How to Word Certification Information on Your Resume
Teaching resumes have some things in common with all resumes in terms of do’s and don’ts, but there are also
some very important aspects of teaching resumes that may be different from other kinds of resumes. One part
that is important to “get right” is certification. You want to show that you know what you are talking about as a
newbie to the profession!
Location Location Location!
Education and certification should come first on your resume regardless of
your age/experience because employers need to see up front what
certification you hold. This can be a deal breaker – don’t make them go
hunting for it. Depending on how much you have for the education section,
you may wish to combine education/certification in one section; that is up to
you. Here are some sample heading formats:
Education and
Certification
Education
[content]
Certification
[content]
Education
Education/Certification
Education includes:
• Degrees received and/or expected
• Months/years of graduation
• Higher education institutions attended and their locations, beginning with
the most recent
• You may also wish to include your major, minor, or overall GPA (or combo) IF your GPA is 3.0 or higher.
Here are a few sample formats:
Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 9/2008 – 5/2012
B.A. in English, May 2012
GPA: 3.5
Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
B.A. in Family and Child Studies with a Concentration in School and Community Settings, May 2012
Minor: Psychology
Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
Master of Arts in Teaching, January 2013
GPA: 3.88
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, May 2003
Describing Your Certification
If you are completing a certification program in the Teacher Education Program, you will be receiving a Certificate
of Eligibility with Advanced Standing (CEAS) from the State. May graduates can expect to receive their CEAS in late
June. January graduates can expect to receive their certification in late February.
Below are some wording options depending on your certification status.
Prior to graduation:
Will qualify for NJ Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced Standing in English, January
2018
After graduation but prior to receiving certification in the mail (this is just a few weeks):
After receiving your certification:
NJ Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced Standing, Social Studies, Issued February 2013
Here is an example of how to put it all together (in this case, the candidate is adding certification in K-6 on their
own):
EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION
Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
Master of Arts in Teaching, January 2013
GPA: 3.88
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Bachelor of Arts in History, May 2003
Major GPA: 3.5
NJ Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced Standing, Social Studies, Issued February 2018
NJ Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced Standing, Teacher of Students with Disabilities, Issued February 2018
NJ Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced Standing, Elementary K-6, Expected March 2018
MAT students, note that your MAT is not “in” a subject area – the subject is teaching. The certification section
elucidates the certification area that you focused on in the MAT.
If you plan to apply for positions in NJ only, you can say CEAS instead of writing out Certificate of Eligibility with
Advanced Standing since employers know this acronym:
EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION
Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
Master of Arts in Teaching, January 2013
GPA: 3.88
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Bachelor of Arts in History, May 2003
Major GPA: 3.5
NJ CEAS, Social Studies, Issued February 2018
NJ CEAS, Teacher of Students with Disabilities, Issued February 2018
NJ CEAS, Elementary K-6, Expected March 2018
Wording your actual certification
Choose one of the following to describe your certification area:
•
Elementary K-6
• Elementary School Teacher in
Grades K-6
•
Teacher of English as a Second
Language P-12
•
English as a Second Language
•
Elementary School with Subject
Matter Specialization: Mathematics
in Grades 5-8 [or Social Studies, etc]
• Teacher of Art P-12
•
Art
• Teacher of Social Studies P-12
•
Social Studies
• Teacher of English P-12
•
English
•
Teacher of Italian P-12
•
Italian
•
Teacher of French P-12
•
French
•
Teacher of Spanish P-12
•
Spanish
•
Teacher of Physical Education P-12
• Physical Education
**For grad students doing PE only cert**
•
Teacher of Health P-12
• Health
**for health-only cert**
•
Teacher of Health and Physical
Education P-12
• Health and Physical Education
**This is ONE certification not two, it is not dual
cert, and Health is listed first**
• Teacher of Mathematics P-12
Mathematics
• Teacher of Latin P-12
Latin
• Teacher of Dance P-12
•
Dance
•
Early Childhood P-3
• Preschool through Grade 3
•
Teacher of Biological Science P-12
• Biological Science
•
Teacher of Music P-12
• Music
• Teacher of Earth Science P-12
• Earth Science
• Teacher of Physical Science P-12
• Physical Science
• Teacher of Physics P-12
• Physics
• Teacher of Chemistry P-12
•
Chemistry
• Teacher of Students with
Disabilities
• Teacher of Psychology P-12
•
Psychology