How to Write a TEFL/TESOL Resume

A TEFL/TESOL resume is slightly different from a regular resume. Because your potential employer lives far away-like in another country-you will need to provide specific information to help them decide whether or not to hire you.

Information to Include on Your TEFL/TESOL Resume

You will need a current photo of yourself. If there is room on your resume, try to play your photo in the upper-right hand corner. You will also need to write down your citizenship, however, for security reasons, do not write down your passport number. So, for example, if you are a U.S. citizen, you should write "American" under citizenship.

You should also include your native language-which, if it is English, it will give you a better chance of being hired as an English teacher-your birthday and country of birth, and your marital status. Also, if you are over 50, you should include your health status. You can simply write "good" if you are healthy.

Other sections of your resume should address your education, your TEFL/TESOL training and any specialization certificates you may have earned, details of any teaching experience, and other work experience.

When writing your resume, keep the following in mind:

If you have a college degree, be sure to provide information on the type of degree-B.A. or B.S.-your major, your university or college, and the year you graduated.

Make sure to include where, when, and with whom you received your TEFL/TESOL certification.

Your teaching experience may include tutoring, camp counseling, or coaching.

Your other work experience should be listed in chronological order, starting with the most recent experience.

Include any extracurricular or recreational activities you partake in, since you may be able to teach them in addition to teaching English. This will help set you apart from other applicants.

Your resume should only be one page long.

Instead of including references, write a line that states, "Available upon request."

Double check that your contact information is up-to-date and that your email address is appropriate, i.e. don't give them your foxylady@hotmail.com email address.

Writing and Formatting Your Resume

Your name should be the biggest words on your resume, and they should be at the top of the page. You want your name to stand out, so that potential employers do not forget you.

Under your name you should have your contact information, including address, telephone number, and email. To the right of your contact information you should have a picture of yourself.

The first section of your resume should be your personal information. It should include your date of birth, citizenship, native language, marital status, and health, and it should be written as a list. Make sure to capitalize and bold all your headings and sub-headings. This means the word "Personal" should be bold, as well as "Birth," "Citizenship," "Native Language," "Marital Statues," and "Health."

The next section should cover your education. You can include your TEFL/TESOL training in this section or you can put it in its own section.

Your experience section should come next. When describing your experience, use bullet points. Make sure to use at least two bullet points per experience, and always start your phrases with an action verb.

Next you may include a list of skills or relevant experiences, such as other languages you know, travel experience, and interests. Try to keep this in bullet point format.

Try to have as much white space as possible in your resume. You do not want it to look to busy and overwhelming to read. Have your headings in all caps, indent each subheading and information under your heading, and use bullet points when possible. Also, try playing with bold and italics to vary your font and make your resume look more interesting. It helps to catch someone's attention and keep the whole resume more organized.