Special Education Paraprofessional Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Special Education Paraprofessional resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Special education paraprofessionals are highly trained professionals who provide support and assistance to teachers in the classroom. They’re experts in their field, with a deep understanding of special needs, learning disabilities, mental health issues, and more. And they’re passionate about helping students succeed.
Because special education is such a specialized field, there’s tons of room for growth within the role of a special education paraprofessional. You can move up to become a special education teacher yourself or even transition into another field entirely. But no matter where you decide to go next, you’ll need a resume that showcases your unique talents and experiences.
Follow these tips and resume example to write a special education paraprofessional resume that hiring managers will love.
How to Write a Special Education Paraprofessional Resume
Here’s how to write a special education paraprofessional resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most effective way to showcase your experience and qualifications. But they can be tricky to write because they’re so brief. So it’s important to use specific details and numbers to make your bullet points as descriptive as possible.
For example, rather than saying you “provided support for special education students,” you could say you “provided one-on-one support for special education students with autism to help them transition to middle school, resulting in a decrease in behavioral incidents by 50% during the first semester.”
The second bullet point is much more specific and provides more detail about what you did and the results of your work.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a special education paraprofessional role, your resume will likely be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. The ATS will search for keywords related to the job, like “special needs” or “disabilities” in order to determine whether your skills and experience are a match for the position. If you don’t have enough of the right keywords on your resume, your application might not make it past the initial screening process.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, make sure to include relevant keywords throughout all sections of your resume. We’ve highlighted some of the most important keywords below:
- Special Education
- Teaching
- Teamwork
- Time Management
- Social Media
- Communication
- Educational Leadership
- Classroom Management
- Community Outreach
- Educational Technology
- Lesson Planning
- Organization Skills
- Early Childhood Education
- Interpersonal Skills
- Literacy
- Higher Education
- Curriculum Development
- Staff Development
- Differentiated Instruction
- Special Education Teaching
- Behavior Management
- Research
- Critical Thinking
- Autism
- Special Needs
- Education
- Special Education Services
- Parent Engagement
- Administration
- ELL
Showcase Your Technical Skills
Special education paraprofessionals play a critical role in the early education of students with disabilities. They work with teachers and other professionals to develop and implement Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for their students. As such, they need to be proficient in the use of technology in the classroom.
Prospective employers will be looking for evidence of your technical skills on your resume, so be sure to list any programs, systems, or methodologies that you are familiar with. You can organize your skills into specific subsections to make them easier to find, or indicate your level of expertise for each.