Susan,
Sounds like a good approach. I'm also not a fan of cookie cutter but staying within certain guidelines is essential.
Elizabeth Kemler
I too like to give students a general guideline for each section of the cover letter. For example, the sections are Introduction, Body, Close and I have bulleted suggestion about what should go in each. This prevents "cookie-cutter" cover letters but also gives students enough of a framework to create something interesting by way of introducing themselves.
Chad,
It sounds like yours is a very smart approach.
Elizabeth Kemler
For My career Prep class, we spend on average a week to a week and a half on resumes and cover letters. I let them work on their first resume without any instruction first just to get a feel for what they know. After that i lecture on the proper way to do a resume. Then we go step by step together in class and do them. I always do career workshops. for all my current students and past grads, to come in once a week and update or change anything they need to.
Mignonne,
It certainly never hurts to engage students in the learning process this way; I also like to give them some of my own examples.
Elizabeth Kemler
I have my students do their own research to familiarize themselves with how a resume should look like and the importance of complete and truthful content. I also have them keep their own log/dairy and advise them to keep all their personal data, educational & experiences theirin for use later on.
Janice,
I couldn't agree more. I have exercises I use to help students 'extract' their relevant experience from their background. They need to be reminded with hard evidence that they have developed relevant and applicable work-related skills and qualities.
Elizabeth Kemler
To help students create and write a powerful resume it is important for the student to see thier worth. Many do not think that they have much to offer except thier current education. This is not true. They have life skills, families they take care of, deadlines to reach, homework to hand in on time along with past employment that had responsibilities. When trying to secure entry level positions it is very helpful for the students to see any and all the qualifications they possess. As they write down these facts, they are greatly encouraged and start to see they can land a job in thier new profession.
Anthony,
I'm sorry to hear about the challenges your facing with your school. Please understand though that not everyone taking this course is coming from schools with a great deal of time and highly educated students-I for one have worked with limited time and populations similar to yours. I think we are all trying to do the best we can with what we have. In answer to your question about conveying the importance of the written word, I think your best bet is to track down examples of this you find online-most particularly stories of those who came from little and achieved much..draw the most relevant comparisons you can to make your point.
Elizabeth Kemler
Linda,
I like your proactive and supportive approach-I imagine it goes a long way toward giving your students confidence.
Elizabeth Kemler
I do much research on the most important qualities employers look for and the most powerful words to use on a resume. I also concentrate on conveying to the student how valuable their transferable skills are. I like to coach the student to provide some sort of proof of a claim, for instance, "promoted from seating hostess to main server as a result of exceptional customer service skills."
I personally don't like many of the answers on this forum. It's not because they are bad answers, but our school teaches people who usually have little (or poor) education, and our classes are so short, so there's not a lot of time for this. However, I like this answer. Trying to teach people how important a first impression is and how one bad sentence can put their application in the recycle bin, is crucial.
How do you explain to people who are very uncomfortable with the written word (let's lower the FCAT writing score again!) how important the written word is to the hiring manager? And how do you do that in a very short class when there's so much other stuff to cover?
Michelle,
It's always a good idea to get a sense of the many options where resume/cover letters are concerned-especially looking at those in your field.
Elizabeth Kemler
The internet is an amazing resource on how to write cover letters & resumes. I would have them research other resumes in their field so they would learn how to weed out unnecesary info and really focus on showing the employer how their skills will help that company.
Holly ,
I love the way you put this: "that they are a representation of all they have work and studied for". It's easy for students to look at these documents as just a formality; by presenting them in this way, you're ensuring students recognize their importance.
Elizabeth Kemler
I help students devlop powerful, engaging and professional resumes and cover letters by first emphasizing to them how important these tools are. I want students to understand that these documents are a representation of all that they have worked and studied for and that they are the keys which will get them into the world they have prepared themselves for.
Susan,
While I understand that people want to be creative and stand out, I agree with you 100% about the use of templates-they are a standard that most people expect from candidates.
Elizabeth Kemler
I disagree with the idea of staying away from templates. Following a template speaks to a level of professionalism. Again, depending on the industry this may or may not be as important. For example, I expect administrative graduates to follow templates for both resumes and cover letters. A potential employer will not only judge these documents as a potential hire but as a sample of how that candidate would prepare work once hired. A 3d graduate probably has a bit more freedom of expression. As someone who did a lot of recruiting and hiring, I had no appreciation for resumes and cover letters that mentioned miscellaneous information - I was busy!
Amy,
Utilizing industry associations is a great idea-you really can't beat that kind of real-world feedback.
Elizabeth Kemler
I agree with Dax-I am actively involved with our school's Professional Development courses. I go into the classrooms and give feedback to the students from employers we work with and also discourage the use of templates as they can be difficult to modify. We look over rough drafts and assist with finalizing resumes that get results. We also perform mock interviews in Professional Development and students/grads can schedule mock interviews at any time if they want/need more practice. We also utilized industry associations for samples/feedback.
