How Teachers Can Find the Time to Apply for Jobs Outside of Teaching

I was chatting with a colleague today about the state of teaching and how it feels like 95% (if not more) of our job is now behaviour management or emotional support, and maybe 5% is actually teaching. After a few minutes of swapping stories, I asked my colleague why she hadn’t thought about an exit strategy. She sighed and said, “When do I have the time to even look at my CV, let alone rewrite it for a different job?”

Then she said: “What can I even do besides teach?”

What she said really surprised me. She’d been teaching for several years - plus all those years of training - and yet she genuinely believed that none of it counted for anything outside the classroom. And honestly, that made me feel pretty sad.

Here was this brilliant, capable teacher who couldn’t see that her skills are exactly the kind that make her valuable in so many other careers.

How many of us feel stuck in our teaching jobs? How many of us are staying because it feels like the easier choice — rather than spending energy building a better future for ourselves?

Put it this way: if you had a crappy mattress that made your back ache night after night - you’d change it. So why do we keep putting ourselves through something that leaves us stressed and unhappy day after day, when we actually have the power to change it?

Just like my colleague, you might be asking, “How can I possibly find the time to update my resume and apply for jobs when I’m already working full-time?”

Here’s how.

Understanding that only you have the power to change your situation

Before we deep-dive into your current resume and look at your transferable skills, the reality is: you need to dedicate regular time — weekly or even daily if you can — to research jobs and update your résumé.

If you don’t, you’ll remain stuck in your current situation.

I repeat — you will remain stuck.

As teachers, time is never on our side. But we have to make it. Start prioritising. If you know you’ve got a report-writing deadline next week, schedule an hour one evening, during your lunch break, or over the weekend to update your résumé. Every time you choose not to dedicate time to changing your situation, you’re choosing not to put your happiness — and your future self — first.

For me, I dedicated an hour on Saturday and Sunday to job searching. Once my baby went down for his nap, that was my time. I’d browse job listings, tweak my résumé, and hit send. At one point, I had around 10 different versions of my CV ready to go for different types of roles.

Step 1: Look at your classroom skills.

Begin with what you already have — your teaching CV. Don’t start a non-teaching resume from scratch.

List everything you’ve done in your teaching career: assessing learning, collaborating with colleagues, designing curriculum, organising trips, leading meetings, or analysing data.

Update your resume so it reflects your most current and relevant experience. Not sure how to tweak your resume? Don't know which steps to take and how to exit the classroom? I've got you've covered in my posts below:

• Steps For Success: How To Exit The Classroom

• Top 5 Jobs for Teachers to Transition Into

• Perfect Your Resume: A Guide for Teachers Changing Careers

• Cover Letter Dos and Don’ts for Teachers Changing Careers

Step 2: Change the language in your resume to make it sound more corporate.

Now it’s time to make your experience sound more corporate. Take a look at the cheat sheet below — how can you rephrase your classroom skills to align with what employers outside education are looking for?

Step 3: Identify jobs that match your skillset

There’s no point overhauling your CV until you know what kinds of jobs actually interest you and suit your skillset (see a more in-depth blog post about the Top 5 jobs for teachers to transfer into here).Success in job hunting comes from tailoring your CV to each role — it’s time-consuming at first, but once you’ve got a few versions ready to go, it gets much easier.

Look closely at the language in each job description — then reflect it back in your resume.

Step 4: Make use of AI.

We live in an amazing time where AI tools can help you reword and refine your resume to better match the job descriptions you’re applying for.

Of course, never lie or exaggerate — make sure everything you include is an honest reflection of your experience. Many people have been caught out in interviews when they couldn’t explain what a line on their resume actually meant!

Step 5: Get applying.

Once you’ve got your resumes ready and your language is aligned with the roles you’re targeting, start applying. Set up a simple spreadsheet to track your applications, deadlines, and responses — I found this incredibly useful when I was juggling marking and lesson planning. It made it so much easier to keep track of where I was in the process and, when I found a spare hour, I could quickly send off another application.

You can download my free job tracker spreadsheet here.

Key Takeaways

Making a career shift can come with challenges. It is essential to remain resilient throughout the process. DO NOT GIVE UP! For some people, it takes many applications to land their first non-teaching role. For others, it doesn't take long at all. Just remember:

• Stay Positive: Focus on your goals and remind yourself why you are making this change. Why have you made the decision to look for other jobs? What are you not enjoying about your current job?

  
  

• Learn from Rejections: Not every application will lead to an interview. Use rejections as learning opportunities. The more jobs you apply for, the easier it will become to start figuring out

  
  

• You have so many transferable skills: Teacher's are so skilled. Don't forget that you can do so many things with your skillset and the knowledge you have gained in the classroom. Read my blog post here where I talk in more depth about your transferable skills.