Education Cover Letter Writing Tips With Example Introduction Paragraphs
Education cover letter writing tips to help you to write an application letter for the new teacher, educational leadership, or higher education position you desire.
If you are stumped on how to approach a cover letter for a teaching job, these education cover letter writing tips will help you create the framework for a compelling cover letter. You can them adapt this template to suit the requirements of individual jobs.
Education Cover Letter Presentation
The visual appeal of your education cover letter will create the first impression, before they even read the content. Online cover letters provide more creative flexibility, such as adding a dab of color to lines or major titles. Be conservative.
This may seem like stating the obvious, but in an effort to make your letter stand out, it is possible to get carried away. The last reaction you want is, 'Oh, my, gaudy!' While 90 percent of viewers may like your funky design, taste is subjective. It may not go over well with the school principal in charge of hiring for your dream teaching job.
Back to the cover letter design basics. Use a black conservative font – Times Roman, Arial and Calibri are popular – and ensure the font size is at least 10, 12 ideally.
For offline resumes, print the cover letter onto resume bond paper that matches your resume. Make sure you have a matching envelope — attention to detail is important. Even if all your teacher job applications are submitted online, it is a good idea to have several hard copies available at all times.
As you attend education events and fulfill temporary teacher engagements, opportunities may arise to directly hand your resume to a district or school representative in charge of hiring.
Top Tips to Write and Format Your Education Cover Letter
Mind Your Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
Submitting a letter which contains spelling or grammatical errors could be a disaster for your application. The tolerance for English grammar and typographical errors in teacher resumes is practically nil. Even if you think you have a good standard of literacy, always have your letter proofread – it's easy to miss your own mistakes. Don't use ambiguous words; ensure the letter is concise and reads smoothly.
Keep the Application Letter Content Relevant
Make a list of the points you want to include in your cover letter and then work out the most logical sequence to introduce them. Be concise and keep it relevant.
Tailoring Your Application Letter to Match the Education Job Requirements
- Directly match the job requirements with the qualifications emphasized in your resume. If there are 10 job requirements, and only 4 of your qualifications match, consider repositioning your skills and competencies in your cover letter.
Do not lie or exaggerate. Do draw upon all of your life experience (e.g., day camp activities leader, English tutor, school newspaper editor) to make a match with the job. Note how this Elementary Principal Cover Letter sample emphasizes the two core competencies of a principal: leadership and administration.
- Look at your cover letter from the perspective of the reader and ask yourself, "If I was hiring an individual for this position, what would I be looking for in a candidate?"
- Review the resumes and cover letters of teaching job candidates for similar positions. This not only will give you ideas on how to position your application, but is also a rich source of information on courses you may want to take, associations to join, and teaching programs and technology to add to your repertoire.
Never Provide a Verbatim Account of Your Resume
Your work history and qualifications will be contained in your application form, so the cover letter is a chance to let the selection committee find out more about you as a person and the passion for the type of work you have applied for. Some of the points you may want to include are:
Why you want to work for the school district?
What makes them interesting or unique? If you can show that you've gone to the trouble of finding out specific details about their education mission, student relationship values, teaching programs, and key personnel, this will make a good impression.
The introduction to this Assistant Principal's Cover Letter example provides a good example of an opportunity to make a stronger connection with the school. Instead of saying: 'I am confident I possess the qualifications your district needs to promote its philosophy and goals,' briefly summarize (in less than five words) the philosophy and goals to show that you are intimately familiar with the district's educational goals.
What you can contribute?
What value will you bring to the school? Explain why you are an excellent fit for their school culture. What skills and attributes do you have that will make a difference to the school's short- and long-term goals?
In what ways are you an innovative applicant?
With so many people applying for positions, schools can afford to be choosy and pick those that can prove the benefit of hiring them. Having the minimum qualifications and experience is a given, but what makes you special... what is your unique selling point? Try to give concrete examples of innovative teaching initiatives that you've been involved in and the results.
Sample Application Letter/Cover Letter Introductions
Schools read the following cover letter openings over and over again:
Based on my education and experience, I am uniquely qualified for this teaching job.
Please find my resume attached in response to your advertisement for an English teacher.
Following are examples of personalized cover letter introductions that grabbed the attention of the reader:
This introduction demonstrates a teacher who is enthusiastically pursuing professional growth opportunities:
Since we met at the XYZ job fair a year ago, I have taken your sound advice and completed my TEFL certification. This opened the door to two part-time ESL teaching positions in my district. Both positions are providing me with valuable and rewarding experience working with special education students.
Having added the ESL qualification and experience to my elementary school teaching experience, I enthusiastically submit my application for the advertised position on TeacherJobMarket.com of XXXXXXX in your ESL Special Education Program.
This teacher communicates that he is an innovator who wants to make a real difference in the education of his students. Moreover, he seeks opportunities to leverage combined strengths to do so:
Raising Reading scores for all students by at least 10 percent was a goal I set for myself as a primary school teacher. I have since been recognized with district and school awards for achieving this benchmark with several classes.
I would value the opportunity to continue duplicating this success as a member of the XYZ School's primary school teaching team. I believe the performance of my teaching methodology would be enhanced within the framework of the successful XYZ Reading Program. Therefore, I am submitting my application for the XXXXXXX position advertised on the XYZ district website.
This cover letter accompanies a teacher resume with no experience as an English teacher:
When my summer camp students asked for more books to read, I considered our literacy program a success. Since then, I have taken every opportunity to improve my qualifications (e.g., a teaching degree, ESL qualifications) and acquire experience (e.g., English tutoring, writing course materials for ESL schools) as an English teacher. Having acquired three years of experience tutoring English for private and public institutions, I confidently submit my application for the XXXXXXX teaching position advertised in the Careers.com education section.
As these examples demonstrate, taking the time to thoughtfully personalize the introduction to your cover letter can help you stand out from the crowd.
Note how the essential information citing the position and where it was advertised is still included, but these administrative details are no longer the central focus of the introduction. Your teaching accomplishments are!
Do not forget to review our teacher resume and cover letter examples. Also review tips on teacher resume and CV writing.
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