When writing a job application, remember the golden rule of writing to impress the recruiting headteacher, not yourself

You probably know all this, but it can be helpful sometimes to refresh your memory. And remember: this is just my view, others may have different ideas! But I would be happy to receive any application that was clearly set out, thoughtful and actually relevant to my post at my school, rather than one that seemed a carbon-copy that you had sent off to fifty different schools. We all want to be loved for ourselves.


And of course, the very BIG issue: no head wishes to receive an application that is just a re-hash of some-one else’s. There are too many requests on the forum for an application letter or personal statement to be shared with others. Don’t do it – if we get two applications with an identical couple of sentences, we bin them both. Write your own!

Aims of a job application:

To get selected for interview
To influence the panel in your favour before they even set eyes on you
Not to get you sacked when you start the job….it must be honest
Elements of a job application:

Application Form
CV – if required. Government advice to schools is not to ask for this, but a few schools still do.
Letter or “statement in support”
Executive summary to show how you comply with the criteria (this is explained below)
The application form:

Photocopy it and practise
Legible – type it if possible: ask for electronic version, or stick and paste then photocopy the final version, don’t send the one with stuck-on bits
Dark ink, preferably black
Get the details correct
Fill it all in. Yes, all of it! Don’t leave anything blank
Don’t say “see CV”
Don’t leave the current salary blank if they ask for it
Follow the instructions – especially for the chronological order of your employment history
The curriculum vitæ: (If needed – Only send one if the school specifically asks for it. Nowadays it is only a few schools, mainly independents, who haven’t yet taken on board government advice not to ask for CVs)


Normally recent first – don’t begin with your A-levels or GCSEs
Proper emphasis – write more on relevant experience and most recent, less on e.g. being a school prefect or member of the Children of Mary (I have seen it)
Don’t just give job title – explain what were your major responsibilities and successes
“Bury” less favourable information by putting on left of page
Explain any unusual things such as why you have a 2-year gap in your employment history; we shall assume that you were doing something you don’t want us to know about if you leave a gap!
The letter or statement

Carry out the instructions
No more than two pages means 1½ – 2 pages, not just one paragraph
Handwritten if they ask, but typed unless they specifically ask for hand-written
Address any issues they ask you to, don’t just ignore them
Make it specific to this post in this school
Wring value out of every sentence you put in, cut the waffle
Tell them why they need you, not why you need them
Make it specific to their job description, addressing their needs
Make it as structured as a good student essay
Make it easy to read
Get it professionally typed unless you are an ace at laying out documents. A professional lay-out always looks better
Sample opening paragraph of a letter:
I wish to be considered for this position and enclose… I am attracted to this post as a development of my role as…… in which I have direct responsibility for … I have been concerned especially with…… I now feel ready to extend this experience of ….. and ….. into another school. school XXX is of particular interest to me because of its ……… (Don’t say because you live near it!)

Internal structure:
3 or 4 main sections. I would actually put headings in the letter, to make the structure clear; typical ones could be:

Current and recent experience
Other achievements relevant to your post
The priorities of your post
The future of XXX School
Current and recent experience
Say what you are doing, but in structured fashion: curriculum role, pastoral role, managerial role, extra-curricular, contact with parents/ other schools, experience of budgeting, etc.

Other achievements relevant to your post
Responsibilities/ contributions in previous posts; any outside activities that show skills relevant to teaching and managing children and colleagues; any specific training done

The priorities of your post
What you think the post is about, based on the clues that they give you. What do they need you to do? How would you fulfil this? This is your chance to show them that they need you

The future of XXX school
This is relevant specifically for management level posts, showing that you have an understanding of the type of School that it is, the context that it is working in, and how you could contribute to its development

Get your application noticed.