Teaching Resume Skills to LINC Students How many have resumes? Who has done it for them? Introduction

Agenda Resumes Teaching Tips Outcomes

Parts of a resume Personal Information Job Objective Summary of Qualifications Work History (chronological) Relevant Skills and Experience (functional & combined) Education and Training

Optional Headings Other Languages Interests Volunteering Experience Awards and Scholarships Published Articles Computer Related Skills References available upon request?

Types of Resumes Chronological Functional Combination Advantages Disadvantages 1. Easier to prepare; employers’ preference; shows professional growth; not ideal for 1st job/career change; doesn’t focus on skills necessary for job; gaps; frequent job changes . 2. Emphasizes skills not where/when acquired; 1st job/ career change/gaps limited hands-on skills; employment history/growth de-emphasized 3. Emphasizes skills and shows work history too long; repetitive Hand-out

Skills Hard skills Soft Skills Transferable Skills What would you say to an employer who met you at a networking session and is interested in your expertise? Handouts for skills: hard skill – fill out the table; choose 5 most important for your job Soft skills – select the ones you have; choose 5 most important Transferable skills – identify your own At the end (if time) a job ad to analyze.

Action Verbs Use strong verbs (plain words vs. professional verbs) Avoid repetition Hand – out Action Verbs Hand out- Professional verbs vs. Plain Words

Resume Writing Tips Objective Sell yourself Get interview Points not sentences Strong words, action verbs (-ed) Use numbers Highlight strengths and accomplishments Professional jargon and buzzwords

Tips continued 9. Include only positive and relevant information 10. Breadth of knowledge vs. depth 11. What you know and who you know 12. Format and design (white space) 13. Review!

Design Tips Name as a logo Group Personal Information Start with a verb in past tense (skills/experience) (but adjectives/adverbs/nouns in highlights) No end-punctuation and etc. No hanging words Control number of points i.e. Group skills (balance) Handouts to show different ways of grouping personal data Handouts for Design Rules

Design Tips cont. Punctuation and spaces Second page – name only and pg. 2 Acronyms after full words Numbers Dates (years only) 10 years in reverse chronological order No repetition, grammar, punctuation, spelling errors Review, review, review

Resume Format Don’t use templates 1 inch margins 1-2 pages Tables/headers/footers? Font type and size Alignment Bold for titles and headings Boxes, borders, shapes clip art?

Resume Format Heading with no punctuation (: or ;) Bullets – one style Spacing – Double space between headings and single between points Paper – good quality, colour (one-sided) Handout for formatting and formatting exercise.

Teaching Tips Presentations (individual, group, mini) All 4 skills, variety of activities, in class/lab vs. home Unit vs. Topic Assessment – formative and summative peer, self-assessment checklist, rubrics Vocabulary – job ads, occupational profiles/ NOC Content – accomplishment statements

Outcomes and Sample Task CLB 7 LINC 5-7 Curriculum Guidelines IV Describe, compare, contrast two jobs /procedures Give a presentation to compare their jobs back home and the same/similar job in Canada Compare 2 types of resumes in mini presentations IV Participate in a small group discussion/ meeting; express opinions and feelings; qualify opinion, express reservations, approval and disapproval. In small groups, discuss and analyze a resume. Prepare a list of possible interview questions. In small groups, analyze a job ad and decide how to use skills required in a resume. ll Understand a set of instructions related to simple technical and non-technical tasks Listen to instructions for using a resume wizard. Complete a portion of a template using own information.

ll Take notes in point form from an oral presentation IV Demonstrate comprehension of mostly factual details and some inferred meanings in an extended description , report or narration. ll Take notes in point form from an oral presentation Listen to a 5- min talk presentation about effective resume writing and prepare a list of tips/ take notes/ write missing information on a worksheet. IV Write two or three paragraphs to provide a comparison Write a report comparing two types of resumes. Use a table as the basis of some of the information Add a paragraph expressing your preference. Give reasons. IV Access and locate three or four pieces of information in on-line electronic reference sources (Internet /WWW or library databases) Lab task : search library database and find at least one document on resume writing and choose 3-4 tips that you consider most important.

Websites http://www23.hrdc-dhrc.gc.ca/2001/e/generic/welcome.shtml Self assessment www.next steps.org http://www.nextsteps.org/nextsteps/ Skills and definitions http://www.conferenceboard.ca/Libraries/EDUC_PUBLIC/esp2000.sflb http://www.nielsongroup.com/articles/list_of_competencies.pdf Job profiles NOC http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC/English/NOC/2011/Welcome.aspx http://www23.hrdc-dhrc.gc.ca/2001/e/generic/welcome.shtml JOB Futures http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/labourmarket/ojf/ www.jobfutures.ca Essential skills http://srv108.services.gc.ca/english/general/home_e.shtml Ontario Skills Passport: www.skills.edu.gov.on.ca/OSPWeb/jsp/login.jsp