Term 4 may be nearing the end around the country, but it’s never too early to be thinking about the school year ahead.
Update your Resume and Teacher Profile
Life as a casual relief teacher means your day-to-day is often changing. To give yourself the best chance of being booked for work that you enjoy in the new year, now is the time to update your professional profiles with your latest teaching history.
If you connect with schools by physically sending out your resume, make sure your work history is up to date and reflects the subjects and year levels you have been teaching most recently. If you use ClassCover to find and book work as a casual relief teacher, good news: the process will only take a few minutes.
Here are some things to update on your Teacher Profile to ensure you are ready to hit the ground running in the new year:
- Availability
Update your availability on ClassCover — you never know which schools may be looking ahead and beginning to plan for term 1 already. You may find yourself snagging a contract for term 1 before year end or connecting with a great new school in your area.
- Work Experience
Now is the time to reflect on the past year and update your work experience while it’s still fresh in your mind. Maybe you taught at a new school this year or worked with different subjects or year levels—these are all great things to include in your work experience.
- Other Achievements
Because schools are looking for more than someone to stand in front of a white board all day, it’s important to highlight what makes you special as a teacher. Maybe you’ve helped out with a school sport team this year or helped organise a camp or swimming carnival. These extra contributions above and beyond your daily tasks as a relief teacher show your passion and will help you stand out to schools, so make sure you include them on your Teacher Profile or resume.
- Accreditation
Take a few moments to check that all of your required accreditations are up to date, so you are ready to hit the ground running in term 1.
- Your Status
Did you know you can set your status in ClassCover depending on what you are using the platform for? Whether you are looking for casual work, applying for contract or ongoing roles on ClassCover Jobs or taking online PD courses on ClassCover Learn, your status shows on your profile and will determine whether you are visible to schools. Depending on your goals for the new year, take a minute to check that your status is up to date so you can continue to get the most out of ClassCover.
Build Relationships
While term 1 may seem like ages away, chances are, admin and leadership staff at the schools you work with have already begun planning for the year ahead. For this reason, as a casual relief teacher you should also kick start your new year prep now to take advantage and give yourself the best chance of securing work early on.
Start these conversations now when you’re chatting with school leadership. If you are working regularly at the same schools, mention your availability for 2024. If you are covering at new schools where you are less familiar with leadership and front office staff, make a point of getting to know them so that when they are looking for a casual, they are more likely to think of you.
Top Up your Professional Development
While there are no doubt a million things on your mind as we speed towards the silly season, it’s a great idea to make sure you are up to date with your teacher PD requirements, so it doesn’t add to your workload in the new year.
ClassCover Learn has 100+ hours of online, self-paced teacher PD courses that you can do from anywhere. 41 hours of this is currently NESA-accredited for those in NSW, with new courses receiving accreditation all the time. If you prefer your PD to be more interactive, we have recently launched regular live PD webinars which offer a deep dive into a range of subject areas with some of our most popular presenters. Join ClassCover Learn from as little as $45 per quarter and tick off your PD requirements easily.
Think About your Plans for the Summer Holidays
Life as a casual relief teacher means that you get all the benefits of a long break over summer. Unfortunately, this extended period without work makes it a reality for many teachers to look for additional work during this time. If you find yourself in this situation, here are a few suggestions that will keep you going while also looking good on your resume:
- Kids Holiday Programs
If you’re looking for a holiday job that will also look good on your resume, holiday programs for kids could be the perfect solution. These generally involve supervising kids throughout the day, accompanying them on all sorts of excursions and planning activities to keep them occupied.
- Tutoring
Working as a tutor is a great choice for teachers. Not only does it use your existing skill set, it’s a great way to keep you sharp over the long summer holidays. Depending on your location and the type of work you are looking for, you can choose between in-person, online, group, or one-on-one tutoring.
To kick off your search, explore the range of education opportunities available on ClassCover Jobs.
ClassCover is running a free live webinar with Steps Financial providing budgeting tips over the summer break and throughout the year. Tune in live at 5PM AEDT on 19th December. Click below to save your spot:
