Resume Writing is Fun

Resume writing is a fun activity for me. There are so many ways to say the same thing and so many ways to present oneself.  I think that we stress too much about the perfect resume. The resume may get you in the door, but it is the interview that gets you the job. For the class assignment I updated the resume that I have that contains both my teaching and information technology experience. I thought it was a good overview of my experience. So, this is the resume that I used for Google Docs. I followed the instructions at Rezscore and in no time I had a grade. What a surprise when it only received a C+. Now I was intrigued. What was the site using to determine the C+? Here is what it said:

So I removed all first person, and removed the sentence about references upon request. (Obviously the program searches for key words.) My next score was a B+.  Now I was having fun. The program suggested I add more detail. So I did. 4 to 5 sentences for each position I held in teaching. My next score was a C+.  So, it did not like that much detail! Took the sentences down to 3 per teaching position and I received a B-. Also, the detail I added increased the size of the education bar on the bar graph. I played with the site for a few more renditions, but never received higher than a B+.  In the end I settled on a version of the resume that received a B.  Not sure if I know what it is asking for with “vivid language”.

In this lesson I learned about a website that I can directly use in my lessons.  I also learned about some ways that I can improve my resume writing and share that information with my students.  And of course, this was another example of an easy piece of technology that I can integrate into my teaching.

I will be able to take this website and use it directly in my lesson plan. In the course I teach, the students are required to write and maintain a resume for the year.  This website can be used by my students as a self-evaluation tool and along with the snipping tool, they will be able to track their improvements.   The ease of use of this website is also important for me. It can be used by everyone in my classes independently.  So, I will add this site to the website list I keep and try it in class next month.

The use of this tool meets ISTE-NETS-T’s standards of planning and designing learning environments and experiences supported by technology for me.  Using the web site will be a way to give the students a lesson that uses technology directly in their learning experience. The ease of use of the website also supports the diverse needs of my students.