Module THREE

Creating a Resume/CV

A resume (or CV, short for ‘curriculum vitae’ which means “course of life” in Latin), should provide a positive, accurate overview of a job-seekers experiences, qualifications, skills, interests and education. Resumes are commonly used in North America, while CV’s are used mainly in Europe or internationally. The major difference between a CV and a resume is its length (the standard CV is between 2 and 8 pages long where the standard resume is between 1 and 2 pages long). The resume to be developed in this project should be only one or two pages long.

A resume is a great marketing piece to help sell oneself to a potential employer and obtain an interview.  A solid resume highlights a person’s strengths and accomplishments. All resumes must include contact information, experience and educational background:

Contact information: This includes name, address, phone number and email address.

Experience: This section includes the name and address of present or past employers, positions, responsibilities, and accomplishments.

Education: This section includes educational background, certificates, and relevant training.  It also includes the name and address of schools, year of completion, and degrees, diplomas, and field of study.

Step One: Research What a Resume Is and Isn’t.

Exercise 3.1: What did you learn about resumes?

Use the websites below to create a fact sheet on what a resume is, does, should and should not include. Place your answers in a google.doc table:

Resume Tutorial
http://www.acinet.org/acinet/resume/resume_intro.asp
Provides a step-by-step tutorial on writing resumes.

Quintessential Careers: Resume Tutorial
http://www.quintcareers.com/resume_tutorial/tutorial_1.html
Another tutorial for writing a resume.

http://www.umuc.edu/students/support/careerservices/resumecover/resume.cfm
Provides a step-by-step tutorial on writing resumes.

Step Two: Determine Career Objective

The first step in writing a resume is to determine a career objective. [Note: Not all resumes include a career or job objective, especially for those who are unsure about what they want to do, or for those who will accept a variety of positions.] A career objective shows that the job-seeker has a clear focus and an established goal. It may state the following things:

·        the type of business or career area being sought

·        the job title or level of position

·        the major strengths being offered

Exercise 3.2: Step One Resume Writing - Career Objective

You will write two career objectives. The first objective will be for a job they could apply for today. The second objective will be for a future job. A sample is provided below:

Type of Business	Career Title or Level of Position	Career Objective or Goal and Major Strengths Offered
(CURRENT) Retail Business	Retail Sales Clerk	To obtain an entry level position in sales using my strengths with talking to and persuading people.
(FUTURE) Retail Business	Retail Manager	To obtain a position as management trainee within the retail fashion industry.

Step Three: Gather and Organize Information

The next step in writing a resume is to gather and organize information about one’s background and interests.  Using the information you have gathered in Module 2, you will compile a list that should include the following:

·        job experiences and responsibilities, including accomplishments

·        skills

·        activities

·        education, includes training

·        awards (if any)

·        interests/hobbies

Exercise 3.3: Step Two Resume Writing – Gathering and Organizing Information

You will gather information about yourself that is important to include in any type of resume and organize it into a chart, as in exercise 2.2.

Job Experiences

o Include full-time or part-time work, summer jobs, occasional jobs, internships, field work, and special projects

o (List employers and dates of employment, usually the most recent first)

o Each Job Experience Should Include the Following:

§ Job responsibilities

§ Job accomplishments (described with action verbs)

Skills (general)

o List and briefly describe individual strength areas (i.e., foreign language skills, team player, etc.)

Activities

o (Both volunteer and school-related activities, including membership or leadership positions in clubs, organizations of all kinds, athletic teams, etc.)

Education

o (Include high school and other educational experiences, such as training programs, community college or summer study courses, seminars, etc.)

Awards

o (List any awards received, if any. Skip if doesn’t apply)

Interests/Hobbies

o (Choose to list four or five non-controversial items)

Step Three: Develop a Resume

There are two common styles or ways of organizing and presenting resume information to the reader: chronological and functional.

·        Chronological Resume: organizes experiences around jobs which are listed in reverse chronological order.  This is the most common style and is good for people with a steady work history.

·        Functional Resume: organizes experiences thematically around job skills. Employment history is rearranged to highlight areas of skills and accomplishments. This type of resume is good for people who have not held many jobs or those who have inconsistent work histories.

Quintessential Careers: Resume Tutorial: Functional Resumes

http://www.quintcareers.com/resume_tutorial/tutorial_7.html
Click on the two samples of functional resumes, and other information on how to construct a functional resume.

Functional Resume Example

http://www.alec.co.uk/resume_writing/resume_example_functional.htm
From a British career development website.

Exercise 3.4: Step Four - Develop a Functional Resume

You will create a functional style resume in this exercise. You should first preview printed samples provided by the teacher, to help them determine the information that they will place into their own resumes.  Using google.docs create a functional resume draft. A sample outline is provided below.

Functional Resume Outline

Name of Learner
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
Phone Number
E-mail address

OBJECTIVE:

GENERAL SKILLS:

ACTIVITIES:

EDUCATION:     Dates           High School EXPERIENCES:

AWARDS:

INTERESTS/HOBBIES:

Use the following website to build/create your resume. Remember you are using the data/information gathered in Module 2. Pretend you have graduated from the school you listed in your selected career path and this is your first attempt at getting an entry level position. You are given certain latitudes in this exercise but do not pretend to the point of impossible.

http://www.myfuture.com/careers/tools-checklists/resume-builder

When you have completed your draft resume have your desk mate or neighbor proof read your resume for corrections. Be honest with each other as criticism is good. Develop a final version. Potential employers are not impressed by careless spelling and grammatical errors in a resume.  

Note: All work from this module is graded by what you produce as your final resume. Name your final resume ResumeHuewitt(use your own name) and share with me.