R ESUME W RITING & I NTERVIEW S KILLS English III Ms. Binette

S TART WITH THE BASICS …  Do not reinvent the wheel (unless you want to). There are MANY resume templates out there – use one  Your resume has 30 seconds to impress an employer  Resumes should be ONE page  It will NOT matter how good you are if your resume is bad!!!  Your resume gets you the interview, not the job  First Impressions are critical. Make sure you always make a good, lasting impression!

C AREER O BJECTIVE T HIS SECTION ISN ’ T ON YOUR HIGH SCHOOL RESUME EXAMPLE BUT IS USUALLY ON PROFESSIONAL RESUMES AS THE FIRST HEADING KEEP IT SIMPLE Be specific – this is like the thesis statement of your resume! Target it to the position Name the position you are applying for Remember the employer’s needs Avoid clichés Examples: Seeking position as Assistant Account Manager for John Hancock in the New York office Seeking entry-level social work position utilizing counseling and organizational skills

E DUCATION State your degree and your declared major/minor Include your GPA if OVER 3.0 Include honors/awards List related courses or class projects

E XPERIENCE  Don’t leave the employer guessing  Use bullets to list duties and accomplishments  ACTION WORDS: use present tense for current jobs and past tense for previous jobs  Use figures whenever possible  Examples: Provide information and customer service Investigate cases of child abuse or neglect in seven counties Generated sales and increased quarterly profits by 10% Analyzed data and conducted psychological research Trained staff of 18

Y OUR R ESUME …  Be on professional paper  Include correct contact information and address  List ALL skills  Use bullets  Everything MUST be uniform and consistent  Be familiar with information on resume Use flashy paper or fonts Give personal information Include your picture Be written in 1 st Person Be written in paragraph form Include references on the same page Use relatives as references SHOULDSHOULD NOT

B EFORE THE INTERVIEW YOU SHOULD … RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!!! Prepare responses to commonly asked questions Prepare questions of your own Decide what to wear ahead of time Remember how important a first impression is so Be on time Sell yourself – tell them why you are the one to hire!

W RITING R ESUMES F OR F ICTIONAL C HARACTERS Your character’s resume would tell a potential employer why the character is right for a particular job in a one-page document. The character’s resumes should include these sections : o Character Name o Contact Info o Job Objective or Career Goal o Character Skills & Qualifications o Character’s Education o Honors/Awards o Character’s Work Experience o Extracurricular Activities/Volunteer Work

P&P CHARACTER R ESUME Pick a character you are interested in! Make sure you have all the elements on your resume from the checklist/rubric Prove how well you know this character – use details from the book – we’ve talked a lot about how Austen develops her characters Have fun with this! This is a place in your portfolio where you can be entertaining and creative! But, stick with your character! Do not include random details that wouldn’t support the character Austen presents to the reader! Type your resume! Use a template if you like but it must be formatted like a professional resume – this is good practice for you! Drafts due: March 12/13 (Final draft due with portfolio!)