As an art teacher, you work with students at a particular school, guiding them on art fundamentals and methods of personal expression. Maybe you prefer the local art institution, where you can offer classes to the general public.
But how do you choose a resume template and write a cover letter that show recruiters you’ve got what it takes to share artistic skills and methods with others effectively? What details are most likely to help you land the job?
Don’t worry. We’ve been doing this for years, and after helping plenty of art teachers like yourself, we’ve put together our three art teacher resume examples to inspire you.
Related resume examples
What Matters Most: Your Skills & Profession-Related Experience
One of the first things recruiters will look at is your job skills section. What abilities, specialties, technical skills, and teaching methods do you have that will empower you to guide others?
Ensure you avoid generic stuff like “communication” and go for specifics like “composition critique” to show you possess depth of knowledge. Don’t flatten your skills into vague list items that could apply to any profession!
Be as technical as possible while building your list. What programs or software do you use? Do you teach people how to make 3D models to help plan their next great sculpture? What collaborative tools can you name, like Google Workspace or Tilt Brush?
9 most popular art teacher skills
- Behance
- Adobe PS
- Adobe Animate
- Google Workspace
- 3D Composition
- Wacom Intuos
- Autodesk Maya
- MS PowerPoint
- Adobe Lightroom
Sample art teacher work experience bullet points
Your job skills are like a checklist of “tools” you use while teaching, but your work experience demonstrates how you make the most of your abilities.
Use examples that run parallel with the organization’s goals you’re applying for. Revisit the job description and look for any current obstacles they’re facing. When did you overcome similar hurdles, like offering distance-learning art classes through Zoom?
Make sure you measure your impact, too. Recruiters need to see metrics that bolster your success stories, like positive ratings, feedback percentages, or reductions in material costs.
Here are a few examples:
- Launched the use of Autodesk Maya, which enabled students to explore 3D modeling and animation, resulting in an 81% increased interest in multimedia art forms
- Boosted photography grades by an average of half a letter grade through interactive learning using Adobe Lightroom
- Introduced students to Wacom Intuos tablets for digital drawing exercises, improving students’ digital art and distance-learning experience by 67%
- Showcased students’ work on Behance, providing them with a platform to share their creations with a wider audience and increasing the average class rating to 4.8/5 stars
Top 5 Tips for Your Art Teacher Resume
- Go sleek and modern
- Recruiters have only a few seconds on average for that initial skim over your resume. While you’re eager to stand out as a creative mentor, keep color usage to a tasteful minimum. Stick with clean, modern fonts for high readability, too.
- Tailor your niche to the job description
- If you’re skilled in everything from digital painting to clay sculptures, switch out some experience points to match your qualifications to each organization’s needs. Don’t pitch your “Paint and Sip” teaching experiences to an elementary school!
- Compare objectives vs. summaries
- Suppose you’ve spent years sharing your artistic expertise with others. In that case, you might consider tying your excellence with a resume summary that briefly outlines why you want this job and sprinkles in some quick qualifications. If you’re new to teaching or just stepping into the professional world, a resume objective can briefly highlight your career goals.
- The details really maek it
- See how quickly that typo jumped off the page? The same thing could happen if you don’t proofread your resume before sending it off! Seemingly small errors can become deciding factors when recruiters start narrowing down their stack of art teacher applications.
- Non-artsy jobs can still count!
- If you’re starting a fresh path as an art teacher, you may need to bulk up your resume with some success points from unrelated jobs. That’s okay! Look for where interpersonal or creative skills (like Google Workspace or display arrangements) overlap with something in your desired job’s requirements.
Recruiters don’t have much time, so stick to a one-page resume that will almost always look more appealing than anything bulkier. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate your efficient communication skills, too!
You only need them if the job listing calls for them . . . But they’re usually a pretty good idea either way, especially for greener applicants. If you have any previous employers, coworkers/peers, or even art professors who will vouch for you, go for it!
Delve beyond the depths of the job description and browse their website to pull some nice references to the school or art center’s values. By aligning yourself with their teaching and creative missions, you demonstrate thoroughness and exemplify the ideal fit for their open role.
