Start your resume

  • Due Feb 15, 2021 by 11:59pm
  • Points 1
  • Submitting a file upload
  • File Types pdf, doc, and docx


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In this assignment you will provide us with an initial resume that you will then adapt and modify over the course of the semester as you learn about different ways of "narrating" your experiences, your goals, and the value you bring to a prospective employer. If you already have a resume that you've used for a previous job, great -- you can go ahead and use that for this assignment. If not, don't worry if you don't have much outside work experience or you're not quite sure what to put down in this first draft of your resume; that's kind of the point.

Read this first

  

Complete these steps

1. Write it.  Create a resume of no more than one page (or dig out the last real resume you used to get a job of any kind). Make sure your resume includes the following basic elements:

    • Your contact information
    • Your education history
    • Your paid and unpaid work history
    • Selected non-work experiences that you think are relevant

You do not need to include:

    • An "objective" statement
    • A list of references
    • Personal information that is not appropriate for a professional conversation

Keep your resume simple, direct, and, of course, truthful.  We'll work on making it more compelling and convincing later.

2. Check it.  Proofread your resume -- make sure everything is spelled correctly, dated correctly, and formatted correctly.  Be consistent with fonts and spacing.  Do not use slang or abbreviations.  There should be zero typos in your resume.

3. Check it again.  Now ask someone else to proofread your resume.  The easiest way for an employer to weed you out of a pile of job candidates is to find a glaring, silly error on your resume.  

4. Turn in your work.  Upload your resume to Canvas (as a PDF or Word file) to get credit for this assignment.  

  

Notes on this assignment

  • Review the L&S SuccessWorks handout Download "Building a resume"
  • Remember that a good resume connects the prospective employer’s needs with the skills you have to meet those needs.
  • Students often wonder what to put on a resume if they do not yet have any direct work experience.  Never fear; your resume may include more than just paid work experiences!  You may include volunteering, membership in student organizations, and significant course projects. The key is to focus on your transferrable skills that are relevant to the job and organization.
  • Writing effective bullet points under work or volunteering experiences is often the trickiest part of composing a resume.  A good formula for a bullet point is: Action Verb + What You Did + How You Did It = Results/Purpose/Impact.  For example, instead of the terse bullet point, "Tutored kids," you could write, "Tutored an average of 20 students per month, utilizing organizational, listening and communication skills, helping students to improve their test scores in 90% of cases."
  • Your initial resume will grow and change over the course of the semester as you discover new strengths in yourself and learn new strategies for telling your story.  And of course once you actually use your resume to apply for positions, you will need to tailor it to each particular opportunity!
  • Feel free to edit your resume even outside of the formal assignments, up to the point where you turn in your final revised resume at the end of the course.
  • You can always ask an adviser at SuccessWorks to take a quick look at your resume or to give feedback on a specific item on your resume -- they have a great deal of experience with this!
  • Some questions to consider ...
    • What kind of job do you think this resume qualifies you for?
    • What do you think is the biggest shortcoming or silence in your resume so far?
    • Are there any important qualities that you would bring to a job that are not represented on this resume?
    • What would you like your resume to include by the time you graduate from university?

  

Examples

  

Activities for discussion section

Here are some activities related to your initial resume that your TA may organize in section:

  • Take out a piece of paper.  Swap resumes with the student sitting next to you.   Read through your fellow student's resume and, on your paper, write down three things about this student's resume that differ from your own -- and which you'd like to incorporate into your own resume.  (This might be formatting/style choices, decisions about how to organize the resume and choose what comes first, ways of creatively and specifically describing certain activities, choices about including or not including certain types of activities -- anything.)  Your TA will go around the room and ask you to pick one of these things to explain to the class as a model resume practice. 

Here are some questions about your initial resume your TA may ask you to consider during section:

  • What is the hardest part about putting together a resume?
  • Who have you consulted for help in the past when putting together your resume?
  • What kind of job do you think your initial resume qualifies you for?
  • What do you think is the biggest shortcoming or silence in your resume so far?
  • Are there any important qualities that you would bring to a job that are not represented on this resume?
  • What would you like your resume to include by the time you graduate from university?

  

To learn more

 

1613455199 02/15/2021 11:59pm