How to Write an A+ Letter of Introduction to Communicate Passion
Writing an excellent letter of introduction will help to get your education resume selected and read. Landing an interview is the first big step to securing a new teaching or administration position.
While your resume needs to be strong and well-written to intrigue the audience, you also need a perfect letter of introduction to get your resume read in the first place.
Writing an A+ letter of introduction requires replacing the formulaic job cover letter text with prose to convey your true passion for teaching. In my experience as a teacher resume coach, the introduction that will attract the hiring manager's attention shares several components. By following these cover letter writing tips you should move towards landing a wonderful teaching post.
Ultimate Tips for Writing a Teacher Letter of Introduction
The letter of introduction writing tips would apply to many roles and job titles in education. So whether you are a primary teacher, fresher teacher, veteran teacher, teacher assistant, instructional coach, curriculum developer or the superintendent of the school district these tips should provide help.
Show Your Passion for Teaching
Administrators are looking for teachers who are passionate about teaching because they make the best teachers. Anyone can write a simple cover letter, but an attention-grabbing cover letter that gets you noticed should show your personality and love for teaching.
Write a List of Keywords That Show Passion
Use exciting language (not scientific words) to describe your qualifications. Start by writing a list of keywords, skills and experiences you feel communicate and demonstrate your passion for teaching.
Here are some examples of personality attributes:empathetic, generous, patient, responsive, confident, committed, enthusiastic, energetic, resourceful, industrious, productive, innovative, and inventive.
Bullet points:
- Empathetic educator dedicated to nurturing and developing the whole person
- Highly responsive to individual learner needs (e.g., develop customized learning programs for each student)
- Enthusiastically introduced three new science lab learning programs, receiving unprecedented funding for all projects
- Committed and energetic teacher who organizes at least two outdoor classes a week to connect students with the natural world
These examples taken from an education program specialist cover letter and special education coordinator cover letter provide important evidence of soft skills. Points 3, 4 and 5 are the most impactful because they provide examples of what is being claimed.
It doesn't hurt to learn more about how to use teacher keywords and teaching skills in a cover letter and resume.
Show Value in Your Concise Cover Letter
Once you have developed phrasing that pulls in the reader by communicating your ardent passion for your teaching job, you want to avoid watering down these key points in an overly wordy letter. The structure of a cover letter is as important as its content. The more concise you are the higher impact you will make.
Ideally, it should contain a maximum of three paragraphs, and it must fit onto one page while allowing room for your signature at the bottom of the page. Pay as much attention to writing your teacher letter of introduction as you do to the resume. Many times, people spend days or even weeks perfecting their resume only to produce a cover letter that was thrown together in a few minutes.
Communicate Confidence
A teacher who is happy and fulfilled in his/her teaching position exudes confidence. Use positive and action keywords to create an upbeat tone. Providing examples of your claims demonstrates your effectiveness. If you have introduced a new reading app or teaching technique to the classroom, provide examples and/or quantitative evidence of its effectiveness.
Be Truthful and Honest
A letter of introduction that shows passion must be heartfelt and genuine. Do not get swept away by your passion for teaching and start exaggerating your claim to fame. A letter that provides a truthful and positive picture of your experience and skills will come across as authentic, and ideally move the reader.
Match the School District's Requirements
Passion is what we call a 'soft skill.' Soft skills can be harder to demonstrate than, say, hard sales skills, in which numbers provide evidence of your capabilities. As the above keyword bullet points demonstrate, there are many ways to provide evidence of your passion for teaching. You will be less convincing if you provide an isolated list of passionate skills:
Generous, empathetic, compassionate, sympathetic teacher.
Compare the above statement with the following:
Empathetic primary teacher who introduced after school learning programs to focus on individual student's special learning needs.
- Produced a 10% improvement in reading and writing skills
- Achieved a 15% increase in class attendance records
Think of passionate keywords as adjectives and adverbs that can infuse some passion into your teaching duties and achievements.
Ignite Reader's Interest
Make the hiring authority want to learn more about you by reading your resume. Researching the school and district will help you stimulate interest by targeting what your readership is looking for in a teacher. Create a new application letter for each teaching job for which you apply. This allows you to customize the letter for each particular school. Try to include information that shows you have researched the school and know something about it.
For example, you may be giving little attention to teaching programs and techniques the school is currently investing in developing. Did your passion for this program help you produce district-leading results? Tell the school upfront how you can help them improve the performance of their program. This is a good example of the benefits of personalizing each cover letter and resume.
Use the Hiring Person's Name
Whenever possible, it's important to address the cover letter to an individual rather than "To Whom it May Concern:" or "Dear Sir." Proper cover letter etiquette requires that you always use the last name: 'Dear Mrs. Smith.'
If you can't find a person's name to address the cover letter, you could use:
Dear Hiring Manager:
Dear Recruitment Manager:
Dear Hiring Committee:
Dear Human Resource Team:
Dear Recruitment Representative:
Dear Human Resource Director:
Always show respect by using 'Dr.' for a person with a doctorate, if they commonly use the title in their name. For example, Dr. John Smith, Dean of ABC School should always be addressed as 'Dear Dr. Smith.' While he will likely call you by your first name in an interview, always maintain decorum and use 'Dr. Smith' in written and oral communications.
If you feel your passion for teaching is not demonstrated in your daily teaching job, an education career coach can help you become the teacher you have always envisioned yourself. Often times, teachers feel constrained by prescribed teaching program and curriculum and can benefit from thinking creatively and out-of-the-box.
Attention to Detail - Dot Your I's
It is a waste of time to infuse your cover letter with your passion for teaching and then send a photocopied letter and signature.
Before sending your cover letter:
- Always sign every one of your letters of introduction individually. Never send a copy of the letter. School administrators can tell when you've used a standard letter instead of writing a new cover letter. Sending a copy will give an employer the idea that you are lazy and do not care enough to produce an original document.
- Triple check for spelling and grammatical errors. A teaching position calls for impeccable literacy skills; therefore, you need to make certain that your cover letter is always checked for errors.
- Review it, check it, check it again, and then check it once more for information and errors. Make sure at least two other people proofread it.
You can find many examples of teachers who convey passion for their teaching jobs by reviewing our teacher resume and cover letter examples.
You can review more tips on education cover letter writing.
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