What skills should a Elementary School Teacher put on a resume?

O*NET rates Instructing, Learning Strategies, Speaking, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Elementary School Teacher list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Blackboard software, Children's educational software, ClassDojo, ClassTag, and Common Curriculum. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Elementary School Teacher work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education, Classroom Teacher, Elementary Teacher, and Teacher. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Elementary School Teacher need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 78% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Elementary School Teacher role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Elementary School Teacher resume example

A resume for a Elementary School Teacher needs to show the work itself: teach academic and social skills to students at the elementary school level. Day to day that means work like this: instruct students individually and in groups, using teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations; establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
Classroom Teacher
Elementary Teacher
Teacher
Art Teacher
Elementary Classroom Teacher
Math Teacher
Mathematics Teacher
Music Teacher
Primary Teacher
Reading Teacher
ESL Teacher
PE Teacher
Art Educator
Art Instructor
Band Teacher
Bilingual Instructor
Bilingual Teacher

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Instruct students individually and in groups, using teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students.
Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems or with special academic interests.
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Read books to entire classes or small groups.
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.

38 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Instruct students individually and in groups, using teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems or with special academic interests, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Blackboard software
Children's educational software
ClassDojo
ClassTag
Common Curriculum
EasyCBM
Edpuzzle
Email software
Flipgrid
Google Classroom
Google Docs
Google Drive
Google Meet
Graphics software

30 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Audiotape players
Compact digital cameras
Compact disk CD players
Computer laser printers
Desktop computers
Educational board games
Handheld calculators
Intercom systems
Laminating machines
Laptop computers
Optical compound microscopes
Overhead display projectors

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

lesson planning
classroom management
differentiated instruction
assessment
IEP
curriculum

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Instructing
02Learning Strategies
03Speaking
04Active Listening
05Critical Thinking
06Monitoring
07Social Perceptiveness
08Coordination
09Reading Comprehension
10Service Orientation

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

English Language
Education and Training
Mathematics
Customer and Personal Service
Psychology
Therapy and Counseling
Computers and Electronics
Public Safety and Security

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

78%Bachelor's Degree
22%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Elementary School Teacher do?: Teach academic and social skills to students at the elementary school level. Day to day that includes work like instruct students individually and in groups, using teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations and Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students.
What skills should a Elementary School Teacher put on a resume?: O*NET rates Instructing, Learning Strategies, Speaking, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Elementary School Teacher list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Blackboard software, Children's educational software, ClassDojo, ClassTag, and Common Curriculum. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Elementary School Teacher work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education, Classroom Teacher, Elementary Teacher, and Teacher. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Elementary School Teacher need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 78% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Elementary School Teacher role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.