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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Resume activity

Last week, we created a resume and turned it in class on Monday. I have prior experience with resume writing, so this activity was not difficult. However, it was refreshing to see a different format used for resume writing. I liked how the header was one line instead of having all the information in a blocked structure. In my resume writing, I usually type my heading information line by line as opposed to having it all on the same line. Also, I liked how the bullet points were more diamond-shaped than regular bullets. Again, regular bullets are something I am used to having in my resumes.

One of the things that posed a problem for me was the information under the qualifications section. I found myself wanting to add more bullet points to my resume, but the way the bullets were set made it difficult for me to change the formatting. In the end, I just left the formatting alone and inserted the best qualifications I thought should belong in that section with allotted number of bullet points. Another thing I found interesting about this resume template was that the resume was two pages instead of one. I do not necessarily find the two-page format a problem. However, I have been told that if you are starting out in your professional career that you should keep your resume to one page. I have been told that it is usually better for more experienced professionals to use a two-page resume.

Even though a resume activity seems to cater more to the professional side of teaching, it can also have its uses in the classroom. As a teacher, I would definitely require my students to create a resume, even if it doesn't contain a lot of information. When I was in ninth grade, I took a computer applications class and we were required to create a type of resume. This was just basically filling out references. I think that even at ninth grade, I would expose my students to resume writing, even if it was as simple as gathering a group of references. Unfortunately, my anticipated grade levels are towards elementary, so I would have to use my resume as a form to send to potential employers. With resumes, you can pretty much customize a certain resume for a certain job position. Therefore, depending on what position I was applying to (whatever school system I would be working for) I would customize my resume based on the job requirements. I could also use it as an example to share with co-workers or other colleagues who may not be confident in preparing a good resume.

If I had to do this activity again, I would probably ask for some help with the formatting issues to customize my resume. Also, I think I would probably experiment with the different heading styles and bullet points. In general, I am glad we were able to complete this activity. I feel that even though I have already completed previous resumes, I can still learn more about writing them. For me, this is just another learning experience, and it has helped me to reach out of my comfort zone and not be afraid to experiment with different headings, styles, and writing/formatting.

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