Teacher CV example

A complete example CV for a teacher in South Africa, then the bullets that make it work, rewritten from weaker versions with the reason for each change.

A fictional example. Johan van Wyk is not a real person, and the employers, dates and numbers are made up to show the shape of a good CV. Use your own facts: never copy someone else's.

Johan van Wyk

Mathematics teacher, FET phase

Bloemfontein, Free State · Cell: 0XX XXX XXXX · johan@example.com

Profile

SACE-registered mathematics teacher with seven years in grades 10 to 12. Plans to CAPS, uses regular assessment to find gaps early, and coaches the school's chess and athletics teams.

Skills

Mathematics, grades 8 to 12 (CAPS)
Lesson planning and assessment
Classroom management
Using data to target extra lessons
Google Classroom
Afrikaans and English medium

Work experience

Mathematics teacherJan 2021 to present

Public high school, Bloemfontein

Teach mathematics to four classes in grades 10 to 12, about 140 learners.
Started Saturday catch-up classes for grade 12; the class pass rate rose from 71% to 84% over two years.
Moderate grade 10 assessment tasks for the department.
Coach chess (provincial finals 2024) and athletics.

Mathematics teacherJan 2019 to Dec 2020

Independent school, Bloemfontein

Taught grade 8 and 9 mathematics and natural sciences.

Education and qualifications

BEd (Senior Phase and FET), mathematics, NQF level 7. University, 2018
National Senior Certificate (matric), 2014

Registration

South African Council for Educators (SACE), registered

Languages

Afrikaans, English

Licence

Code 08 (B)

References

Available on request

Before and after: the bullets that make it work

Before: ~~Taught maths.~~
After: Teach mathematics to four classes in grades 10 to 12, about 140 learners.
Why: Phase, grades and load are what a school checks first.
Before: ~~Passionate about learner success.~~
After: Started Saturday catch-up classes for grade 12; the class pass rate rose from 71% to 84% over two years.
Why: Shows the passion in action and its result.
Before: ~~Helped with sport.~~
After: Coach chess (provincial finals 2024) and athletics.
Why: Names the extra-murals and an achievement; many teaching adverts ask about them.

South African details to get right

Educators must be registered with SACE to teach in South Africa. State your registration on the CV. Source: South African Council for Educators.
Give each qualification its NQF level: matric (the National Senior Certificate) is at level 4, and employers use the levels to compare qualifications. If you're unsure of a level, the institution or SAQA can tell you. Source: SAQA: NQF level descriptors.
Leave out your ID number, date of birth, marital status and a photo unless the advert asks for them. Contact details, your area and your work history are enough to be shortlisted.
Keep it in one column with plain headings (Profile, Skills, Work experience, Education). Tables, text boxes and two-column templates often confuse the software that reads CVs first.

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