how to teach resume writing

How To Teach Resume Writing: 5 Tips

by Sapna | Mar 10, 2017 | 0 comments

Editing is  the most important part!  Typos and spelling mistakes are unprofessional and completely avoidable.  In fact, this should also be double checked in a  cover (or covering)  letter , but that’s for another post! Editing your CV shows employers that you have  attention to detail, professionalism,  and  organizational  skills.  Don’t rush it!  Take your time and do a great job!

A Practical Peer Workshop

Planning a peer editing workshop for your class is  an excellent way to practice resume writing skills.  In fact, students will be able to really experience the way some resumes stand out, and others do not!  Have students  bring in a draft copy of their curriculum vitae and a potential job they would like to apply for.  Then, ask them to do the following with their partner’s CV:

• Think:  Does the name stand out? How legible is the font? What was your first impression?
• Find & Fix:  Typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors
• Write down:  3 jobs that you think the resume would be a good candidate for, based on their writing.  Compare your list to the job posting that the student brought in to their resume. Do you think they would qualify for an interview? Why or why not?
• Discuss:   Once both partners have taken a look at each others’ resumes and make their comments, have them discuss changes they should make to their next draft.

Well, I know that was a bit of a wordy post, but I hope my handful of tips are useful!  Please let me know in the comments below if you have any further tips you’d like to share with The Teaching Cove community.

Happy Teaching!

P.S.  For those curious about the photography, I took the main photo for this week’s post in a park in Norwich, UK in 2013.

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How to teach resume writing to your high school students

If we are teaching our students how to write literary analysis essays about the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby, then we also should be teaching our students how to write effective resumes that will get them jobs. In fact, I think the latter is more important, and I say this as a teacher who is obsessed with Gatsby. (Just stalk my Instagram.) But I’m not trying to call you out or shame you for not teaching resume writing in your English class. I actually never taught resumes until this year, when I was tasked with the responsibility of teaching a new senior English Elective, “Technical Communication.” After taking on this class and teaching resumes, I am wholeheartedly convinced that every single student should be required to create a resume before graduating high school.

Teaching resume writing was not an easy task for me or my students, but we learned a lot in the process. Drafting a resume is about more than practicing “real life” writing or becoming an employable job candidate. It’s about growing as a human being. Writing a resume requires introspection, self-awareness, and reflection. Throughout the process, students wrestled with the questions “Who am I?” and “How can I represent what I have to offer on a mere piece of paper?” This unit was challenging but rewarding, for me and my students.

Initially, I was intimidated by teaching resumes, because unlike the Gatsby essay that would be turned in and graded by me, these resumes would be printed out and sent off into the “real world” someday. The thought of teaching students how to write and design a document that could end up on the desk…or in the paper shredder…of a hiring manager was a bit daunting. Although I was nervous, I was excited about empowering my students and teaching what I knew would be one of the most relevant and valuable units I’ve ever taught.

Thankfully, I was right. By the end of our resume writing unit, I was so proud of how much my students had grown as writers, future job candidates, and most importantly, human beings. If you’re hoping to implement the same kind of learning experience for your students, check out my resume writing unit, which contains editable versions of all of my mini-lessons and resources. Here’s everything I learned about how to structure a helpful resume writing unit for your students:

1. Expose the students to lots of resumes: the good, the bad, and the ugly

At first, I didn’t know how to start our resume writing unit. Jump in to the writing process and revise later? Start with a mini-lesson? Honestly, I was stressed out and doubting my ability to teach resumes. I hadn’t interviewed for a job or touched my resume in 5 years. I felt like I was in over my head. What did I know?

In an effort to begin my unit and lesson planning, I started researching resumes. I found myself searching examples and taking mental note of what I noticed. Then it hit me: That’s what my students needed to do! Like me, they would be overwhelmed with the daunting task of creating an appealing, modern resume. Suddenly, my lesson plan for the next day was simple: Find tons of examples: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let students sift through them and record their observations about what makes an effective resume–student-centered, inquiry-based learning!

I quickly rounded up sample resumes from Google, pulled up my old (and ugly) resume, and asked friends on Facebook to share their resumes. Within 20 minutes, I had a nice collection of over 20 resumes to share with my students. I printed off a few copies of each and arranged them on the counter in the back of my classroom.

Then, I created a worksheet where students simply recorded what they noticed about each resume. I gave them a few categories to focus on and asked them to critique each resume. I told students to pretend they were hiring managers going through stacks of resumes, deciding which candidates deserved an interview. After examining multiple resumes, students had to synthesize what they noticed about the most effective resumes. Finally, they reflected on what they already knew about resumes and what they wanted to learn and focus on throughout our mini unit.

This lesson was so simple, but so valuable. Some of them were harsh critics, which was great! Afterwards, I told them, “Gotcha! Now I have higher expectations because now you KNOW what to do! The only excuse is laziness!” If they critiqued the ugly fonts on the sample resumes…I could critic their font choice when I graded their final resumes with my rubrics. Mission accomplished!

2. Model the process with your own resume

After the results of the resume critique activity, I knew I needed to model the resume writing and design process by updating my own resume. My students were right. My resume was 2 pages long, filled with way too much text, and just plain ugly and uninspiring.

So before I began my mini-lessons on resume writing, I sat down to “teach myself” before I taught my students. I redesigned my entire resume, deleted irrelevant jobs, cut the fluff, and improved my word choice. This process gave me some confidence about teaching resumes for the first time, and it helped me realize what I should focus on during writing workshop with my students. During mini-lessons, I used my resume as an example. My students appreciated my transparency and learned a lot from my “before and after.”

Even though you might not need to update your resume, it’s a great exercise that will help you better understand the process and allow your students to see an “expert” model revision.

3. Scaffold the writing process with mini-lessons & a resume outline

When I revised and redesigned my own resume, I remembered how laborious it is to create an effective, visually-appealing resume. To make the resume writing process less daunting for my students, I broke up the different sections of the resume into different mini-lessons. I also created a resume outline on Google docs, and I required students to draft everything in the outline before they even touched a template. Students drafted and revised multiple times until I “approved” their working outline and allowed them to begin their final draft. This outline document scaffolded the structure and formatting of the resume, and it also helped me break down my mini-lessons. Here’s how I set up my mini-lessons during writing workshop:

• Writing a Professional Profile (If you’re new to the resume writing game, this is what has taken the place of the “Objective” section).
• Outlining Employment & Using Powerful Action Verbs
• Listing Skills & Using Strong Adjectives

I also incorporated peer feedback and teacher feedback activities in addition to the above mini-lessons.

4. Provide resources and support throughout the process

Since all of my students were creating resumes for different types of jobs, I knew I needed to offer even more scaffolding and support. A resume for an aspiring esthetician is going to look a lot different from a resume for an automotive technician! To support students and give them access to even more resources and examples, I created a hyperdoc of resources and links. Some of these resources were my own, but others were links from helpful websites that provided samples of resumes for different careers! If you want more information on creating your own hyperdocs for your students, check out this blog post.

Another way I provided support throughout the writing process was by checking in with every student, every day. On most days, I was able to walk around the room and physically check in with each student, but on days when I ended up helping a handful of students for a while, I didn’t make it to everyone. To make sure that I had a way of checking in on every student, no matter what, I had students submit an exit ticket at the end of each day. Each exit ticket was the same: “What did you accomplish today? What questions do you have and how can I help you?” I did this through Google Classroom’s “question” feature, so I was able to respond to students’ questions and see what everyone needed during the next day of writing workshop.

5. Incorporate multiple opportunities for peer feedback

Here’s the way I see peer feedback: The more you can train your students to provide feedback, the more efficient you can be with your teacher feedback. During our resume writing unit, I incorporated peer feedback in a variety of ways. First, I had students “turn and talk” to each other to give a “personal sales pitch” that would then become their professional profile at the top of their resume. Then, once they had drafted their profile and posted it on Google Classroom, I asked them to provide feedback to 3 of their peers. That way, once I looked at their professional profile drafts, their peers had already addressed a lot of what I would have commented, anyways! This allowed me to give my students more specific, focused feedback (and it saved me time, too).

The writing process can feel time-consuming, tedious, and boring for students. Mixing it up with opportunities for them to talk about their writing helps with engagement, too.

6. Emphasize the process of revision

It’s important to emphasize the process of revision and how it’s different from proofreading and editing. Some of them wanted to crank out their resumes, click “Turn in,” and then cheerfully shout, “I’m done!” when they hadn’t taken the time to genuinely revise. Other students argued that their resumes were “good enough” because they had successfully used them when applying for their current jobs. It was difficult to convince some students to invest time in the revision and editing.

But I’ll let you in on a little secret: Some of the students who struggled or complained the most were the very same ones who thanked me later in their learning reflections. Here’s what one student said: “The resume unit was the most helpful because I was too lazy to write one on my own. Miss G, you’re killing it.” At least they’re honest.

By structuring the resume-writing process with step-by-step lessons, modeling my own revision, and incorporating lots of peer and teacher feedback and subsequent revision, I forced my students to revise. I demonstrated the value of revision and purposefully integrated revision in my mini-lessons. I even included a category titled “Evidence of Revision” on my final rubric, and I asked students to explicitly tell me (through Google docs comments) what they revised and why. The end result? Better resumes, but more importantly, better writers who finally valued the process of revision.

7. Provide templates to help your students create a visually appealing, modern resume

It’s easy to let your students create the standard text-on-a-page resume, but it’s 2019, and those resumes are ancient! There are tons of options and templates available online, but my favorite resource for visually appealing resumes is Canva, a online graphic-design tool with many free templates. You can also search on Pinterest for more inspiration!

I designed two of my own templates and provided them to students, but I also linked up a few templates I found online. Most of my students used my templates or the ones from Canva, but I did have a few students who used other sources. I would recommend assessing how much structure your students need and then recommending different templates and/or websites. For example, for my ELL students, my pre-made template was especially helpful. I didn’t want them to be overwhelmed by the process of creatively designing a resume, because the process of writing was already challenging enough. Meet your students where they are, but use templates to help them create a visually appealing resume!

8. Make it meaningful & “publish” students’ final resumes!

English teachers know that one of the most important but often ignored parts of the writing process is the final phase: Publishing! When your students are finished, print their resumes out and celebrate their hard work in an authentic way. Here are a few ideas:

• Facilitate a “gallery walk” or “exhibit hall” where students “network” with their peers, exchange resumes, and discuss their experiences and skills.
• Facilitate mock interviews where students must discuss their resume and answer other common interview questions. (We did this & it was a hit with students!)
• Send off the resumes to administration or an hiring manager (if you can find one) and ask them to provide realistic feedback.
• Encourage students to use their new resumes to apply for a job, and then celebrate when they are successful!

I was so proud of my students’ final resumes and how much they grew during the writing process. The unit was not without its challenges, but it was so rewarding to end it with physical proof that students were one step closer to being “college and career ready.” If you’re interested in preparing your students for life after graduation, check out my Career Readiness Growing Bundle, which currently contains a career research project and this resume writing unit. (Cover letters and mock interviews are coming soon.)

Do you teach resume writing to your students? If so, what grade level and class? What other ideas or tips do you have? I would love to hear more in the comments!

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Thanks for the great resources. I plan on beginning my employment package assignment in April and this will come in handy. However, there is something that I want to point out. As a business professor who teaches business classes and resume writing, I would suggest telling your students that creative and fun resumes are only appropriate in that type of field such as graphic designs, creative writing, art, etc. In fields such as marketing, medicine, engineering, management, etc., creative resumes with various designs is a no-no. Granted these are high school students, but what we teach them now as a foundation on what they need to know should be practical for future referencing. Yes, the resume is a boring looking document, but how you teach it can be the creative and exciting part!

I will definitely be using these resources this year. Thank you for all you do.

Hi there, Thanks for your feedback. I do teach them about that. However, even the “boring” resumes look more professional with some fonts/lines/boxes/formatting/etc.

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Lesson Plan: Resume Writing for Teens

Description.

In this lesson, students will develop a resume, write business correspondence, complete a sample job application, and explain the protocol for selecting and using appropriate references for job applications.

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Free Teacher Resume Template and Tips, Plus 21 Teacher Resume Examples

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Whether you’re searching for your first teaching job or you’re ready for a change, you’ll need a solid resume. There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there on how to write a resume that will land you an interview, so it’s worth taking some time to review teacher resume examples first. We’ve rounded up examples for pretty much any kind of educator and assembled tips for how to write a strong modern teacher resume.

Best of all, we’ve got a free, fully customizable teacher resume template to get you started quickly and easily. Fill out the form on this page to grab your template, then use our tips to start building your resume today.

Teacher Resume Tips

Teacher resume examples.

Resumes have changed a lot in recent years, so do your research to find out what the latest trends are. For instance, while an “objectives” section used to be a resume standard, people often drop this section today in favor of more space to highlight their accomplishments. Start with these general resume tips, then get more advice for completing our free teacher resume template, section by section.

General Tips

• Keep it to one or two pages. Hiring managers don’t have time to read overly long resumes. Put the most important information up front, and remove anything that doesn’t truly strengthen your application.
• Be honest. While you want to highlight your strengths and achievements, don’t go overboard. If you exaggerate your experience but are unable to perform certain tasks, you may put your future job at risk before you even get started.
• Skip the gimmicks. Some people will tell you the way to make your resume stand out is to use fun fonts or a “creative” design. The fact is, people who are hiring want an easy-to-read, clear presentation that highlights your achievements and credentials. That’s what will land you an interview.
• Tailor your resume. Keep a standard resume document that you can customize for the specific job you’re applying for. That might mean moving sections around, highlighting specific skills or experiences, or deciding which parts of your career deserve to be placed up front. Take a close look at the job description, and tailor your resume accordingly.
• Don’t try to circumvent the system. Years ago, people would tell you to ignore requests to send your resume and instead show up in person. Our advice: Don’t do it! Application systems are nearly all online these days, and for good reason. This helps hiring committees by organizing information efficiently and ensuring they meet all anti-discrimination laws. So just send your resume and application using the method requested.
• Don’t forget a cover letter. A great cover letter really can help your resume stand out. Learn how to make your teacher cover letter special here.

Contact Information

On today’s resumes, your mailing address is optional. In fact, if you’re looking for a job outside of your current geographical area, it can sometimes be helpful to leave it off. This way, employers won’t worry about whether you’re willing to relocate for the job.

Email addresses are not optional. This is the way most schools will contact you today, so be sure to provide yours. You might want to take a look at your address to make sure it sounds relatively professional too. Ideally, it simply contains a version of your name (e.g., “[email protected]”); don’t forget you can grab a free email address from sites like Gmail if you need to. But other addresses are fine too, as long as there’s nothing questionable. “[email protected]” is fine. “[email protected]” is not.

Professional Objective/Summary

As mentioned earlier, resume objectives are used less and less today. Recent college grads or those transitioning to teaching careers might still decide to include a professional objective statement. Those with more experience have replaced objectives with a summary statement that provides an overview of their career. It’s also OK to delete this section altogether if you’d like more space in the Relevant Work Experience section.

Education and Certifications

Include your undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as any certifications or licensures you hold. Note: It’s up to you whether you include your graduation date. Some people worry it can open them up to age discrimination. You’ll likely be asked for this information if you continue in the hiring process, so they can verify your degrees.

Related Experience

This is the real meat of your teacher resume. You can list jobs chronologically starting with the most recent, or choose to place your most relevant experience first. Either way, include your employer’s name, dates of employment, and the position/s you held. Then, highlight your experience and achievements. Strive to make your statements measurable and quantifiable rather than just a listing of your job duties.

Weak statements:

• Taught fifth grade science and math
• Prepared students for standardized math tests
• Oversaw annual school science fair

Strong statements:

• Instructed 100+ students each year in fifth grade science fundamentals, including human anatomy, electricity and magnetism, and earth and space science
• Improved standardized testing math scores by an average of 8% over a period of five years
• Organized seven annual school science fairs by coordinating 200+ participants, finding qualified judges, and arranging for prizes donated by the community

New college grad? You should definitely include your student teaching or internship experience in this section!

Additional Experience

You can use this section to include jobs you’ve held that aren’t quite as relevant to the one you’re applying for. If you’re new to the working world, it’s OK to include non-teaching jobs here. For those with longer careers, it’s probably not necessary to list every job you’ve ever had. Just highlight any experience that helps support your application or fills any employment gaps.

Professional Honors and Leadership

If you’ve received awards or honors related to teaching, share them here. The same goes for any leadership roles you’ve held in educational professional orgs.

Professional Affiliations

If space allows, you might want to include a short list of respected professional organizations you belong to. You should definitely include them if you play a very active role, have been invited to speak as an education expert at a conference, etc. Otherwise, this section is optional.

Other Teacher Resume Sections

Here are some sections you might consider adding if you have space, and a few to skip altogether.

• Professional skills: Don’t include this section if your skills are simply those expected of any teacher. But if you’ve built up any unusual and relevant teaching skills through experience or professional development, you could include them here. (Fluency in multiple languages, for example.)
• Community involvement or volunteer work: If you’ve been heavily involved in community organizations that work with children or education, consider highlighting those achievements on your resume.
• Publications: Have you published articles in an educational or professional journal, or had your work featured on a trusted, well-known website? Include any relevant articles and links.

Here’s what you don’t need on your resume:

• Hobbies or “unique” unrelated skills (like “juggling” or “Cordon Bleu chef”).
• Any information about religious or political affiliations, or your marital status, gender, race, or age. These could lead to potential bias or discrimination in the hiring process.
• References: Most people leave this section off their resume these days, as job applications or hiring committees will ask you for them separately. Line up your references and gather their contact information, but hang onto them until you’re asked to provide the info. You don’t even need to put “References available upon request,” since hiring managers already assume that.

As you complete your teacher resume template, use these examples for ideas about what to include and how to word it.

1. First-time teacher

This is a great resume for teachers with little to no experience.

2. Another first-time teacher example

Here’s one more example of a great teacher resume for those with limited experience.

3. Experienced elementary teacher

This one allows you to showcase your skills in a compact, visually appealing design.

4. Another experienced elementary teacher

This is one of those teacher resume examples that work best for those with some experience but who are still early in their career. (Note: Click the link above and scroll down to find it.)

5. Summer school teacher

Use this resume to highlight the unique skills of summer school teachers who work with students who are either repeating a course or trying to get ahead for the following school year.

6. Assistant teacher

Applying for an assistant teacher job will be much easier using one of the five fantastic teacher resume examples through this resource.

7. Special education teacher

As a special educator, your responsibilities may change from minute to minute and your skills need to adapt. This template helps you simplify your experience in a one-page resume.

8. School counselor

This resume will help you showcase your excellent mentoring, counseling, and leadership skills.

9. School guidance counselor

As a guidance counselor, your role is to guide students through academic development as well as personal growth. Use this template to show you how to highlight your unique talents.

10. Library media specialist

Showcase your ability to collect and maintain the valuable resources needed to foster a strong learning environment for students.

11. High school English teacher

Use this guide to create a great English teacher resume that will highlight your communication, interpersonal, and planning skills to edge out the competition.

12. Technology teacher

Emphasize your commitment to the ongoing professional development necessary to continue integrating the latest technology into the existing curriculum, and coming up with new lesson plans for today’s classrooms.

13. Music teacher

Share and showcase your love of introducing music to students with this straightforward teacher resume.

14. Drama teacher

This resume example is simple but perfect for drama teachers who want to emphasize their experience as well as their knowledge of acting techniques and production.

15. World language teacher

Establish yourself as the ideal candidate by demonstrating teaching skills, language proficiency, communication, and organizational skills.

16. Sports coach

As a coach, this template will help you demonstrate your ability to manage teams and sports programs as well as encourage academic performance.

17. ESL teacher

This teacher resume example allows you to highlight your classroom management skills, as well as your commitment to empathy, patience, and cultural awareness. (Note: Click the link above and scroll down to find it.)

18. Math teacher

This clean resume template showcases a math teacher’s ability to break down complex math concepts through patient, meaningful engagement with students.

19. Pre-K teacher

It takes a special person to be a great pre-K teacher. Working with young children while creating lesson and activity plans, monitoring progress, and providing quality supervision takes patience and kindness.

20. Business teacher

Put your best foot forward with this business teacher resume that emphasizes teaching methods and a commitment to ongoing professional development.

21. International school teacher

Use this resume to let hiring managers know that you’re not only motivated to help students learn but uniquely qualified. Be sure to highlight any experience living or traveling abroad as well as foreign language skills.

Get Your Free Teacher Resume Template

Just fill out the form on this landing page for instant access to a free Google Doc featuring a fully customizable teacher resume template.

Plus, check out tips for teacher job fairs and the most common teacher interview questions.

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