I recently had the opportunity, as an educator, to learn about how to write a good résumé. This has been a journey! We started off talking about a résumé and looked at a few examples on Union University’s Career Services website. I then began to type my information into a blank Word document, making sure to left align all information. I looked at the examples online to help me in this process. I understood that I would be going back and editing my format and information at a later date. After that, my class had the chance to hear from a representative from Union University’s Career Services in a workshop. I learned much about the purpose of a résumé and how to write a professional one during this workshop.
A résumé is the first thing that employers look at when considering new employees. It is a marketing tool about a prospective employee. Because of this, it is so important to make sure that a résumé is done in a very professional manner with the correct components. In terms of an educator’s résumé, the components include a heading, contact information, objective/profile/qualifications, philosophy of education, education and areas of certification, experience, honors and awards, computer skills, and more. Each of these components is important for different reasons. When they are all brought together in a professional format, a résumé has been created that can be used when applying for careers. It is important to make sure that a résumé is unique and stands out from others. This is because employers give each résumé, on average, fifteen seconds. If there is nothing unique or special about you on the résumé, there is a good chance the employer will toss it aside and begin looking at the next one.
Prior to this workshop, I did not know how to format a résumé. For example, I did not know that there are certain fonts and font sizes that should be used in the headings and body of the résumé. The name should be 24 pt. and the component headings should be ten points smaller than that. It is important to use “fonts with feet” because it is easy for employers to read. The profile section of the résumé was possibly the most challenging section for me to write. This section has six to eight characteristics unique to you put in short, powerful phrases. It was hard for me to write this because I was trying to think of things unique to myself. It was also hard because I was trying to be concise, yet still have powerful phrases. The personal experience is also an important section on a résumé. Employers like to know the experiences that you have had in the past. It is also a good idea to keep a résumé limited to one page. If there is no way you can fit all of your information on one page, it can be two, but it needs to fill both the first and second page. There should not be a lot of white space on the bottom of the page.
There is so much to consider when creating a résumé. It is important to keep in mind that each word is important and should be carefully chosen. After the workshop, we were to take the information we had been given and begin to make our résumés, formatting the way we had just been taught. I worked hard trying to get all of my information on one page. I finally managed to do this by adjusting the margin sizes as well as the space size in the document. The next time we met in class, we were to work with a partner, peer editing the other's résumé. After making the appropriate changes, we finally turned them in to Career Services to edit. We received them back with red marks showing us the changes that should be made. After making the changes that they suggested, the journey of the résumé is finally, for the time being, complete! This journey started out over a month ago, and it still isn't completely over! I have recently learned that résumés are never complete. They are always changing, and should be edited every so often. I now understand the importance of résumés and how to write my own. I also understand that I will constantly be changing and updating my résumé in the years to come.
For more information on how to write a professional résumé, visit Union University’s Career Services website here.
Click here to see my finished (current!) résumé!
A résumé is the first thing that employers look at when considering new employees. It is a marketing tool about a prospective employee. Because of this, it is so important to make sure that a résumé is done in a very professional manner with the correct components. In terms of an educator’s résumé, the components include a heading, contact information, objective/profile/qualifications, philosophy of education, education and areas of certification, experience, honors and awards, computer skills, and more. Each of these components is important for different reasons. When they are all brought together in a professional format, a résumé has been created that can be used when applying for careers. It is important to make sure that a résumé is unique and stands out from others. This is because employers give each résumé, on average, fifteen seconds. If there is nothing unique or special about you on the résumé, there is a good chance the employer will toss it aside and begin looking at the next one.
Prior to this workshop, I did not know how to format a résumé. For example, I did not know that there are certain fonts and font sizes that should be used in the headings and body of the résumé. The name should be 24 pt. and the component headings should be ten points smaller than that. It is important to use “fonts with feet” because it is easy for employers to read. The profile section of the résumé was possibly the most challenging section for me to write. This section has six to eight characteristics unique to you put in short, powerful phrases. It was hard for me to write this because I was trying to think of things unique to myself. It was also hard because I was trying to be concise, yet still have powerful phrases. The personal experience is also an important section on a résumé. Employers like to know the experiences that you have had in the past. It is also a good idea to keep a résumé limited to one page. If there is no way you can fit all of your information on one page, it can be two, but it needs to fill both the first and second page. There should not be a lot of white space on the bottom of the page.
There is so much to consider when creating a résumé. It is important to keep in mind that each word is important and should be carefully chosen. After the workshop, we were to take the information we had been given and begin to make our résumés, formatting the way we had just been taught. I worked hard trying to get all of my information on one page. I finally managed to do this by adjusting the margin sizes as well as the space size in the document. The next time we met in class, we were to work with a partner, peer editing the other's résumé. After making the appropriate changes, we finally turned them in to Career Services to edit. We received them back with red marks showing us the changes that should be made. After making the changes that they suggested, the journey of the résumé is finally, for the time being, complete! This journey started out over a month ago, and it still isn't completely over! I have recently learned that résumés are never complete. They are always changing, and should be edited every so often. I now understand the importance of résumés and how to write my own. I also understand that I will constantly be changing and updating my résumé in the years to come.
For more information on how to write a professional résumé, visit Union University’s Career Services website here.
Click here to see my finished (current!) résumé!
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