Resumé Preparation Workshop FOR TEACHING & NON-TEACHING JOBS

Career Development Centre

2013

Transition to Teaching – Trends & Tips

MARCH 2011

MARCH 2012

A Unique Job Search process

Obtain approval

for

Daily Supply Teaching List

Apply for Long Term Occasional

Assignments

Apply to Permanent Teaching

Roles

“This is the (hiring) trend we are seeing with most School Boards in Ontario…”

- Mark Laurie, President, applytoeducation

Multiple year timeline to land a permanent teaching role…

• Today: Interview & Resume Guidelines for teaching and non-teaching roles

• Feb 1: Resume Tips for Teaching Roles

Learning Objectives

• Understand the distinct purpose of an effective resumé and cover letter

• Recognize the key components to writing an effective resumé

• Introduce methods of effectively presenting and distinguishing professional skills in a resumé

• Become aware of the resumé and cover letter resources available through the Career Centre

Your resumé is a marketing tool

• Used to screen applicants “out” prior to and after an interview

• Introduces your unique value to an employer

• A permanent record for your employee file following your hiring

A resumé will not get you a job

but it may get you an interview !

Primary Goal of Your Resume

Demonstrates your FIT with the job or company. RELEVANT – • Skills

• Experiences

• Knowledge

• Education

• Activities

How long will the employer read your resume?

First

Impression 5 Seconds

Second Look 15 seconds

Content Review

30+ seconds

1. Appearance

2. Organization

3. Content

3 steps to screening and

making an impression

Use information obtained from the job posting and your research

to target the content of your resumé

3 Parts of an Effective Resumé

Part I

Part II

Part III

Appearance

Appearance: - How does it look - Do I want to read further - Is it Professional

Organization

Organization and Selection: - Can I find what I need quickly - Is the necessary information included

Content

Wording: Does the information SOUND relevant and targeted

Effective Resumé

Experiential Learning Exercise:

Resumé Scan

STEP 1

•Review BEFORE resumé

STEP 2

•Review AFTER resumé

STEP 3

•Compare and discuss

FOCUS AREAS Appearance · Organization· Content

Part I: Appearance

Key Appearance Components

• Attractive/appealing • Industry style • Clear contact information • Easy to read (font size, not crowded) • Headings easy to locate • Sections stand out • Consistent in appearance • Professional/modern • Error free

Be

prepared

to discuss

Review the resume rubric and strive for level 4

Compare sample resumes BEFORE AFTER

Key Appearance Components

Be error free!

Remember I’m Wilfrid not Wilfred!

Part II: Organization

Part II – Organization

The structure, order and layout impacts the

effectiveness of your resumé.

Resumé Organization

Objective

Profile of Qualifications

Education

Teaching (or Related) Experience

Additional Experience

Extra-curricular and Interests

Part III: Content

Content

What you say and how you say it impacts the message you are sending the potential employer.

There are 3 main areas that need targeting: 1. Use your Objective to focus your resumé 2. Use your Profile to provide a big picture or

snap-shot 3. Use your descriptions of your Experiences

(paid and unpaid) to give focused clarity

The Objective

Should you add an objective? • There is no agreement • Be sure it is not generic!

Consider using the following formula:

Identify yourself (Bachelor of Education graduate), seeking role you are applying for

(teaching, etc.) in order to select relevant experience/skills/knowledge and provide results to the school/organization or how

you will contribute to the goals of the position.

Sample Objective

To obtain a teaching position at an elementary school

Generic

Targeted

Student-centred Bachelor of Education graduate seeking to secure a teaching position in order to utilize classroom management, lesson planning and interpersonal skills in a learning environment.

This is the big picture statement

If you have 15 seconds to tell your principals/ employers about yourself, what do you want them to know?

Consider the qualifications of the job as ‘The Question’ and your Profile section as ‘The Answer’

Profile of Qualifications

What is in the Profile section?

Key Components of a profile(4-6 point form summary statements)

Experience summary (1 line)

Relevant skills (2-4 lines)

Personal qualities (optional – 1 line)

Relevant achievements (1 line)

Key certification or a bonus highlight (1 line)

1.Experience Statement

• Entice your reader to want to view the rest of your resumé

• Be sure to keep Profile bullets at a highlight, big-picture level

• Be sure to ‘back up’ your claim to a skill and discuss it dynamically

Profile: Experience Statement

Sample Experience Statement (1 line)

Five years of teaching experience Generic

Targeted

More than 5 years of successful classroom management experience demonstrated within volunteer and student teaching roles

More than 10 years of successful client services experience in retail, corporate and educational environments

Targeted Non-

Teaching

2. Skills Statement

• Select 2-4 relevant skills (check job posting)

• Present these skills in terms of how you have used or how you will use them – sell, don’t tell!

Profile: Skills Statement

Sample Skills Statement (2-4 lines)

Strong interpersonal skills Generic

Targeted Teaching

Proven ability to establish co-operative, professional relationships with colleagues, school staff, and parents through effective communication and interpersonal competence

Proven ability to establish co-operative, professional relationships with managers, clients and co-workers through effective communication and interpersonal competence

Targeted Non-

Teaching

3. Quality Statement

• Do not exceed more than one quality statement

• Provide insight into your qualities and values

• Possibly add a supervisor testimonial instead

• Attempt to make the qualities align with the nature of the job and organizational culture

Profile: Personal Qualities Statement

Sample Personal Quality Statement (1 line)

Dedicated to teaching Generic

Targeted

Committed to creating a classroom atmosphere that is stimulating, encouraging and inclusive for all students

Committed to creating a learning environment that is stimulating, encouraging and inclusive for all participants

Targeted Non-

Teaching

4. Achievement Statement

• Show your successes

• Demonstrate a relevant or interesting success

• Quantify when possible:

• E.g. Organized a charity event raising $2,000 the school (or for a local not-for-profit organization)

Profile: Relevant Achievement Statement

Sample Relevant Achievement (1 line)

Strong organizational skills Generic

Targeted

Organized and co-ordinated a student golf tournament which raised $8000 and presented a positive image of the school within the community

Same

Targeted Non-

Teaching

5. Bonus Statement • Add a line about key

certifications (completed or in progress), special or interesting skills or experiences such as: – Travel or community

work – Languages – Technology or

computers – Athletic involvement – Music, drama, art

skills

Profile: Bonus Statement

Sample Bonus Certification or Bonus Highlight (1 line)

Interest in professional development and further training

Generic

Targeted Anticipate summer 2013 completion of Additional Qualifications course: Special Education Part 1

Strong knowledge of HR trends through education, personal research, HR related volunteering and student membership with HRPA

Targeted Non-

Teaching

Create your Profile of Qualifications

Type of statement My statements

Experience statement

Relevant skill statement

Relevant skill statement

Personal quality statement

Relevant achievement statement

Key certification or a bonus highlight

Education Information

Reverse chronology

Degree name in full, i.e.,

Bachelor of Education ,

not B.Ed

Include name of school,

city and province

What about high school?

What about listing

courses?

What about the GPA?

What about listing

awards?

Education section

Additional Training and Professional Development

• Focus on relevant training and professional development i.e., Non- Violent Crisis Intervention training, Brain Gym, etc.

• Include seminars/lectures you attended which were not part of course work

• May include presentations or publications (if several, create a separate section)

This section can be listed either in a separate section or in the Education section

• Re-focus job descriptions to target each job you are applying to

• Draw greater attention to the relevant aspects of your jobs

• If minimal relevance, stress transferable skills

• Be sure to use result-oriented statements

Experience section

Targeting Job Descriptions (sample for teaching position)

Job Goal:

Camp Counsellor

Previous job as a Camp

Counsellor

Camp Counsellor 2011,2012 (seasonal) YMCA Camp, Kitchener, ON

• Supervised children ages 8 – 16 at a summer camp

• Developed and lead engaging activities including arts and crafts, nature exploration, swimming, water safety and canoeing

• Ensured inclusive summer experience for children with disabilities

Targeting Job Descriptions (sample for non-teaching position)

Past job not

directly relevant?

Job Goal: Junior

Marketer

Camp Counsellor 2011,2012 (seasonal) YMCA Camp, Kitchener, ON

• Co-ordinated and organized multiple activities which involved preparing materials, creating schedules and managing the needs of diverse participants

• Liaised with the public to ensure exchange of information including negotiating special requests and answering concerns

• Collaborated with colleagues to plan and assign tasks and provided training and orientation to new employees

Make the job details transferable to the job

Writing Job Descriptions: a guideline

Action Verb

Result Task

(& Tools)

Example: Created instructional materials to engage students and support their diverse learning and behavioural needs

What do you think? Effective?

• Assisted with developing and launching lunchtime Social Justice Club for 12 children

• Co-developed and launched lunchtime Social Justice Club for 12 children

• Helped classroom teacher to prepare math lessons using Ontario curriculum

• Prepared math lessons using Ontario curriculum in collaboration with ______

Extra-curricular Activities

• Keep in mind, this section may clearly distinguish you from other applicants!

Art Drama Sports Music

Travel Community Book clubs Interests

Interests

• Enthusiastic about helping children increase their fitness level; former soccer coach and lifeguard

• A useful collection of over 1000 photographs of Canadian heritage sites and geographic landscapes

• Active member of neighborhood association; co-created Canada Day bike parade event for 30 children

• Competitive swimmer and currently training for first triathlon

• Avid guitar player and teacher of students aged 4-84

Write more than a word and explain the extent of your involvement and interests so that they

distinguish you from other candidates.

What about Personal details?

• Date of birth • Marital/Family Status • Disability information • Country of Origin and/or Citizenship • Ethnic background • Languages spoken • Religion • Gender • Social Insurance Number • Pictures

Cover Letters – An Overview

3 short paragraphs

3 key questions to be addressed

Introduction

Why Them? Connects you to the school, Board or Community Clarifies how you learned about the position Projects your enthusiasm for their posting

Body Text

Why You? Indicates that you have researched the position Demonstrates how your unique background and skills appropriately match their current requirements and future plans

Conclusion

Why Now? Confirms your enthusiasm, course completion timeline and availability for an interview Requests an opportunity for further discussion

A Word About References

• Prepare on a separate page

• Only submit upon request (may be a part of your application submission)

• Should have seen you within a related professional environment (e.g. teaching, camp counselling, group facilitation, program development, etc.)

These are key members of your job search team! Keep them informed of your progress.

Principals Supervising Teachers

Professors Superintendents

Directors Other employers

Final Checklist

Ensure that your documents: • Are error free • Use the vocabulary of the field • Amplify relevant aspects of your experiences, and if not relevant, focus on transferable skills

• Are attractive and professional format that is complementary of your target field

• Are formatted (PDF) • Are appropriately named! • Audit and manage your online image.

Career Resources • Solicit resumé feedback from principals,

professors, and people in the industry

• Visit wlu.ca/career to access -

• Career Workshop Slides & Videos

• Employment Guidebooks

• Schedule of Career and Employment Events

• Teaching is a Verb Too! document

• Book a resumé critique with a Career Consultant at x4495

• TEC Career Forum on Friday, February 1, 2013

Connect With Us!

519.884.0710 x4495 careercentre@wlu.ca wlu.ca/career facebook.com/lauriercareercentre lauriercareercentre.wordpress.com linkedin.com (Laurier Career Centre group)