Teacher skills for your resume and career

Communication skills are the key soft skills for educators. The ability to communicate ensures that ideas and information are effectively presented during instruction. It also helps regulate the social tone of the learning environment and resolve classroom management issues. Of increasing importance is the ability of educators to effectively engage with their students' families. They need to demonstrate that they are ready and able to initiate contact, establish good relationships, and build trust.

Beyond licensure and content area knowledge, teachers are increasingly required to have strong technical skills. As schools adopt new technologies and software to enhance students' learning, educators must integrate these resources into their instruction and troubleshoot issues that emerge. A technologically adept teacher can ensure that their students effectively engage with this new technology and serve as a mediator and facilitator of their students' learning.

I think that learning is on a continuum. By advancing their degrees and graduate credit, teachers can move up the district’s salary schedule while continuing to perfect their craft.

All teachers need a myriad of skills to be effective educators. In addition to the traditional skills required of teachers, new graduates also need an understanding of anti-racist and culturally relevant and sustaining educational practices to improve schooling for all students, a deep understanding of child and adolescent development to guide instruction and engagement, the ability to connect with students and build strong relationships with both students and families, the ability to manage their own online presence and time online, and strong technological skills. Not only do new graduates need these skills, but current teachers also need to develop or strengthen their skill set in these areas to best support all learners and improve our school systems.

COVID has moved many online meetings, so operating a Zoom or similar meeting flawlessly is a useful skill, one that no one valued or even knew much about just a year ago. An even more valuable skill is being able to troubleshoot problems that are likely during an online meeting. Do you have good presentation skills, and could you conduct small workshops for large companies that want to train their employees to achieve good online conferences?

The answer to this question will vary as much as the many fields and employers that exist today. What are the needs of these employers? Do large employers even know their needs? They may not, but the consumers of those employers understand what they need, so I have a little different kind of tip here.

I would recommend that students identify their targeted fields, such as education or banking, or culinary, and then find 2 or 3 Facebook groups discussing that topic now. For example, thousands of teachers in hundreds of school districts across the US are teaching online now. Some use Zoom, some use Canvas, and others use something else. I am a member of Teaching Synchronously with Zoom in Korea (500+ members) and Teaching with Canvas (70,000+ members). Ask to join these groups. Lurk. Read. Study. Know what people are unhappy about and need. This is the type of information that companies need to thrive, especially in these challenging times.