Ever wondered what else you could do with a Teaching degree than just teach?  If you’ve thought about a career change, no doubt you’ve put it off because you think there’s nothing else you could do with your degree.

The great news is that teaching prepares you for many other careers, and the skills you gain in your study and work can set you up for a whole range of careers.

What you do as a teacher has many aspects that employers are looking for.

When companies are looking for employees, many times they are looking for soft skills that are more difficult to teach. Below are some of the best skills that are transferable to a new career from your teaching profession.

For even more ideas read further information on transferable skills on the TAFE NSW site.

Transferrable Skills

Leadership – There is not a career out there that does not value leadership skills. With teaching, you show leadership to your students.

You are a role model for them and this is something that any employer will value. This is one of the skills seek.com.au identifies as the top three transferrable skills you need.

Companies tend to value leadership because you can grow with the company into higher levels.

Relationship Management – Managing a classroom includes managing several different personalities all in the same room. This includes everything from conflict resolution to altering your message to fit the personality of your student.

This skills would be essential in a management role or one in Human Resources. Even outside of those examples, the ability to manage difficult situations is key in any role.

Speaking/Presentation – Teachers spend a significant amount of their time teaching lessons to the entire class. This skill is beneficial to so many careers and a skill many people either don’t have or shy away from.

If you are interested in a training career or one that gives demonstrations you will have first-hand experience with a less than captive audience! Employers will be happy to know they can count on your to stand up and speak in the event it’s needed.

Problem Solving – Companies are always looking for people who think outside the box and look for opportunities to solve issues. Teachers are known for teaching their students to do just that.

You can bring a fresh perspective to solve some of the problems a company may have from doing things the same way they always have.

Planning/Organization – As a teacher you have to plan your day down to the minute to make sure you get everything in. This includes planning your lessons in advance and using organization and time management to make sure you stay on track to get it all done.

Customer Service – As in business teachers have customers. Those customers are the students and the parents of those students. Think about how you keep those stakeholders satisfied.

Companies need that same level of commitment to internal and external customers in their organization.

Highlighting Skills

Now that you know what skills you have that can transfer to a new career, how do you make sure recruiters and managers see that connection?

You have to assume they don’t know what goes into a day of teaching and classroom management. Use your resume to paint them the picture of what you will bring to their organization.

You will include these skills in your skills section, but also use the bulleted section of your resume to highlight examples of how you use them.

Professional Summary – Use this section to present the skills that are transferable and make it clear you are looking to transition to a role where you can use these skills in a new capacity.

This takes the guesswork on the employer’s part. You answer their first question before they even ask.

Leadership – Show leadership on your resume by providing an example from teaching that quantifies this. Perhaps you lead the grade in lesson planning or took on a department project.

Another great example would be leading a student group like an honors society that showcases how you go above and beyond.

Relationship Management – Think about an example of when you were able to bring a conflict to a resolution that both parties were accepting of. It could be one that you met with co-workers or with students.

Speaking/Presentation – Give an example of a presentation you gave. One that comes to mind is likely a presentation given to parents at a parent-teacher night. Maybe you lead an assembly for the grade?

Examples like these will be impressive to managers and they will see that if you can give a presentation to 40 parents, you can do it for a team of 10!

Problem Solving – Think about a lesson that you taught on problem-solving. What was the premise of the lesson and what did the students learn?

You could also talk about talk about a problem you had with students having trouble with a topic and how you solved for that to get them to understand.

Planning/Organization – Explain an example where you planned a detailed group of lessons and the organization that went into implementing it successfully.

Make sure you explain it in a way that someone unfamiliar with how a classroom works will understand.

Customer Service – In teaching, as presented above, your customers are the students, parents, administrators, etc. Provide an example on your resume where you went above and beyond for one of those customers.

Show how you provided value to the customer so the company can see your commitment to service.

It can take a bit of imagination but you can show recruiters and hiring managers that your skills as a teacher can transfer to a host of other careers.

In addition to the ideas in this article for transferable skills and how you can showcase them on your resume, this PDF from ene.edu.au goes through a ton of information that you can use.

If you are committed to changing your career, you definitely can.

Employers look at teacher applicants with respect and the knowledge that they work in a demanding career that requires a high level of commitment.

Take the tips from this article and make it happen!

No longer love your job and are dreading Monday mornings? Do you want to find the ultimate work life balance with a flexible, family friendly job? Are you are looking for a supportive network who can you through the career change maze,?

Then you have found your HOME!

When you know something needs to change, but you have no idea where to start, or how you can even manage change with everything else in your life, we’re here to help.

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