I like to help the graduates, some who have limited experience see what they do have to offer an employer. They are often suprised at what transferable skills they have and how this can look on a resume and cover letter. I try to instill in the graduates and students the absolute importance of these documents, they will not get an interview and a job with out a great resume that tells the employer who they are what they know and what they bring to the job.
Alainna,
I think going through their resumes in this detailed way makes a lot of sense.
Elizabeth Kemler
We mainly rely on a professional development class, but I make sure to sit down with the students and perform mock interviews. I tell them what about their resume would attract me as an employer, and what would turn me away from them. We're then able to work through it on a one-on-one basis and the student is comfortable and engaged and aware of what they have included in the resume and cover letter
Deborah,
Great! This is the very same approach I take-very effective.
Elizabeth Kemler
I have a sample cover letter that I hand out to the students. After we discuss cover letters and their importance I give them a posted job opening for them to respond to. They have to personalize the cover letter to the job opening and attach their resume. The biggest problem I find is a lack of proof reading. I have added proof reading drills stressing the importance of proofing their letters. I also tell them if the ad lists several qualifications they are seeking to list those qualifications in the letter in a table format with how they fulfill that qualification next to it.
Josephine,
You really have this down! Sounds like a perfect plan of action for your students.
Elizabeth Kemler
First, I point students in the direction of looking at resumes and cover letters of industry professionals in a similar field. This helps the student to understand what a seasoned professional has on their resume and items to work toward and build for future. Second, I advise students to develop a list of skill sets they feel will contibute to the type of job they are looking for in their field. Finally before finalizing the resume and cover letter, I explain that in today's competitive market you will need various resumes and cover letters to address the exact job you are applying for or interested in obtaining with a company. Each resume and letter needs to be tailored to that specific company with reasons why they are the company of choice and what specifically the student brings to the table that relates to the job posting.
Robert,
Cover letters are not easy stuff. I think you'll get a lot of mileage though out of using what's available in this course-you can print out some of the PDF's.
Elizabeth Kemler
Sincerely, and to date, I haven't offered a lot in the way of assistance - relying instead on our Professional Development class. However, I am concerned about two key things - retention and job placement. Job Placement is why I was attracted to this course, and I have already imparted some of what I've learned about job searches to my students.
By continuing to reaffirm the importance of the resume and also encouraging the use of technical resources when creating an effective resume for the job.
we provide a career development class where we make sure we cover that information, and we coach our current students and graduates on how to write an effective cover letter and resume. In addition we have our school career services website where students can access 24/7
Diane,
You are absolutely right about this; one misspelling and it's out.
Elizabeth Kemler
The first step to developing resumes and cover letters is to ensure that they are free of spelling and grammatical errors. Once the initial editing is done you can focus on content. If their are spelling and grammatical errors the employer will not take the time to read the resume in the first place.
Colleen,
I agree that the employer probably doesn't typically give any one resume too much of their time-I think students need to have the resume be balanced vs having all the 'good stuff' up front. I do think it makes a lot of sense to focus on academic and volunteer experience where actual work experience is lacking.
Elizabeth Kemler
Juan ,
Could you clarify what you mean by a work history timeline-are you matching up their work history and skills with the job they researched?
Elizabeth Kemler
I have them complete a research assignment on all of the companies that they would like to be employed with revelant to there school training. Once they complete the research project we develop a work history timeline which will highlight job history and acquired skills.
I work with the student to present a very clean resume (content and presentation). I suggest that since most people who read resumes don't actually read the resume or if they do they have very short attention spans, all vital information must be at the top of the resume. When they list skills or accomplishments I have them list them strongest to weakest, putting the most important information at the top. When they don't have very much work experience I try to draw out academic experience or volunteer experience. I tell everyone that their past experience informs who they will be in the future.
At our school we devote an entire section to professional development; the students write several drafts of resumes, cover letters, design a business card, practice a mock interview, and learn ways to network among people who would find their skill set an asset. We utilize a few sets of standard templates; I edit the resumes individually, so I can first see what the students previous work experience was and how to maximize that to their benefit; for students who have never had a job prior or written a resume, those resumes in particular need a special format, so I alter that for them. The students also exchange with each other, and receive editorial critiques on their resumes and cover letters on areas to improve or areas that are done quite well.
Tara,
This is a great place to start-I especially like having them ask all the people in their lives for positive input.
Elizabeth Kemler
Before they meet with me for this task, I assign them a project. I tell them to write down every positive thing about themselves they can come up with. As some don't know where to begin with this. I tell them to ask their family, friends, coworkers, educators, church members, etc. what they feel are the student's/grad's positive qualities.
This helps get the ball rolling. I also have them do the same with an actual task list they feel they can comfortably perform. I remind them if they speak (or write) about things that excite them, then it will make the employer that much more eager to hire them because they were memorable... on paper & in person.
