How to write a computer teacher CV (with template)

Updated 1 December 2022

Teaching roles in schools, colleges and universities are a great opportunity to use your background and qualifications in computing to help your local community. Putting together an effective CV that demonstrates your ability to teach, experience and subject knowledge can help you secure roles. If you're applying for computer teacher roles, it's important to make sure you provide relevant information in an easy-to-read format. In this article, we explain how to write a computer teacher CV step-by-step with a template and an example you can use for reference.

How to write a computer teacher CV step-by-step

Computer teachers are educators that teach, control and lead classrooms, so your qualifications and teaching experience are essential information to highlight on your CV. Here's a step-by-step guide to writing a computer teacher CV:

1. Write your contact information

The first step is to write your contact information at the top of a new document in a large font size. This is an essential piece of information. Hiring managers handle large numbers of CVs and may print them, so prioritising your name and contact information is valuable. Include your phone number, business email, city and postcode so recruiters know where to send important information. Include a link to your website or online portfolio to prove past projects if these are available.

2. Write a professional summary

Follow your contact information with a professional summary, which is a brief introduction to the main points of your qualifications and experience. This allows you to demonstrate your years of experience in IT and teaching. It can also help you introduce key facts, such as whether you're a newly qualified teacher (NQT) and have sufficient qualifications to teach in different settings.

Emphasise why you want to work with children or adult education and what makes you suitable for education roles. If you have industry experience in IT, try focusing on anything that could help you, such as roles in leading projects and workshops. Summarise your professional goals and the positions you would like to build up to, such as senior teaching roles or head of a department.

3. Describe your work experience

In five key bullet points using the present tense, describe your professional history, starting with your current position and detailing your main responsibilities. Move backwards through time, listing your relevant work experience and describing your past posts in three bullet points each. Being concise here allows you to focus on the most relevant duties and demonstrate which are useful for teaching or showing that you're knowledgeable about computers.

Valuable items include teaching assistant positions, work experience during a sandwich year or as a volunteer and placements while studying for your teaching qualifications. If you don't have much experience, prioritise information about your field of expertise from other places, such as tech company roles or theoretical experience from a PhD. If you have additional experience, but it isn't quite relevant to teaching or computer work, consider omitting it. Try to keep the CV to a single page to challenge yourself to explain things well and help recruiters.

4. Include your educational background

Use the next section to list your education, including the names of qualifications, institutions, dates and relevant details in reverse order of completion. Since computer teacher roles are primarily academic, instead, you could write an academic graduate CV that puts the educational information before work experience. Since a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) is necessary for many full teaching roles, make sure you include this. As PGCEs generally carry a minimum experience requirement to graduate, this shows employers that you have practical teaching experience.

If you have postgraduate and undergraduate experience relevant to computing and computer science, such as an MSc or PhD, provide details of your theses and papers. These can help show employers that you've actively contributed to the field and engaged in academic discussion. Make sure also to include any extracurricular social activities, such as societies, university projects and volunteering in computing, to show your enthusiasm for the subject.

5. List your certifications

Your certifications are important for teaching roles to be able to teach legally. Certifications include qualified teacher status (QTS) and disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks. Institutions usually request a new Enhanced DBS check with each new application, so this may be unnecessary on your CV, but mentioning QTS and any software certificates is essential. Your software and coding certificates can help differentiate you from other candidates and demonstrate additional qualifications for the position.

6. Briefly summarise your relevant skills

Add a small skills section that elaborates on skills you feel are relevant to computer teacher jobs. For example, skills that help you teach, such as leadership, presentation and communication skills, are useful, as are any skills to help care for students, such as empathy and kindness. This section shows the hiring team that you noted the qualities they seek in an ideal candidate. You can pick keywords from the job advert or the institution's prospectus. If your CV already reaches a full page, but all more information is essential, you can leave this out.

Related: 14 essential teacher skills

7. Check your formatting and grammar

As you finish your CV, look for formatting, grammar and spelling errors to ensure you don't include any mistakes. Education providers expect teachers to notice these errors in students' work and mark them, so having any in your CV can create a poor impression. Use online grammar and spellcheckers to make this task easier, and consider showing your CV to a friend or colleague so that they might spot anything you miss. They can also remind you of an impressive qualification or some experience you may have forgotten to include.

CV template for computer teacher roles

To help you put together your CV, the template below shows the order to put information in and visualises the steps above. Here's a CV template for computer teacher roles:

[First name] [Last name], [Degree or certification if applicable]
[Phone number] | [Email address] | [City], [Postcode]

Professional Summary

[Two to three sentences that highlight years of experience, relevant skills, education or certifications and achievements as a professional.]

Experience

(For the most recent role, list 5 experience items. For previous roles, list 3.)

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [Postcode]

(Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome or quantified results.
[Job duty]
[Job duty]
[Job duty]
[Job duty]

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [Postcode]

(Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome or quantified results.
[Job duty]
[Job duty]

Skills

Education

[Degree and major], [Name of school or university]
[City]

Optional

[Certification name], [Host organisation] - [Year completed or expiration date]

CV example for computer teacher roles

The example below may be useful to give you a better idea of the information you might want to include and what it would look like on paper. Here's an example of a computer teacher CV:

Craig Nuggis
07241 879123 | Craignuggis@emailaddress.com| Manchester | Craignuggisportfolio.com

Professional Summary

A caring and knowledgeable educator seeks the role of ICT Teacher at Greenowl Community College. Five years of experience in secondary school teaching in ICT and computing, helping children to learn about safely using basic computer functions. Eager to continue working with Years seven to 11 with hopes of moving to sixth form work.

Experience

ICT Teacher | March 2020 – Current
Lupin Grammar | Manchester

lead classes in basic ICT, business studies and maths
support students' welfare needs and daily registration as a form tutor
communicate with parents and guardians at parents' evenings to give progress reports
commune with other teachers and tutors in faculty meetings to discuss projects
perform standard teaching administration such as marking, invigilating exams and handling student records

ICT Teacher | April 2019 – December 2019
GreenValley Academy | Leeds

taught ICT to students through small projects and the national curriculum
set and marked weekly homework
assisted with school-wide events, such as career events and sports days

Teaching Assistant | March 2018 – March 2019
Doublesevens Primary School | Lincoln

helped organise and implement activities for children
assisted teachers with presentations and class prep
supported special-needs students during classes