Resume Review

prep
Review your own rsum and grade it based on the final rubric. For the standards where you have a 4: circle the parts that meet the rubric criteria. For the standards where you are below a 4: identify the rubric criteria that you meet, and then brainstorm and write down ways to improve your rsum.

Learning Goals for Today

You will understand
the difference between writing transferable skills and listing job duties. which verbs to highlight in your own resume.

Job Duties vs. Transferable Skills

The bullets in your resume should be used to explain what you did and how you did it.
o If the bullet doesnt answer those questions, then its incomplete. o Bullets that simply list job duties will score a 0 on the Content Section (which is worth 2X). Ill show you an example in a minute.

This is where you should be using the action verbs specific to the job or experience. These verbs (organized, instructed, created, etc.) are what highlight your skills, so make sure theyre accurate and powerful. When you look at your verbs today, ask yourself: does it describe me performing a specific action related to the skill I want to highlight? If it doesnt, you should change the verb. Now, lets look at some examples of what not to do, and how to fix the problem.

Problems with Listing Duties

Nanny
o Ran errands
What errands? It could be anything.

2013-14

o Did chores
(Ditto)

o Handled food
Bland verb, plus, how did you do it?

o Helped with customer demands

How did you help? What were the demands and what skill did you show to solve them?

o Worked with children learning English

Worked is a general verb Plus, the bullet leaves open the question of whether or not you helped the children. Instead, write about the specific strategies you used to instruct.

Job Duty to Transferable Skill

Example fix: Instead of ran errands, focus on a specific activity or two that you did and write about skills that align with the objective, or show you positively, for example: Organized grooming and daily exercising for clients two Yorkshire terriers Monitored two diabetic childrens dietary habits to track sugar and caloric intake

Verb Test
Rank the verbs below into three categories, 3-1, with 3 being the best, 1 being the worst.
Handled Organized Helped

Ran
Developed

Constructed
Taught

Maintained
Created

Watched

Instructed

Promoted

Verbs
Identify all the verbs you use in your rsum and write them down on a separate piece of paper. Separate the verbs in your rsum like you did in the previous exercise, listing them 3 to 1. When youre finished, find a partner and exchange rsums. Repeat the second bullet. Now share your answers and discuss why you agree and disagree about your choices. If any of the verbs fall into Category 1, then remove them from your resume and replace them with strong, descriptive verbs.

Thursday Review
Write down an example of a weak verb, the type you should avoid Write down an example of a strong verb, the type you should use in your resume. Pick which of the following verbs you should use in your resume:
o handled, worked, had, helped, earned, received, acquired