So, you’re ready to take the next step in your teaching career, but the question looms: what should your teacher cover letter really say? After years of interviews and being part of interview committees, I've cracked the code. Today, I'm revealing what districts are ACTUALLY searching for in your teacher cover letter so you can confidently prepare for your teacher interview. Listen now to hear my top teacher interview tips and tricks to have you effortlessly standout from other candidates.
So, you’re ready to take the next step in your teaching career, but the question looms: what should your teacher cover letter really say? After years of interviews and being part of interview committees, I've cracked the code. Today, I'm revealing what districts are ACTUALLY searching for in your teacher cover letter so you can confidently prepare for your teacher interview. Listen now to hear my top teacher interview tips and tricks to have you effortlessly standout from other candidates.
So you're getting ready to apply for your next teacher position and you're wondering what to put inside your teacher cover letter. Well, over the last decade, I myself have had countless interviews, I've been on different interview committees and though through this, I've learned the secret to what districts are actually looking for in your teacher cover letter, which is why today, we are going to share and talk about what districts are actually looking for inside of your cover letter. So let's dive in. Hey Teacher Bestie, my name is Helena and I'm the creator of the Present Teacher podcast. I'm a first year teacher coach and in this podcast, you are going to learn everything from simple, actual classroom management, social learning and teacher wellness strategies. You know that impact you want to make in the classroom, or we're going to make it happen here.
Speaker 1:So the first thing districts are looking for inside your cover letter is to figure out why you are a good fit. So they are trying to figure out why are you passionate about teaching? What's your story on why you chose this profession? Use this to talk about why this makes you a great fit for the district. So for this, I recommend going back to the district's website and looking at their core values or their mission statement and how you align with that. So, for example, in mine, I could say that I'm a passionate teacher because I myself was an advanced student, and so I respect or have a passion for challenging kids, while on the other hand, I knew students or family friends who had a hard time in school. So I am a very big advocate for differentiating instruction. Maybe one of the core values for the district is to look at lifelong learners and so or to create lifelong learners, so I could also include that in my cover letter. Either way, you want to take some time to figure out or talk about why you are going to be a good fit for this district and what they are looking for. Also, don't be afraid to look at the job description. That'll give you a good idea of what the district is looking for.
Speaker 1:So, as a recap, the first thing districts are looking for inside of your teacher cover letter is one why are you a good fit? The second thing they're going to look for is your history and qualifications. So what has your student teaching or teaching experience been like? Where have you taught? What grade levels have you taught, how long were you there, how many years were you there and what degrees do you have? Do you have any other endorsements that will make you stand out from other candidates? Make sure to include this in your cover letter as well. For example, I am ESL endorsed, which is English as a second language, and I have an endorsement in Spanish. So I made sure to include that in my cover letter to make sure I stood out from other candidates to show that I have maybe another qualification that they're looking for that maybe other teachers don't. So, as a recap, so far, the two things that districts are looking for is one why are you a good fit for what they're looking for? Two your history and qualifications. The third thing districts are going to be looking for is your mission and core values. Now, I did talk about this earlier, but you want to have a designated section in your cover letter for this too. But how do you align with their core values? Again, I talked about this earlier, but districts want to know that you really value their school. They don't want you to just make one cover letter for five to ten different districts where you just copy and paste and call it good. They want to know that you research their specific district and that you are looking forward to working up their specific district instead of just mass applying for different positions. That's why I recommend making a different cover letter for each district. Now hold on a second. I'm not saying you have to start from scratch for each one. What I recommend doing is, whether you are doing this in Canva, word Document or Google, whichever one you do, make sure to make a copy, make different copies and tweak it to match the different missions, mission statement and values that district is looking for. So ask yourself does the district mission say they want to create lifelong learners? Include how you're passionate about that too in your cover letter? However, quick word of caution Now. I'm not saying don't add, or I'm not saying to add a bunch of random characteristics that you are not aligned. To Make sure whatever you add to your cover letter that you actually agree with and you align with. Otherwise it's not a good fit for both parties. It's not a good fit for you because you might be applying for a district that just isn't aligned with your values and mission and it's a not a good alignment with the district. You want a district that you will like working at and they want a teacher who aligns with their goals in the education world. So if this district, you do more research and their mission and values aren't aligned with you, that's okay. There are plenty of districts and schools to apply to Feel free to move on to the next one. So, as I recap the things that districts are looking for in your cover letter, your teacher cover letter is one, why you are a good fit to your history and qualifications. Three, their mission and core values incorporated inside. And then four, your it factor.
Speaker 1:Now I talk about this a lot on this platform, but you don't want to blend in with everyone else. Have you ever seen the movie MetaDascar, where they go to Africa? Well, you see, the zebra was one of a kind at the zoo when he was at the zoo in New York. Then, when he went to Africa with the other characters in MetaDascar, he went to go join other zebras and his friends couldn't tell him apart because they all started to blend in. Sure, each zebra had patterns are different, but it's hard to tell when they're all zebras. So the same goes with your cover letter.
Speaker 1:Figure out what makes you stand apart and remind them why you aren't like other teachers. Maybe you're super young and eager to learn. Maybe go experience and have a lot of wisdom to help others. Maybe your school came easy to you, like I mentioned earlier growing up, so you're passionate about helping students who are advanced or have advanced skills. Or maybe you struggled in school and so you have an extra place in your heart for those students who are struggling and need that extra support. Either way, I can't tell you what makes you stand out, because I'm not you, but think about what makes you unique and make sure to emphasize that in your interview and especially in your cover letter.
Speaker 1:So that wraps up the four things districts are going to look for in your teacher cover letter. So, as a recap, the first thing they're going to look for is why you are a good fit and what they're looking for. The second thing was your history and qualifications. What experience do you have in the education field? Don't be afraid to put your student experience student teaching experience here and what your degree is in. The third thing that districts are actually looking for in your cover letter is their mission and core values, to make sure you're doing that research and you're excited to work for their particular district instead of copy and pasting almost like a mass email to everybody and just wanting a job.
Speaker 1:The fourth thing you're going to want to incorporate inside of your teacher cover letter is your it factor. So if you want to dive deeper or, dare I say, have a cover letter and resume with all of these different aspects already in them, I want to invite you to join land your dream job mini course. So land your dream job mini course is a self paced program to help you prepare for your next teacher interview. In a single weekend Yep, that's right, a single weekend we're going to dive deeper into how to narrow down your it factor and I provide plug and play bonus teacher cover letter and resume templates to save your time and the headache of figuring out how to put all of these different aspects that I just talked about and putting them together into a cohesive cover letter.
Speaker 1:So what are your teacher interview questions? Let me know in the comments down below or send me a DM and I'd be happy to chat as always. Remember we are stronger together and I will see you in the next one. Teacher bestie Bye. Thank you so much for joining me on today's episode. I hope that you were able to take away some value that will help you thrive inside and out of the classroom. It would mean the world to me if you could take five seconds right now and leave a review on this podcast. And if you found this podcast especially helpful, make sure to take a screenshot of this episode right now and tag me on your socials to let me know you're listening. As always, remember that we are stronger together with all the love in the world. Melinda, aka the present teacher, see you next time. Teacher bestie.