How to Rebrand Your CV for Roles Outside of Education

Transitioning out of teaching can be exciting — but one of the biggest hurdles teachers face is making their CV speak to employers outside education. With the right rebranding, your experience gains new value, rather than staying trapped in school specific terminology.

Why Your Current CV May Not Be Landing Interviews

Many teaching CVs are too focused on education sector norms: job titles like “Assistant Head” or “Year Group Coordinator,” curriculum jargon, or duties very specific to classroom management. Outside education, recruiters often scan for evidence of leadership, adaptability or project delivery — and if your CV buries those in academic language, they might miss them entirely.

Think Transferable, Not Literal

Rebranding starts with identifying the skills you already use, rather than recreating your entire experience. Examples include:

• Communication, conflict resolution, mentoring

• Planning, organisation, handling deadlines

• Leadership, training others, feedback and evaluation

For example, instead of writing “Designed Year 8 English curriculum,” you might say “Developed content and resources for 150+ students; managed deadlines, assessment and stakeholder feedback.” It’s about reframing what you did so employers outside education can clearly see the impact.

Adapt Your Structure and Language

How you organise your CV and the words you use matter. Use headings that make sense to other sectors — “Professional Experience,” “Achievements,” “Skills Summary.” Where possible, remove or simplify education specific terms. Replace internal titles with phrases that reflect what you accomplished: “Managed parent communication,” “Led professional development workshop,” “Coordinated cross department projects.”

Using bullet points that align with what prospective employers are looking for — outcomes, results, collaboration, problem solving — can make a big difference. If job adverts for roles outside teaching mention specific skills (e.g. project management, stakeholder relations, leadership), include those where applicable.

Use a Profile That Speaks to Your Next Role, Not Your Last One

The opening section on your CV — often called a profile or summary — is your chance to position yourself intentionally. Speak to what you can bring, what you aim to do, and what makes you different outside of the classroom. Highlight resilience, adaptability, capacity to manage stress, excellent communication, and your ability to translate teaching experience into other sectors.

Avoid framing yourself only in terms of your teaching background. Instead, lead with your transferable strengths and your future goals.

Tailor Your CV for Each Application

A generic rebranded CV is helpful — but evolving it for each role dramatically improves your chances. Use keywords from the job advertisement to help with applicant tracking systems (ATS). If the ad mentions “team leadership,” “client communication” or “project coordination,” make sure those phrases appear in your CV where relevant. Show outcomes: “increased student engagement by 20%,” for instance, becomes “improved customer satisfaction ratings by 20%” if moving into client facing roles.

Also check tone: many non educational roles favour concise impact statements, rather than long narratives of duties. Keep bullet points punchy.

Take the Next Step with Confidence

Rebranding your CV isn’t about leaving behind your teaching identity — it’s about translating it into something that resonates with new possibilities. You already have strengths and experience others will want.

If you’re ready to move forward with clarity, I have resources and support designed just for this phase of your journey.