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Archive for March, 2009

The teaching industry is filled with competition for just a few jobs available in certain areas, so knowing how to write a resume for teachers is a very important part of getting in front of the school board and getting your own classroom.  I know this from experience as I am currently looking for my first teaching position having just graduated from college.  There really is an art to knowing how to write a resume for teachers.  Here are a few things I have learned.

What administrators care about on your resume is your teaching experience.  They also like to see any brief outlines of unique lesson plans or advancements that you have made in the classroom.  If you belong to any organizations, you should always include that on your resume as well as any achievements and awards you have been given as a result of your teaching career or your teacher education.

Always list what type of certification you have along with what grades you are available to teach and any endorsements you have gotten in your education.  If you have attended classes other than those required by your educational program, you should also include this information.

Some people, when learning how to write a resume for teachers want to show their creativity in the classroom on their resumes.  As long as it does not get out of hand, we think this could be a great way to set you apart from the hundreds of other applicants.  Maybe you will want to include a picture of yourself in the classroom or some pictures of you with your children.  Perhaps you want to include a border around the outside of your resume with apples or chalkboards.  If you are going to take a step like this, however, please be cautious and know where you are applying.  Often, small, rural schools prefer this type of resume rather than the larger ones, so keep that in mind!

Make sure that you also include any organizations you belong to and any offices you have held or are holding within these organizations.  For teachers, membership in the National Education Association, The International Association of Reading, and such can be very important.

Knowing how to write a resume for teachers is not much different than writing a resume for any other job.  However, you will want to include information on the resume that shows what you can do as a teacher and how you will approach the classroom environment.  Then you will know how to write a resume for teachers that can get you into the school and on to a great job!

When you have taken the time to write a resume that you are proud of, you will probably want to know how to write a reference page for a resume that will best reflect the unique qualities that you are able to bring to this job.  There really is no secret to writing a reference page, but there are some basic rules that you should follow.

When learning how to write a reference page for a resume, you need to make sure that everyone who you put on your reference page knows that you are using them as a reference.  You will want to have a diverse group of references that include professional references as well as personal references so that you can give your potential employer a great idea of who you are and what you are capable of. 

There really is no magic formula that can teach you how to write a reference page for a resume.  But there are some guidelines that you should follow.  First, as we have mentioned before, be sure all of your references know that they are being put down as a reference for you.  You should include all contact information on your reference page for the people who will be vouching for you.  If your potential employer wants to contact your references, they need to be able to actually contact them.  Make sure that the contact information you have for your references is up to date and current.

When you are trying to learn how to write a reference page for a resume, you should always include your name and contact information at the top of the reference page.  After that, you should list the people who will be your references along with their contact information.  Some people like to include a line that says why you are including them as a reference such as “This is my student teaching supervisor” or “This is my professorial mentor”.

It is a good idea to take and center all of the information in the middle of the page when you are trying to learn how to write a reference page for a resume.  You should, of course, include your own contact information at the top of the page to begin with.  Then, after that, list the people who will vouch for you as well as your abilities.

Hiring a resume service to put together your resume can be a really good idea – especially if you are not really sure how to make a resume that can accurately convey your experience and abilities.  Hiring a resume service can be a great move to help you project a professional image and help you get the job that you really want.  How do you go about hiring a resume service, though?

First, look in the Yellow Pages and see if there are any businesses that offer a resume service in your area.  You can also utilize the Internet since we are now living in the Information Age.  You can just e-mail the resume service all of your information and they put it together in a gorgeous format that is sure to impress you as well as any prospective employers.  Look to your community college as well for a resume service.  These types of services are often provided for free and are meant to help you craft your own resume with a minimum of involvement and just a little bit of advice.

Keep in mind that if you want to hire a resume service to make your resume, you will have to pay a fee for it.  If you think that the rates the resume service is charging is a little more than you want to pay, just move on to another one.  This writer once had her own resume service.  I learned by trial and error how much to charge people.  I also learned about the headaches of non-paying customers, but that is a different story!  At any rate, while times have changed considerably since I had my business, it is not uncommon to find a service that will ask for anywhere from $25 to $50 for a resume and then another $20 or so for a cover letter.

Now, you might be feeling a little sticker shock here, but realize that when you hire a resume service, you are getting a professional.  That means that the person who is doing your resume has had experience putting together winning resumes and you will have a quality product for your money.

If you are serious about getting the job of your dreams and have little to no experience crafting a resume, you may want to look into hiring a resume service to help you along the way.  All you need to do is give them pertinent information and then wait for the finished product to arrive in your e-mailbox.  After that, you take the beautiful resume that your resume service has provided, send it out to prospective employers and then wait for that phone call!

The job market can be very competitive which leads many people to ask themselves, “How do you write a cover letter for employment?”  It is true that writing a compelling cover letter can be a daunting task.  A cover letter introduces not only you but your resume as well.  You want that cover letter to be interesting and make the person reading it not only WANT to read your resume but HAVE to read your resume.

So how do you write a cover letter for employment?  Start out by referring to the job that you are applying for and note where you found the position opening.  Remember that if you found it in a newspaper, underline the name of the newspaper.  Sometimes these little details really count!  Then go on in your cover letter to say how excited you are to know that there is a job like this available and how interested in it you are.

Your resume should be concise, but your cover letter can be a little more in-depth.  I have applied for countless jobs and experimented around with various formats for cover letters.  That does not necessarily make me an expert so I can answer the question of “how do you write a cover letter for employment”, but it surely has taught me a few things about what I shouldn’t do!

First and foremost, be brief in your cover letter.  Introduce yourself, tell the employer why you want the job, let them know about your special skills that would make you perfect for the job, and then express your eagerness for a personal interview.  You should ALWAYS include a telephone number at the end of the cover letter so that the employer knows how to get hold of you.  They may not always pay attention to the top part of your resume, but they most likely will see your contact number in your cover letter.

So, how do you write a cover letter for employment?  Just speak from the heart and let the person reading the cover letter know that you are truly interested in the job and that you have the qualifications to do the job.  Be sure and let them know, too, that what you do not know, you are eager to learn.  Your cover letter should be professional, but it should also reflect your personality.  That is what will get you the interview.  Once you are face to face with the person doing the hiring, it should be a cake walk from that point.  After all, it is your personality – as well as your abilities – that make you perfect for this job.  When you are face to face, you can express that in ways that can never be shown on a simple piece of paper!

Back in the Dark Ages, our resumes were carved into stone, but now that we are in the Information Age, you have access to a free resume maker that can be downloaded from many different web sites located all over the Internet.  You may want to try and make your own resume from scratch, but a free resume maker helps you put together all of your information into an easy to read and professional looking resume with just a little effort.

It can be difficult sometimes to make a resume from scratch – no matter how talented you think you are.  Often, it takes a little help and some templates to help you along.  That is where a free resume maker comes into play.  If you have Microsoft Word, they have several resume templates that you can use to make your resume.  All you have to do is fill in your personal information and then you will be given a resume to print out and then send to prospective employers.

But there are other programs that help you make your resume.  In fact, when we did a Google search for “free resume maker”, we found a lot of web sites that can help you construct the perfect resume – at no cost to you!  Check out www.howtowritearesume.com or www.winresume.com to get tools that will help you make a resume you can be proud of!

While you do not necessarily have to have a free resume maker program, they can really be lifesavers – especially when you don’t know what you are doing when it comes to putting together a piece or two of paper that summarizes your job and educational experience in a way that a prospective employer will want to explore further.  Having a free resume maker can make your resume become alluring instead of blah.

Of course, if you think you can make your own resume look professional and alluring, by all means, try.  We all have talents, and maybe your talent is for making a resume.  But if you find yourself staring at your computer wondering where to go after your name and contact information, you may really want to try a free resume maker program.

The bottom line is that you need a good looking and compelling resume to get your foot in the door towards your dream job.  Make sure that whether you write your own resume or utilize a free resume maker, as long as the finished product is something you can be proud of, it really does not matter.  Just put your best foot forward and be ready for the interview.