Without a doubt teaching jobs can be quite difficult to secure these days. Just go to any popular teaching forum or teacher discussion board and look at all the posts from teachers who are desperately trying to land a good teaching position.

Due to the fact that teaching jobs are so difficult to secure, teachers must do everything they can to stand out form the crowd.

One of the most important aspects of getting a teaching job is your teacher resume. What makes the teacher resume so important is that it is the first, and often times the only thing an administrator or teacher interview committee will see or hear about you. As the old saying goes...you only get one chance to make a first impression...

Therefore, you need to use your resume to make that first impression.

There are many features that make up a quality teacher resume, but this article is about one specific part of that resume...the references. Remember, just like anything else, a person is most likely going to remember the first and last thing they hear/see/read etc. The same holds true for your resume...to stand out you must open with a bang and close with a bang. Unfortunately, this is where many people miss the mark.

At the end of every resume is where the applicant should list their references. However, I am shocked at how many people still simply write "references available upon request". This is a huge mistake. Why make it difficult for your potential employer to seek out your references? Are you trying to hide something? Because that is exactly what "references available upon request" indicates.

What you should do instead is make sure you list your specific references at the bottom and make sure to provide their title/position, telephone number, and email address. Again, you want to make it as easy as possible for the interview committee to contact your references.

Another mistake people make is not listing enough references. All too often people will list only three references. Any qualified teacher should be able to get many, many references. Now, while you will not need to list them all, by listing 5-10 of them you are separating yourself from all the other teachers who only listed three, or worse, stated "references available upon request".

The bottom line is that you want your resume to say loud and clear "Go ahead, check my references...I encourage you do so!"

Again, your references are the last thing the reader will see when reading your resume. By ending with several references that are easy to contact, you are ending with a bang that will make your teacher resume stand out amongst all the others.