Teacher CV in Norway: example and tips

What schools look for in a teacher

Head teachers look for teachers who can lead a class, adapt teaching to the pupils and work well with colleagues and parents. Your CV must show this with examples, not just words. State which year levels and subjects you have taught, whether you have been a form teacher, and what you have contributed to development work at the school.

Many municipalities and counties use applicant tracking systems that look for words from the ad, so use the same words where they match what you have done. Read more in our guide to an ATS-friendly CV. These are words that often appear in Norwegian ads for teachers, translated:

• Approved teacher education, teaching qualifications and credits per subject.
• Classroom management, learning environment and a safe and good school environment.
• Adapted teaching, special needs education and early intervention.
• Assessment for learning and formative assessment.
• The national curriculum LK20, deep learning and basic skills.
• Form teacher, cooperation with home and parents.
• Digital tools and learning platforms.
• Teamwork and professional community.

Competence requirements: education and credits per subject

The Education Act sets requirements both for the education you need to be hired as a teacher and for your competence in the subjects you teach. Which degrees qualify you depends on the year level. Common routes are primary teacher education for years 1 to 7 or years 5 to 10, subject teacher education, or a degree of at least 240 ECTS credits that includes practical teacher training (PPU). In upper secondary school, the main rule is 60 credits in the subject you teach.

To teach Norwegian, mathematics and English in primary and lower secondary school, you need 30 credits in the subject for years 1 to 7 and 60 credits for years 8 to 10. The requirement does not apply to those who could be hired as teachers before 1 January 2014, nor to teachers with the older general teacher degree. The school owner decides which credits are relevant. So list subjects and credits directly on your CV, for example “Primary and lower secondary teacher education, years 5 to 10, master's degree, University of Agder, 2023. Mathematics 60 credits, English 60 credits, science 30 credits”. Primary teacher education in Norway is now a five year master's programme.

If you do not have an approved teacher education, a school can hire you temporarily when it cannot find qualified teachers, but only until 31 July. If you are studying to become a teacher, you can be hired on the condition that you complete the programme. In that case, state how far you have come and when you will finish. If your teacher education is from abroad, HK-dir, the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, is responsible for approving it, and the approval should be on your CV.

Municipalities and counties must require a police certificate from everyone hired on a permanent or temporary basis in primary and secondary schools, the after-school programme (SFO) and municipal arts schools. You do not attach it to the application. The school will ask for it before you start.

Example summary

The summary should say which year levels and subjects you teach, how much experience you have and what you are particularly good at. Three to five sentences are enough. Read more in our guide to writing a CV summary. Here are two made up examples:

• Example, experienced teacher: “Teacher with a master's degree, nine years of experience in lower secondary school and 60 credits in both mathematics and science. Form teacher for six years and team leader for year 9 for the last two. Has led the school's work on assessment for learning and built a programme for pupils who need extra challenges in mathematics. Looking for a permanent position in lower secondary with subject responsibility for science and mathematics.”
• Example, newly qualified teacher: “Newly qualified primary teacher for years 1 to 7 with a master's degree in Norwegian and 60 credits in mathematics. Teaching placements at three schools, including early reading instruction in year 1. Worked for two years in an after-school programme and as a substitute teacher alongside studies. Looking for a form teacher position in primary school.”

Bullet points that show results: weak and strong

Write the job title, school, year levels and subjects, dates and the size of the position as a percentage of full time. Under each job, add three to five bullet points with strong verbs in the past tense. Show responsibility and results where you can: test results, lower absence, teaching plans that colleagues adopted. Never use names or details that could identify pupils. The examples are made up:

• Weak: “Form teacher for year 8.” Strong: “Served as form teacher for 26 pupils from year 8 to year 10, held pupil meetings and progress meetings with all parents, and followed up absence closely with the school nurse.”
• Weak: “Taught mathematics.” Strong: “Taught mathematics in years 9 and 10 and introduced weekly tasks with formative assessment. The share of pupils at the lowest level in the national tests in year 9 fell two years in a row.”
• Weak: “Worked with adapted teaching.” Strong: “Designed adapted reading and writing plans for five pupils with reading and writing difficulties, together with a special needs teacher and the educational psychological service (PPT).”
• Weak: “Responsible for IT.” Strong: “Led the introduction of a new learning platform for the year group and ran three training sessions for colleagues.”
• Weak: “Worked on the school environment.” Strong: “Served on the school's environment team, followed up cases about a safe and good school environment and introduced regular class meetings, which pupils rated well in the national pupil survey.”

Skills, courses and common mistakes

Teachers often have a lot of further education, and it should be listed with the subject, credits, institution and year. Include courses and tools that are relevant to the job you are applying for.

• Further education: for example through the national programme Kompetanse for kvalitet, with subject, credits and year.
• Mentoring: training as a placement supervisor or as a mentor for newly qualified teachers.
• Special needs education, reading and writing instruction, and Norwegian as a second language.
• Digital tools: for example Teams, Google Classroom, Visma InSchool, Vigilo or Skolearena.
• Common mistake: writing only “Teacher education” with no year levels, subjects or credits.
• Common mistake: letting the subjects you can teach disappear under a long list of duties.
• Common mistake: forgetting leadership and responsibility, such as team leader, year group leader, subject lead or placement supervisor.

Advice for new graduates and experienced teachers

As a new graduate, your education should come first, with subjects and credits. Your placements show that you have taught: list the school, year level, subject and what you planned and delivered yourself. Substitute work, after-school programmes, homework help and coaching show that you can work with children and young people. Read more in our guide to a CV for new graduates.

With many years of experience, it is easy to end up with a four page CV. Stick to two. Describe your recent positions in detail, and group older substitute jobs on one line. Highlight what sets you apart, such as subject responsibility, development work, mentoring new teachers and leadership experience.

If you are a kindergarten teacher considering a move to school, you can be hired for years 1 to 4 if you have at least 60 credits of further education aimed at those years. See also our guide to a kindergarten teacher CV. Before a salary discussion, you can check the figures with the salary check.

The application for a teaching job

Your cover letter should answer what the ad asks for: year levels, subjects and what the school focuses on. Give a concrete example from your teaching, and explain why you want to work at this particular school. See our guide on how to write a cover letter.

If you want to save time, you can paste the job ad into Selja and get a professional, ATS-friendly CV and cover letter tailored to the job in under a minute, based on the CV you already have. Selja never adds subjects, credits or experience you do not have. Before the interview, you can practise interview questions for teachers.