Right Resumes

On the QT Newsletter, Right Resumes
April 7, 2009

Did you know? In today’s tough economy, employers are looking for prospective employees who can help them stay afloat … they want to hire people who can boost revenue, increase productivity, or cut costs. As employers sift through the flood of applications spawned by this recession, they depend on resumes to help them quickly identify their best prospects. To bolster your students’ chances of landing that good job, get them focused on ways to craft a resume for turbulent times. Regardless of their status — employed, unemployed, or full time student — encourage them to be proactive and begin or continue revising their resume to reflect their accomplishments. As students work through the quick exercise outlined below, they will identify the best ways to quantify and capitalize on their skills and experience.

• Ask students some questions about their resumes. How many have one? When was the last time you updated it? How would you rate it?
• Discuss the fact that a good resume is clean, detailed and on point, while a bad one is distracting, sloppy, and irrelevant.
• Explain that employers want to see at a glance the facts, the numbers, the time lines, the quantitative data that qualifies them for the job. And when job candidates persuasively describe and document their accomplishments, they will stand out from the crowd.
• Distribute today’s activity, Six Words to Skip, based on this article, and review the directions.
• When students have completed the activity, have them share, in a small group or as a class, their best responses.

If your students need more help with resumes, suggest that they complete an online lesson at CareerClues.org — Resume Help, or check out activities outlined in the Career Clues Booklet.

Add an Experience: There are a couple of experiences you may consider offering students to help them build their resumes. Contact your campus career center and find out about their Resume Workshops, like this Resume Development Workshop presented twice a month at Saddleback College’s Career Center. In addition, call the human resources department of an employer in your community, and invite someone on their hiring team to speak to your class about the challenges employers face when evaluating resumes and the recommendations he/she would offer students to help them write resumes that win interviews.

Quik Quote: Boxing was the only career where I wouldn’t have to start out at the bottom. I had a good resume. Sugar Ray Leonard, retired American Professional Boxer