management, communication, collaboration, and so much more that you have learned, and they are all highly sought-after. Just make sure that you take the time to adequately showcase them!
Key skills that you develop while doing supply teaching include:
- Adaptability – you will need to adapt to routine changes, quick preparation and organisation, new environments, and so much more as a supply teacher
- Classroom management – new classrooms and new students mean that you will learn different ways of managing classes and dealing with different kinds of behaviour to nurture an environment that is safe and suitable for learning
- Communication and collaboration – you need to communicate with your agency, school faculty, students, and more as a supply teacher, and communication skills will quickly improve as you work in the role
- Quick rapport building – building relationships and rapport with faculty and students alive is key, and you will learn the tips and tricks for quick rapport building as a supply teacher
- Lesson delivery flexibility – not all students learn and understand the same, and supply teaching allows you to explore alternative methods to delivering lessons to be suitable to a diverse range of learning needs
How Do You Present Varied Placements Effectively?
Writing your CV after a year of supply work, you will likely have a number of different placements to include—but how do you present them in a way that works? You should list your work experience in reverse chronological order to start with the most recent agency or school you worked with, the dates you were with them, and some bullet points to outline the subjects and year groups you taught and classroom management, as well as any feedback and achievements you received.
You should make a point to highlight repeat bookings throughout your supply work, as this is invaluable in showcasing both effectiveness and reliability—and that is exactly what employers will be looking for.
Common Mistakes to Avoid on a Supply CV
Common mistakes that you should avoid when writing up a CV include not adding and highlighting repeat bookings as a teacher, failing to add bullet-pointed information about the year groups and subjects you taught, not addressing classroom management, and more. While these might seem like small details to skip out on, they are key as a supply teacher, and go a long way for potential employers who want to see what you have to offer at a glance.
To write the perfect CV after a year of supply work, you need to focus on what is important and be concise. You only have limited space on a CV, with the preferred length being about two pages—that isn’t a lot of space! Prioritise and make sure that you keep things relevant to the job you are applying for.
Common mistakes to avoid include:
- Not adding and highlighting repeat bookings
- Not including bullet points on the subjects and year groups you taught
- Failing to address classroom management
- Skipping CPD and certificates you get
- Not following the Outline, Responsibilities, Achievements structure for job history
The job market is incredibly tough, and no employer is going to want to spend extra time trying to fill in the blanks of your CV. Because of this, it is always best to lay things out simply and give them all the information they need from the start. Organise your CV well, take your time with it, and tailor it to the position you are applying for, and you should get results.
How First Class Supply Can Help You Secure Long-Term Roles
Preparing your CV after a year of supply work isn’t easy, but we are here to help. Here at First Class Supply, we have experts on the team who can not only help you with CDP, but also perfect your CV so that you can secure your dream job—even if it’s a full-time position. We know that you have a lot to offer, and we want to see you succeed, but you need to be able to put the work in!
Need help refining your teaching CV? Get in touch with First Class Supply for expert advice and access to long-term or permanent teaching roles in your area, or check out our community support, testimonials and meet the team? We also have information for schools and teachers, and like to keep you up-to-date on news.
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