Nine Resume Strategies for Teachers and Educators
Source:
Expert Resumes for Teachers and Educators, by Wendy
S. Enelow and Louise
Kursmark.
Education
and its related career paths are showing steady growth, according
to the U.S. Department of Labor's projections. Experts anticipate
this growth will continue through at least 2008.
What's more,
education has changed. When we talk about education professionals,
we're no longer referring to just classroom teachers. Specializations
and sub-specializations like special education, corporate training
and education administration have proliferated.
To take
advantage of these opportunities, you must be an educated job
seeker. That means knowing what you want in your career, where
the hiring action is, what qualifications and credentials you
need to attain your desired career goals and how best to market
your qualifications.
It is not
enough to be a talented teacher, librarian, administrator or
training and development professional. You must also be a strategic
marketer—able to package and promote your experience to
take advantage of this wave of employment opportunity.
Educators
should have four discrete sections of their resume:
Career Summary.
Think of your summary as the master plan of your resume. It
summarizes all the components of your professional skills and
experience that contribute to the success of a school, a classroom
or a corporate training and development center.
Professional Experience. Professional experience is analogous
to the courses and curricula that you might teach. Your professional
experience demonstrates how you put all of your capabilities
to work.
Education, Credentials and Certifications. Think of this section
as your accreditation—the third-party validation of your
qualifications, knowledge and expertise.
The "Extras." (Public speaking, honors and awards,
technology qualifications, professional affiliations, civic
affiliations, foreign languages, personal information). These
make up the extra-credit section of your resume, the "extra
stuff" that helps distinguish you from others with similar
qualifications.
In addition, educators need to know the nine core strategies
for writing effective and successful resumes:
1. Clarify who you are and how you want to be perceived.
The very first step is to identify your career interests, goals,
and objectives. You cannot write an effective resume without
knowing, at least to some degree, what type or types of positions
you will be seeking.
2. Sell
it, don't tell it.
You are the product, and you must create a document that powerfully
communicates the value of that product.
3. Use key
words.
These are words and phrases specific to the education industry.
When you use these words and phrases—in your resume, in
your cover letter, or during an interview—you communicate
a familiarity with the relevant issues.
4. Use the
"big" and save the "little."
Give a broad-based picture of what you were responsible for
and how well you did it. Then, save the "little" stuff—the
details—for the interview.
5. Make
your resume "interviewable."
Your resume should lead the reader where you want to go and
presents just the right organization, content and appearance
to stimulate a productive discussion.
6. Eliminate
confusion with structure and context.
Try to make it as easy as possible for readers to grasp essential
facts from your resume. Be consistent and make information easy
to find.
7. Use function
to demonstrate achievement.
A resume that focuses only on job functions can be dry and uninteresting.
You'll create a more powerful resume when you translate your
functions into achievements.
8. Remain
in the realm of reality.
Don't push your skills and qualifications outside the bounds
of what is truthful. You never want to be in a position where
you have to defend something on your resume.
9. Be confident.There
is only one individual with the specific combination of employment
experiences, qualifications, achievements and educational credentials
you have. Use this to position yourself as a commodity in the
job market.
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