When I was teaching in Mexico City, one of my teaching colleagues told me that the Teaching for Excellence instructor had used me as an example for how teachers should "brand" themselves. The irony was that I didn't even know that I had done that and to be honest, at that time, I really wasn't sure what branding meant. I had to go and look that up. Branding is definitely one of the things that we, as educators, can learn from the business world but that is a different blog post for a different time although one should keep in mind that, at the end of the day, international teaching is very much a business.

Apparently, I had branded myself as "the Debate guy" because Debate and Public Speaking is one of my teaching fields and when I arrived in Mexico I was the leader of the group that decided to start an extra-curricular English language debating circuit. So not only did I teach Debate, I also coached a school Debate team of some very talented Mexican students who won a lot of awards and got a lot of recognition inside and outside of our school making me look really good. I was also  selected by the local English Speaking Union (ESU) Mexico Chapter to coach the Mexican team at the World Schools Debating Championships. Because of all of that, I became the Debate guy in Mexico. For me, it was just following my passion wherever it would take me. However, my school saw me as the "expert" in Debate.

I think that this is something that all teachers should think about when writing their resume/CV. How do you want others to see you? What do you want to be known for when someone looks at your CV/ resume or thinks about you as an educator. What is your expertise? What is your passion? What is your brand?

Most of you , if you are paying attention, have already heard the advice about don't let your resume go over 1 or 2 pages and not to list anything that did not take place in the past 10 years, except for degrees and important qualifications. However, the reason I bring this up is because the struggle is that so many teachers want to show everything that they have done because they feel it makes them more marketable to the schools to which they are applying. I can see in some cases how that might be helpful but it is my feeling that this is not helpful in most cases. When a school is looking for a History teacher or a Mathematics and Science teacher, they generally want someone who is an expert in those one or two fields. They do not want someone who comes across as they are not sure what they want to be when they grow up. I know that sounds harsh but if I am being honest, and I always am, that is what goes through ones mind when reading hundreds of resumes of people that you do not know, looking for the one who is going to be a good fit at your school. When I think back over the years, the teachers that stand out to me had resumes that very clearly displayed the subject area that the teacher taught or the job that they carried out in the school in their professional description and then everything in the rest of the document supported that. Its like writing a good paper where you must come up with a clear thesis at the beginning of the paper and then use your paragraphs below to support that thesis with different points that all tie back to your thesis. Your thesis is your area of expertise, your main area of teaching, your passion, your raison d'être. Branding can be done through the subject area that you teach or the way that you teach it. I cannot remember the name of the Science teacher but I can remember the guy who dresses up like Charles Darwin to give workshops and classes. It can be done through the type of specific curriculum that you have taught in all or most of your schools abroad. It is very lucrative these days to have PYP or Emilia Reggio on your CV. It can be done through outside activies that you do with the students at the end of the school day that support your curriculum such as the Science teacher that sponsors Environmental Club or Green Team.

Sometimes it is great that you can teach Math and Science and lead the school band and that you have an undergrad in Visual Arts. That situation may come up where you may have to jump into one of those other areas to get a job but don't let it take away from what should be the dominant message on your resume, your brand. Sometimes less is more and most of the time if a school needs you to do something else, they will ask or they might see a slight mention of it on your resume that brings it up as a topic in your interview. One thing I have learned in my 30 years of teaching is that we can't be everything to everybody. Find what you are good at and help as many students as you can with that. Its like the old man picking up the starfish that have washed up on the beach and the young man laughingly says, hey old man you can't save all of them. You are not going to make a difference. The old man looks to him as he sets another starfish back in the water and says, I made a difference to that one, and that one, and that one...

You get the idea. I hope this was helpful. Please write me if you think I can be of assitance to you with your teaching career in any way.

Thanks for reading.

Mark Webber
Webber's Ed - Teacher Talent