A good teacher cover letter showcases your credentials, passion, and experience. It’s a chance to sell yourself as the best teacher for the available position. To ensure you get the position, craft a cover letter that catches the hiring manager’s attention.
It’s not enough to put together an excellent resume and use a poor cover letter. The cover letter is your marketing tool. It will encourage the employer to see your resume and consider you as a serious and potential candidate.
If you want to apply to a school that has not advertised a job post, then you can send a letter of interest. This is also known as a letter of inquiry. It seeks to find out if the school has an open position available that matches your skills set.
1. Teacher cover letter writing tips
2. Teacher cover letter format
3. Teacher cover letter sample
1. Short and concise
Your cover letter needs to be brief and concise. It should give the hiring manager all the information they require to consider you as an ideal candidate. It should also be formal and in an easy to read format. One page should be enough to showcase your work history, skills, and qualifications.
2. Use the chronological format
Your most recent experience should be presented first. Your education qualifications should also be from the most recent.
3. Customize the cover letter to the job description
Go through the job description and take note of the skills and kind of experience they are looking for. What do they consider an achievement? What are the school’s missions and values? Tailor your accomplishments and skills to fit these requirements. Don’t use a generic cover letter for every teaching application you send out.
4. Emphasize achievements
The cover letter is not the place to be subtle. No! Brag about your accomplishments. Include examples of how you helped students accomplish their goals in various positions. Show how you did it and any awards you may have received for it. Show how these achievements and qualifications meet the hiring school’s needs.
Make sure the experiences, qualifications, and training you mention are relevant to the job description. Include internships, relevant coursework, job experiences and professional or community activities that are related to the job description.
5. Show an interest in personal development
Show specific training or certifications you have received in your quest to become an excellent teacher. Most schools are interested in teachers who did not stop after attaining their degree. Teachers who want more for themselves will want more for the children by urging them to do their best. They will also be great role models for the students.
Supporting your achievements with data will take you a step closer to getting the position. For example, ‘when I took up teaching the Physics class at Orchard Secondary school, the students test scores increased by 30% in one year.’
6. Include outside class experiences and achievements
How have you helped the children beyond the classroom? Show how you have assisted the students with extracurricular activities, a volunteer program you attended that involves working with children or non-teaching work that enhanced your teaching skills, among others. Position yourself as a strong candidate and include outside interests, or abilities. Do not oversell your abilities though.
7. Write a quality cover letter
Don’t be in a hurry to draft your cover letter. Take your time. Read through the requirements, come up with the best description for your skills.
Your language should be professional and straightforward. If possible, avoid the use of jargon. Make sure your words are your own. No need to sound like a machine or like you copied your resume from the internet.
1. Introductions
This will include your contact details, the contact details of the hiring manager and the date.
After these you include salutations. Make sure you get the name of the hiring manager right. Do some work and find out who will be receiving the letter. For most of the job postings, however, include the specific name to address your letter to.
2. First paragraph
The first paragraph should catch the reader’s attention.
3. Second paragraph
Highlight your experience, skills, and qualifications. Show how you can use them at the school and how they can help you succeed in the new position. Show the employer what you can do for them if given the opportunity.
Do not repeat the information in your resume, instead use this chance to highlight accomplishments that you did not indicate in your resume. Include your background, students you’ve worked with, how you succeeded with students, evaluations and any other information you deem necessary.
5. Third paragraph
Explain how your skills and requirements meet the new school’s needs. Tailor the letter to the needs of that specific school. It’s important to have gone to the school’s website and found out what their mission and values are. What is their culture and what are their expectations? Use this to match your qualifications or experiences. Show how, with examples, you can help the school achieve its current or future demands.
If you are a new teacher, highlight college teaching examples, student teaching experiences and volunteer work related to skills and achievements they need, show potential by connecting your experiences, challenges you have faced, how you overcame them, differences you have made in students’ lives and what you can offer the school on a professional level.
If you are an experienced teacher, use professional training and classroom examples to show experience and qualifications. Show how different experiences have molded you and your quest for personal development. Show how you have impacted students’ lives. Make sure your skills and abilities lead to positive student outcomes.
5. Fourth paragraph
Restate your interest in the position and that you are available for a face to face interview. Thank the recruiter for taking the time to read your resume and cover letter. Inform them that you have attached the resume and say you look forward to meeting them.
6. Closing paragraph
Finish the letter with your signature and full name.
This teacher cover letter sample will help with the layout. It’s an example to help you know the information to include in the letter and guidelines to follow when writing the salutations, introduction, body, and conclusion.
[Name]
[Address]
[City, state, zip]
[Email]
[Telephone]
[Current Date]
[Hiring manager’s name]
[Their title]
[District or school]
[Address]
[City, state, zip]
Dear [hiring manager/ Mr., /Mrs., / name of the employer if you know it],
I am interested in the [name of position] advertised in the [where you found the job post or mention the name of the person who referred you.] in your school district [or mention specific name of the school, if you have it]. I have a [degree or masters for the course you studied] and am working on completing my [course or skill you are studying for] at [name the school] by the end of this year. My abilities and teaching experiences make me a great asset to the [name the school you are applying to].
The following are highlights of my accomplishments, experiences, and skills:
[in list form, mention skills you have achieved, specific goals, how your experience will help the school and how you have embraced technology in your teaching career. Include information on some of the most common interest areas including flexibility, assessing and monitoring students to inform, instruct, languages you can speak or teach, classroom management, teamwork, communication with parents, teachers and other faculty members].
The school’s mission is to [mention the mission, then give an example when you demonstrated that mission in your classroom]. My goal is to use my experiences and my ability in [name two or three skills] to contribute positively to your schools’ mission and goals.
I have enclosed my resume and would love to discuss with you how my skills and experiences make me a good fit for [mention the role] position. I am grateful for the time you took to review my application, and I hope to hear from you.
Sincerely,
[Name]
[legible Signature]
Use the teacher cover letter to show why you are interested in the position, why you are the perfect fit and why the school is an ideal workplace for you. Make sure to make it interesting so that it holds the reader’s attention and encourages them to read your resume and finally request an interview. Before hitting send on your cover letter, ensure the attached resume is up to date and highlights skills relevant to the position.
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