“How Do I Explain Who I Am?” Helping Your Students Write an Effective Resume.

Marilyn McMullan, ABE/GED Teacher, Broward County Schools

As we continue to build career awareness and lead students toward their objective of excellent English skills, a high school diploma, a GED, and/or a technical center certificate/degree, we need to make sure our curriculum includes assisting students in creating an effective resume.  After all, one of our main objectives in adult education is to help our students move on from our classrooms with the skills to be successful in the workplace.  A resume is the employer’s first introduction to our students, so let’s help them to make it a good one!

Resume writing is a terrific activity to include in your curriculum for many reasons.  First, it is a great way to get your students to practice some of those skills you have been teaching in verb usage, sentence structure, organizing, and spelling.  Second, it helps your students think about themselves in a positive light, helping them to identify and concentrate on their strengths.  Third, they will leave your classroom with a document which will be a great stepping stone for their next step in a job search.

So, how do you get started with your students?  First set the stage.  Include activities which help your students identify their strengths in the workplace.  Help them decide what they are good at.  Is it people skills, computer skills, organizing, listening, working with others, leading others, being on time, attention to details, willingness to learn, or one of many other positive attributes?  Have your students identify and work with action verbs:  managed, coordinated, developed, initiated, developed.  Check out QuintCareers for a great list of career related action verbs.  Help your students to decide what their objective is and to write a positive statement that explains it.  Finally, be sure that your students understand that the reason a resume is so important is that it must convince a prospective employer that he or she should interview them so that they can get that job in their new career.

Once you have set the stage for resume writing with your students, you can lead them into the actual writing of it.  One of the best sources for resume writing is the Florida Choices website.  If your students use this, have them go to the work tab and click on resume builder.  The site will guide them through creating a resume and allow them to save it, amend it, print it, and then get ready to use it!  If you do not use this resource with your students, there are many other sites available on the internet.  Preview them, and pick one that targets entry level or whatever is appropriate for your students.  Assist your students as they create their resume, giving suggestions as needed and monitoring their success.  Be sure to have your students print you a copy to review for word usage, spacing, spelling, and effectiveness.  Help them to make any needed changes.  Make sure they have saved their resume and encourage them to update and edit it as they continue in your class.  When they are ready begin their job search, they will have a super resume ready to go!