[LawrenceRose]

I have been looking for a teaching job for 5 years, & in the meantime have been substitute teaching, volunteering and working as a para. I do not feel as if my cover letter (& maybe resume as well) "sell" my teaching ability as well as I would like. I have rewritten my cover letter many times, and just cannot get it to transmit the information that I want it to!

I have a variety of experiences in education & want to highlight that, but I feel as if my letter reiterates my resume in many aspects rather than giving a better picture of me as a teacher. I need some help! Can I please get some advice on what types of things you include in your cover letter? Specific examples, or even specific sentences, would really help. I have researched this numerous times, but just cannot seem to get my letter the way I want it. Thanks so much!

[guest_teacher]

This is an old post, but in case you haven't yet found the advice you need, here goes...

I like to use the cover letter as a bridge between my resume and the job description. Often a school district will have a generic job description for "classroom teacher". You can use that as a starting point and infer additional job requirements by researching the school. Look on the school's Web site for a mission statement, a school accountability report card, a school site plan, or even for casual documents like a newsletter.

Parrot words from the job description or other relevant documents and say exactly how your education and experience match the school's requirements. Make sure that the hiring manager (principal, or school district human resources representative) can quickly judge your claims by reading your resume.

Good luck in your job search, and hope this helps!

[LawrenceRose]

I really appreciate your response. I hadn't thought of linking it that closely to the specific job description that so many districts post.

I also like the idea of thinking of it as a link...maybe if I keep that in mind when writing them, then I can get closer to what it needs to be.

Thanks!