Resume Writing Teaching Outline

Day Two of the Workshop

Introduction (10-15 Minutes)
Introduce yourself and your co-instructor. Each of you should tell the class a little about yourself, and what you do for a living. 1. Ask the students some questions about resumes, and see what they think. Some good questions are: Why are resumes are so important in your job search? What do employers look for in a good resume? What information should be included in a resume? (Be sure to point out that your resume should represent your professional skills, education, and other skills/interests/volunteer activities) Volunteers are encouraged to give input based on your own experiences as a business owner/hiring manger/interviewer. 2. Talk about resume dos and donts. For example: Resume Dos: DO have accurate and current contact information. Most employers have a stack of resumes on their desk; if they cant reach you, they will move on to the next resume. DO get specific when describing previous work, academic, or volunteer experience. Words like construction, customer service, and general maintenance are very general and may mean one thing to you, and something very different to someone else. Talk about how much cash you handle on a daily basis. Let me know how many customer calls you take, credit card applications you process, or packages you load/unload each day. If you work construction, do you paint homes or do you also mix concrete, put up drywall, and do electrical work? Have you supervised, trained, hired, or fired a group of people? If you work in child care, how many children do you care for? How old are they? Caring for 2 ten-year olds is a lot different than caring for 5 six-year olds. DO start every bullet point with an action word. Things like customer service, general maintenance, etc., do not tell an employer about what you have done professionally.

Resume Donts: DONT misspell words. This doesnt make you seem detail-oriented. DONT rely on spell check alone to check your resume; print out some hard copies and ask someone you trust to proofread your resume (JFY counselor, instructor, job developer, relative, teacher, etc.) DONT LIE!!! Employers WILL find out, whether sooner or later.

Resume Construction (30 Minutes) Clients should now be ready to begin writing their own resume using the template provided in their workshop booklet. In this portion of the class, volunteers will go around the room to help students one-on-one with their resumes. You can either assign one volunteer to each side of the table, or you can ask students to raise their hands and go to those who have questions.

If clients are having trouble getting started: It can sometimes be helpful for them to write the title of the job they are considering applying for on a separate piece of paper, along with the duties it will require. This can focus them on providing the most relevant information.

The worksheet Jobs and their Typical Duties located on pages 15-20 of the Working Smart at Finding Work packet supplies the students with a list of jobs commonly held by JFY clients; each job comes with a list of possible bullet points that can be used to describe the duties that they performed in previous jobs.

The Power Verb List located on pages 21-22 of the Working Smart at Finding Work packet is a useful tool for making the resume more professional. The most relevant and important duties for each job should always be listed first.

Please be advised that students are directed by their workshop instructors to put an objective on their resumes! Also, their resume objectives should be general instead of targeting a specific job, because our students often interview in several different industries before finding a job. Some common questions/situations you may encounter: 1. I dont know how to write a good objective.
A good way to handle this one is to tell the client to focus on three things: 1) What are you looking for (long term job, permanent job)? 2) What skills can you bring to the table? 3) What is in it for the employer? Example of an objective: To obtain a long-term position in a forward-thinking company in which my communication and computer skills, along with my ability to work in a team, can help me to grow as a professional while making a valuable contribution to your company. *Students have also been given a packet of sample resumes. They can refer to this packet for some examples of strong objectives to get them started.

2. I already have a finished resume.

Advise the client to look at the sample bullet points on pages 15-20 of the Working Smart at Finding Work packet, and see if they can write more specific bullet points for the jobs on their finished resume. Clients also need to add their JFY experience to their resume as well, under the Education section. Also ask them if they can add any volunteer experience, continuing education, or clubs/organizations to their resume. If they are convinced that their resume is perfect, tell them to spend time on other work.

3. I dont have any work experience/Ive never had a paying job before.
Ask the client if they did any type of extracurricular activities or volunteer work recently or in high school. High school, volunteer activities, and educational information are great ways to fill space if the client does not have formal work experience. Make sure the client realizes that the experience does not have to be paid in order to be valuable.

4. Do I have to put the month and year that I worked at each job?
Yes. JFY workshop instructors always advise clients to put the month and year they began and ended each job, because employers will always want this information. Putting down the year only may raise a red flag with employers.

5. If you are stumped:

Its okay! If a client asks a question you do not know the answer to, just tell them that you are not sure and dont want to give them the wrong information. Advise them to ask their workshop instructor or career development representative.

6. If a client is taking up a lot of your time, and you have to help other students:
Get the client started on an exercise that will take some time, such as writing their objective, or writing bullet points for jobs they have listed on their resume. Make sure the client understands what they are doing, and then explain that you have to help other clients with their resumes, and that if time permits, you will be back to check their work. (If you are unable to come back to the client, remember that they can ask their workshop instructor or career development rep to check it over for them).