In Class: Resume Teaching Module

Resumes are one of the key barriers to entry of a new job.  For this assignment, we will focus on writing, communication, action-oriented verbs, technical/essential skills, and quantifiable outcomes.

To best prepare a resume, students should be prepared to write out and explain their experiences, skills, and education clearly and concisely. Students specifically need to work on creating a resume that will pass through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) by following the many rules to building a resume. 

Writing & Communication

When drafting a resume, students need to be aware of the common and necessary rules for building it. Resumes are not supposed to be complicated with graphs and pictures but filled with relative and interesting information written professionally. 

Some quick tips students should consider: 

• Never put an image or graphic on a resume 
• Only use columns if delimiters are used, like a bullet point or comma
• Don’t use more than 3 font sizes
• Use only 1 font type 
• Use consistent margins 
• Write a new summary/objective for every new job application (this is optional!)
  • Some Universities require summaries/objectives, others don’t
  • The purpose of a summary/objective is to bypass an ATS, which will create a summary for applicants, by writing int heir own words and talking about the skills and qualities they can bring to a company 
  • It’s best if students create a summary/objective outline they can change for each job they apply for to cater it to that position 
• Use simple section titles like “Education,” “Work/Relevant Experience,” or “Skills”
• Try to make resume 1 page

The tone of a student’s resume should resemble that of the industry of their interest or the company/organization they are applying for. What that means is students should be researching their industry and job preference in order to mirror the tone they should be giving off on their resume.

In-class assignment: 

Ask your students to look at their resume and see if there are any instant changes they could make from the tips provided above. 

Action-Oriented Verbs

The best way for a student to develop a strong resume is to be knowledgeable of the multitude of description words they can use that will be happily picked up by an ATS. Share this document which includes a list of descriptive words with your class: https://help.quinncia.io/article/113-describe-your-skills-using-strong-action-verbs

In-class assignment:

Ask your students to read over the list of action verbs. Tell them to think about their experiences, specifically the experiences they wrote down, and how those experiences can be described on their resume relating to their industry/job/internship preference. Now, ask the students to write down 10-15 different action verbs they could use in their resumes. 

Technical Skills, Essential Skills & Quantifiable Outcomes

This is the most challenging part of a resume, writing the bullet points. When a student describes what they have done in their past/current roles, they need to include a technical skill, an essential skill, and quantifiable outcome. What does that look like?

“Performed x to do y resulting in z.”

Examples: 

• Worked with Raiser Edge to track donor funds, grant submissions, and organize event logistics for 40% of our clientele. 
• Collaborated with the human resources team to address operational issues to improve retention by 50%. 
• Coordinated fundraising team to donate to Relay for Life increasing cancer awareness-raising $5,000.  

In-Class Assignment:

Tell your students to think about their most recent work or extracurricular experience. Now give them 10 minutes to write down 3-4 bullet points for those experiences that include technical skill, an essential skill, and a quantifiable outcome. After the 10 minutes is up, ask your students to share one of their bullet points with a classmate(s) (either sitting next to them, via zoom chat, or to the whole class) to share their bullet points for feedback. 

Note: if students are struggling with technical skills and essential skills, make sure to cover what each of them means!