3 Tips to Update a Teacher Resume with Remote Experience

In this guest post, Conrad Benz of Resume Genius discusses how to update a teacher resume with remote experience and what remote teaching skills you can list in the skills section.

If you’re like most teachers who had to make the switch to a completely virtual set-up at some point during the COVID pandemic, you probably have a ton of remote experience to show for the past year. Despite the challenges you might’ve faced during this difficult period, there’s some good news. Your remote teaching experience can be a great resume booster. 

Heads of school are always seeking passionate educators committed to creating an enriching learning experience for students. Knowing how to effectively promote your remote teaching skills (and the adaptability that comes with it) can really impress schools. Hence, it increases your chances of landing a job. 

Though you may already know how to write a resume that showcases your traditional skills, you might be wondering how to add remote teaching experience to your resume. Here are a few tips for updating your teacher resume with remote experience:

1. Decide Where You Want To Showcase Your Remote Work

Remote work is here to stay, even as teachers begin the challenging path of navigating the reentry into the classroom this fall. However, to effectively showcase your remote teaching experience on your resume, you should first identify which aspect of your teaching background is most valuable to employers. 

Are you applying for a position that involves a lot of remote teaching? Then your remote experience would be their primary focus. In this case, you should emphasize remote teaching skills right from the start of your resume.

Even so, if you’re simply updating your resume following the pandemic or planning on applying to a job that only consists of in-person teaching, showcase your remote work in a more subtle way, like listing it in your resume’s skills section. 

In Your Resume’s Introduction 

School executives are busy people. Often with hundreds of resumes to review for each job posting, it can be difficult to get their attention. Aligning your talents to the job right from the start in your resume introduction helps them immediately recognize you’re a good match. 

This is especially true if you’re applying somewhere that values remote experience. If you can tell remote work matters to this particular employer, mention this experience at the very beginning of your resume in your professional summary. 

Start off by stating how much remote experience you have, then follow up by listing some of the online teaching tools you’re familiar with that are also essential to the role. 

For example, you could talk about your experience developing an adaptable curriculum, along with your proficiency in using e-learning platforms or distance learning tools, such as Google Classroom and Blackboard. 

And if you’re applying to a job where your remote experience isn’t as important, you can showcase your remote work later on. In this case, you should touch upon it in the work experience or skills section of your resume. 

In Your Resume’s Work Experience Section 

To highlight your remote experience more subtly, include it in your resume’s work experience section. For instance, if any of your past teaching jobs were fully remote, you could add “Remote” as the location next to the job title. 

When detailing your primary responsibilities, include one or two bullets elaborating on your transition to remote teaching. Focus on what you accomplished during this time. And instead of just listing your job responsibilities as a remote teacher, try to emphasize how you were able to quickly adapt to the situation to facilitate your students’ learning. Here’s an example of how to highlight remote teaching experience in your work experience section:

“Transitioned three 5th grade classes to a fully remote curriculum, maintaining grades and student retention in the process.”

In a Dedicated “Remote Teaching” Section 

With the rise of remote work, you might find yourself wanting to emphasize both your in-person and remote teaching experience. If you have a ton of experience with both methods of teaching, you can add a separate “Remote Teaching Experience” section to your resume. 

There are a couple of reasons why you might want to feature your remote experience in a separate section from your conventional teaching experience. First, you get more space to add bullet points that further detail how you successfully transitioned to remote teaching. Second, you’re able to emphasize your expertise as both a remote and in-person teacher, while organizing your information in a way that’s easy for employers to follow. 

2. Highlight Your New Remote Teaching Skills in Your Skills Section

The skills section of your resume is valuable real estate for experienced remote teachers. It provides space to outline the remote tools you’re comfortable using. Besides, it’s laid out in a format that’s easy for employers to digest quickly.

Even if the last few school years didn’t go exactly as planned, you’ve probably acquired a number of new skills along the way. Regardless of what type of teaching experience employers are looking for, highlighting your new remote teaching skills — along with any relevant soft skills — in the skills section of your resume will make you a more attractive candidate to employers. 

More specifically, incorporating these skills into the skills section demonstrates to employers you’re an adaptable teacher. These skills show that you’re also attuned to current teaching methods and the newest remote work tools.

Here are some important remote teaching skills to include in the skills section of your resume:

3. Own Up to the Struggles When Outlining Your Recent Work Experiences

The past several months haven’t been easy for educators. From adjusting to e-learning platforms and creating adaptable curriculums to dealing with the constant closure and reopening of schools amidst the ongoing COVID waves, it’s been a bumpy road for most people. 

Employers understand that this was a difficult time for teachers all around the world. They certainly don’t expect you to say everything went smoothly. Rather than trying to make it seem like everything was fine, use your resume to discuss key challenges you faced while transitioning to remote teaching. You have an opportunity to highlight how you overcame them. 

Knowing how to own up to your struggles shows employers you’re both adaptable and ready to face the inevitable challenges on the horizon. It will convince them you’re the dedicated educator they want to hire. 

Author Bio

Conrad Benz is a Digital Media Specialist & Resume Expert at Resume Genius, where he helps countless job-seekers craft standout resumes and launch their careers. His career expertise has been cited by numerous publications, such as Glassdoor, Resume Library, and Typsy.