Substitute Teacher Resume Example and Writing Guide

Below is a full substitute teacher resume for Kevin Delgado, a fictional substitute Teacher, Grades TK to 12 in San Diego, CA. Keep the section order, then replace each line with your own work and results.

3 substitute teacher summaries, one each for new substitute, no teaching experience, experienced substitute and retired or credentialed teacher. Pick the closest and rewrite it with your own title, years and one real result.

Use an objective instead of a summary for career changer and recent graduate situations: one or two sentences on what you bring and the substitute teacher job you want.

Bullets grouped by classroom management, instruction and lesson plans, communication and reliability and safety and student support. The numbers are illustrations; put in your own.

16 skills employers list in substitute teacher postings. Include the ones the posting asks for and that your bullets prove.

List substitute work as one job per district or staffing agency, not one per school. Use "Substitute Teacher" as the title, the district as the employer and a continuous date range. Then describe scope in the first bullet: how many schools, which grades, how many days a week and typical class size.

The remaining bullets should show what principals and teachers value in a sub: you teach the plan that was left, keep the room orderly, keep accurate attendance, follow safety procedures and report back. Mention requests by name and multi-week assignments, since both show that teachers trust you with their classes.

• Covered K to 8 classrooms in 12 schools about 4 days a week, following teacher lesson plans for classes of 20 to 32 students.
• Took attendance, applied classroom behavior plans and left written end-of-day summaries for each teacher.
• Requested by name by 9 teachers and booked for multi-week coverage during 2 extended teacher absences.
• Followed IEP accommodations and emergency procedures, including fire and lockdown drills.

Start with what a district needs before it can place you: your permit or credential, the issuing agency and expiration date, and confirmation that your fingerprint clearance is on file. Put these in a Certifications and Clearances section near the top.

Then give coordinators what they use to match subs to openings: grade levels, subjects, special education experience, languages and the days you are available. A short "Assignments covered" section makes this easy to scan.

Check your state requirements first. In California, for example, the Emergency 30-Day Substitute Teaching Permit requires a bachelor's degree and fingerprinting, while other states set different minimums. Once you qualify, the resume needs to show you can manage a group of young people.

Use youth work as your experience: coaching, camp counseling, tutoring, after-school programs, Sunday school, mentoring or leading training at a previous job. Give each role bullets about group size, ages and what you were responsible for.

Give a long-term or multi-week assignment its own bullet, or its own entry if it lasted a semester or more: school, grade or subject, length, number of students and what you did beyond the plan, such as grading, writing lessons or attending parent conferences.

Know what your permit allows. California's 30-day permit, for example, limits holders to 30 days for any one teacher in a school year (20 in special education), so longer assignments need a different permit or credential. Listing the right authorization tells a district you understand the rules.

One page, single column, reverse chronological: contact line, short summary, certifications and clearances, experience, assignments covered, education and skills. Many districts take applications through online systems, and a plain layout keeps your details in the right order.

If you are using substitute teaching as a step toward a full-time teaching job, keep the same layout and add a line about your credential program and expected completion date under education.

Terms that show up in substitute teacher job postings. Mirror the exact wording of the posting you apply to, but only for work you have done.

• substitute teacher
• classroom management
• lesson plans
• K-12
• student engagement
• behavior management
• attendance
• differentiated instruction
• IEP
• long-term substitute
• substitute permit
• background check
• Google Classroom
• special education
• student safety

• One entry per school. Listing 14 schools as separate jobs looks like job-hopping. Group them under the district or agency.
• Calling the work "babysitting." Even when plans are thin, describe the instruction you delivered and the classroom you managed.
• Leaving out the permit or clearance. Districts need to see your authorization and background check status before they can place you.
• No grade levels or subjects. Coordinators match substitutes to openings by grade and subject, so name both.
• Missing availability. Say which days you can work and whether you take same-morning calls.

• Teacher resume
• Teacher assistant resume
• Elementary Teacher Resume Example and Writing Guide

We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.

1. O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor): 25-3031.00 Substitute Teachers, Short-Term (median wages, employment, projected growth, tasks, education data)
2. California Commission on Teacher Credentialing: Emergency 30-Day Substitute Teaching Permit (CL-505p) (permit authorization, day limits, degree and fingerprint requirements)