Your teacher CV and interview, ready for the market you want.

CVs by market.

What a strong teacher CV shows.

• Your curriculum experience, named clearly: for example British (IGCSE, A level), IB or American. Many international schools use the British curriculum, and job adverts often ask for IGCSE or IB experience.
• The subjects and age groups you've taught, and class sizes if they show range.
• Every job with start and end dates, and a short line for any gap.
• Your teaching qualification and licence or registration, with where and when.
• Safeguarding and child protection training, with the year.
• Results in plain words: what changed for students because of what you did.

The free CV & Interview Studio builds this for the market you choose, with coaching on every field, a live preview and a clean PDF.

References that pass.

International schools follow safer recruitment guidance. The International Taskforce on Child Protection recommends three referees who supervised you, one from your current or most recent employer, at assistant principal level or above. Open "to whom it may concern" letters aren't accepted. Search Associates asks for one reference from your current principal, and COBIS schools verify references with a follow-up call. Give professional email addresses for your referees, not personal ones.

Interview formats.

Many international interviews happen on Zoom or a similar platform, often with a panel. Some include a demo lesson, either live or recorded, and England's Department for Education says you may be asked to teach a lesson or a micro-teach. For behavioural questions, use STAR: the Situation, the Task, the Action you took and the Result. Say "I", not "we".

• Video: test your camera, sound and lighting, and have your notes and a glass of water out of shot.
• Demo lesson: keep it short, show how you check understanding, and be ready to explain your choices.
• Questions for them: prepare two or three, such as what support new international teachers get in their first year.

The questions I was asked.

These are the six questions from my New Brunswick interview. Your questions may be different, but the themes come up again and again:

1. What would we see if we walked into your classroom?
2. Which teaching strategies work best for you?
3. Describe a lesson that didn't go well, and how you recovered.
4. How do you manage difficult behaviour?
5. How do you keep students engaged?
6. How do you differentiate your lessons?

International schools also commonly ask: tell us about yourself, why do you want to teach abroad, and why our school? Read how I prepared and how I answered.

Watch: How to get hired abroad to teach in Canada as an internationally trained teacher, step by step

Safeguarding questions.

Safer recruitment guidance expects safeguarding questions in every interview. Typical examples:

• Why do you want to work with children?
• What would you do if a student told you something that concerned you?
• How would you respond to this child-protection scenario?
• How do you keep boundaries appropriate for your role?

Answer calmly and specifically: who you would tell, what you would write down, and what you would not do, such as promise to keep a secret.

Common mistakes to avoid.

• Sending one generic CV to every school.
• Typos, copy-paste errors or the wrong school's name.
• Leaving employment gaps unexplained.
• Weak references: open letters, colleagues who didn't supervise you, or no current head.
• Sending a CV instead of the school's application form.
• Using one format everywhere, such as a photo and date of birth on a Canadian resume.

Ready to apply? See where to find international teaching jobs. Got an offer? Use the contract checklist.

Sources

• Job Bank (Government of Canada): Write a good resume
• Ontario Human Rights Commission: Designing application forms
• U.S. EEOC: Prohibited employment policies and practices
• International Taskforce on Child Protection: Safer recruitment checklist (2024)
• International Taskforce on Child Protection: Recruitment and screening practices
• Council of International Schools: Safer recruitment FAQs (2026)
• COBIS: Safer recruitment Q&A with ACRO
• Teacher Horizons: CVs for international teaching jobs
• Teach Away: Resume and cover letter
• Teach Away: Interview preparation guide
• Search Associates: Candidate profile and references
• Tes: Tailoring your CV for international schools (2026)
• Department for Education: How to approach a teaching job interview
• National Careers Service: The STAR method
• National Research Council Canada: Behavioural interview questions

This page is general information, checked in October 2026. Every school and district sets its own application process, so follow the instructions in each job advert. Teacher Moves is not a recruiter and does not place teachers in schools.