A High Impact Resume

Whether you're looking for a new teaching position or just taking stock of your skills and experience, an updated, ready-to-go resume is a must. Here's all the help you need to write a winner.

1. Carefully pick and choose among the teaching jobs you listed in the Experience category, and create a special category on you resume called a Program Development. Describe all the special projects, and programs and activities you had been involved with, including multicultural arts and curriculum and mini-museum, a special education student magazine, and a junior high school leadership program. Devote three or four line to describing each activity, using verbs like directed, created, developed and designed.

2. List teaching experiences is not enough to tell about you. Make people notice that you are creative and try different things. List all your accomplishments on index cards. Use one card per accomplishment. Next, list the jobs you've held. Finally, group some of your accomplishments with the appropriate job descriptions. Then, pull out for four or five accomplishments to list in a separate section called Special Skills or Highlights. What does this special skill grouping say about you? To arrive at a final format, create a couple of versions, then see one you like best.

3. When you select accomplishments, remember to include group projects you worked on. There's no reason that you have to be the star of every project you list. Team endeavors count a lot for you. You don't need to take credit for dreaming up and developing a given project to list it on resume. Assisting by no means diminishes the value of work.

4. Sell your strengths. Teachers and administrators agree that most education jobs require

the same set of qualities: persistence, character, dedication, flexibility, and a knowledge of your field. So set up a resume that shows how capable you are. Reorganize your resume to reflect your persistence in finding solutions to complex problems or pursuing a goal; your respect for your abilities of students on ethnicities, income levels, and family structures; your professional knowledge and commitment as a guide to instructional strategies and your abilities to deal with stress. One way to emphasize tjpse qualities is to carefully select accomplishments expressing these qualities. Another is to include key buzzwords. A person who mentions that she's involved in a multicultural curriculum or a whole language science project signals sensitivity to educational issues today. It's a good idea to show that you're aware of trends and problems, particularly if they relate to your career goals.

5. Fine-tune the final product. It is important to give your finished resume a careful once-over. To fine-tune, ask friends to read your resume and critique it. Have them describe the impressions your resume conveys, then write and share again. Don't rush to get a final draft.

6. Package your product. Once your resume is written, have it set in type. Then proofread carefully to make sure that the finished version is erro-free. A shocking number of resumes are loaded with grammatical errors and typos. When your resume is finally complete, shoose a subdued white or neutral paper on which to print it. Avoid cutesy logos and flowery type-faces, and spend money on decent photocopying. Your goal is to make your resume look as professional as you are.

(Excerpted from: Write a Resume That Works by Mary Harbaugh)

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