Substitute Teacher job description for a resume

The short answer

A substitute teacher writing a resume should describe what they actually did — work like answer students' questions — rather than copying a generic bullet list. The U.S. Department of Labor classifies the role as Substitute Teachers, Short-Term (SOC 25-3031.00). All 13 of its published duties are listed below. Reading Comprehension is the capability O*NET rates highest for the work.

What follows is the published duty list, not a set of bullets to copy. The difference matters: a line describing work you did not do is one interview question away from falling apart.

What a substitute teacher does

Teach students on a short-term basis as a temporary replacement for a regular classroom teacher, typically using the regular teacher's lesson plan.

O*NET occupation: Substitute Teachers, Short-Term (SOC 25-3031.00).

Substitute Teacher duties you can put on a resume

These are all 13 duties O*NET classifies as core to this occupation. Which ranking is a fact from the source; which of them you personally did is not something any dataset knows. Use the list as a memory aid, never as a list to paste.

1. Answer students' questions.
2. Take class attendance and maintain attendance records.
3. Enforce school and class rules to maintain order in the classroom.
4. Operate equipment such as computers or audio-visual aids to supplement presentations.
5. Distribute or collect tests or homework assignments.
6. Distribute teaching materials, such as textbooks, workbooks, papers, and pencils, to students.
7. Follow lesson plans designed by absent teachers.
8. Teach social skills to students, such as communication, conflict resolution, and etiquette.
9. Teach a variety of subjects, such as English, mathematics, and social studies.
10. Supervise students during activities outside the classroom, such as recess, lunch, and field trips.
11. Counsel students with adjustment or academic problems.
12. Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, or teacher training workshops to improve professional competence.
13. Tutor or assist students individually or in small groups.

Skills a substitute teacher can list

O*NET rates these at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation.

Reading Comprehension

importance 3.62

Active Listening

importance 3.62

Speaking

importance 3.62

Social Perceptiveness

importance 3.50

Critical Thinking

importance 3.38

Monitoring

importance 3.38

Instructing

importance 3.38

Writing

importance 3.12

What not to claim

• A duty from the list above that you did not personally perform. It describes Substitute Teachers, Short-Term as an occupation, not your particular job — and interviewers for substitute teacher roles ask about the specifics.
• Work from an adjacent role you have not held. Substitute Teacher and the roles beside it overlap, and the overlap is where overstatement creeps in.
• A percentage, a headcount or a volume you did not measure. "Improved satisfaction by 35%" is the single most copied line on resume-example sites, and almost nobody who pastes it can source it.
• Reading Comprehension at a level you have not worked at. O*NET rates it highest for this occupation, which makes it the most likely thing to be probed.
• A tool, system or certification you have not used or hold. This is the fastest claim to disprove.

Source and method

O*NET data are provided by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence.The duties and skills above are reproduced as published. The resume guidance, the prompts and any generated lines are RoleSprint's, and O*NET did not write them.

Related occupations

Same occupational family in the SOC classification, so the duties often overlap with work you have done.

• Teaching Assistant job description for a resume
• Preschool Teacher job description for a resume