STSS: Creating a Remarkable Resume

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Creating a Remarkable ResumeThe Office of Strategic Teacher Recruitment and Staffing

© The New Teacher Project 20122

Do Now

• Principals see hundreds of resumes each hiring season. During a job fair, consider how many resumes get placed in the resume drop boxes alone.

• A principal may only have a few seconds to scan your resume during a job fair, or many only scan submitted resumes very quickly.

Take a look at the sample resume. Make a list that outlines the resume’s strengths and areas for improvement.


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Objective

• Participants will be able to identify common areas for improvement in their resumes.

• Participants will feel confident they can revise their resume into an effective, professional document that highlights their unique skills.


A compelling resume will do three things

1 Clearly articulate your recent achievements and the results of your accomplishments.

Use a logical format that is concise and easy for the reader to follow.

Focus on the quality of your resume’s content, rather than the quantity of experiences.2

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#1: Clearly articulate your recent achievements and the results of your accomplishments

Four steps in articulating your achievements include:

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1 Outline the relevant schools, organizations, and clubs you have belonged to in the past.

List any titles, duties, and responsibilities you held for each organization you list above.

• What did you accomplish?• What was the result?• How / Why did you do it?

Use action verbs to highlight the results of your accomplishments. Use the following questions as a guide:

Create a list of notable achievements for each role, title, or responsibility you held.


Review your accomplishments with a critical eye

EXPERIENCE

Aug. 2009 – Present Strategic Staffing High SchoolMemphis, TN

Biology teacher Leader of biology remediation program Inspired students to maximize their potential everyday Tutored students after school Coached basketball and organized practices Served as a recruitment leader; worked with principal on

interview team Helped students pass Gateway exam Wrote grant to Bill Gates Foundation and received $10,000

for new science library Mentored new teachers during their first year

What was the result? How many students did he teach and which exam did they pass?

How did he inspire students?

How many students did he tutor and why?

How many teachers did he mentor and what kind of support did he provide?


Review your accomplishments with a critical eye

EXPERIENCE

Aug. 2009 – Present Strategic Staffing High SchoolMemphis, TN

Biology teacher Leader of biology remediation program Inspired students to maximize their potential everyday Tutored students after school Coached basketball and organized practices Served as a recruitment leader; worked with principal on

interview team Helped students pass Gateway exam Wrote grant to Bill Gates Foundation and received $10,000

for new science library Mentored new teachers during their first year

Basketball Coach

Recruitment Captain


Highlight important roles, titles, and achievements

EXPERIENCE

Strategic Staffing High School – Memphis, TN Aug. 2009-Present

Biology Teacher, Teacher Recruitment Leader, Varsity Basketball Coach

Developed and implemented a biology remediation curriculum for 30 students, resulting in a 70% passage rate on the Biology I Gateway Exam for two consecutive school years.

Engaged 100 urban students in the biology course content by using personal anecdotes, real-life situations, and technology.

Secured a $10,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a new science library which will serve 600 students and 40 faculty members.

Hosted weekly meetings and 4 pot-luck dinners in order to help 3 new teachers transition into their new roles.

Coordinated practice, game, and study schedules for the 13-member basketball team, resulting in a 18-2 record and avg. team GPA of 3.2.

Listed key roles beneath the organization heading

Aligned the school heading and key titles to the left

Led each bullet with an action verb and combine inter-related points


Highlight important roles, titles, and achievements

EXPERIENCE

Strategic Staffing High School – Memphis, TN Aug. 2009-Present

Biology Teacher, Teacher Recruitment Leader, Varsity Basketball Coach

Developed and implemented a biology remediation curriculum for 30 students, resulting in a 70% passage rate on the Biology I Gateway Exam for two consecutive school years.

Engaged 100 urban students in the biology course content by using personal anecdotes, real-life situations, and technology.

Secured a $10,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a new science library which will serve 600 students and 40 faculty members.

Hosted weekly meetings and 4 pot-luck dinners in order to help 3 new teachers transition into their new roles.

Coordinated practice, game, and study schedules for the 13-member basketball team, resulting in a 18-2 record and avg. team GPA of 3.2.

Listed key roles beneath the organization heading

Aligned the school heading and key titles to the left

Quantified results


Common questions when revising bullet points

Within every role, there are three ways to elaborate on what you’ve accomplished: For example:

• Generated monthly academic reports for 20 students to keep stakeholders abreast of progress.

Complete the Task

Improve the Task

Initiate a New Task

• Designed a website for 40 students and 20 parents to provide 24-hour access to class news, new assignments, and school announcements.

• Increased frequency of progress reports from monthly to weekly in order to provide up-to-date information about students’ academic progress to 40 parents and 20 students.

How do I articulate past achievements?


Common questions when revising bullet points

For task you list, answer the following questions:• How many people did I serve or manage in the task?• How frequently did I perform the task? • How many people benefited during or after the task was completed?

Common items on a resume that can be quantified include:• Class sizes• Test results – student improvements over time and test passing rates • The frequency of tasks you completed

How do I quantify my results?


#2: Focus on the quality of your resume’s content, rather than the quantity of experiences

After you brainstorm your achievements, use this basic checklist: Does the accomplishment set me apart from other candidates? Is the accomplishment relevant to the position I am applying for? Is the accomplishment recent? If the accomplishment is not

recent, is it significant?

If you can not answer “Yes” for each question above, omit the accomplishment from your resume.

Think about how the experiences in your past inform how you teach today.

How do I choose which accomplishments to keep on my resume?


• Contact information: Phone, email, mailing address all on the top of the page

• Experience and achievements: Teaching and other related work. Use action verbs (cultivate, strengthen, prepare, implement, coordinate). See Action Verb supplement on Teach Memphis website

• Education and certification/licensure: List all undergraduate and graduate degrees – do not include high school

• Include any additional certifications: Other subject areas, Certification in Conflict Resolution or other teaching-related skills, for example. List education after experience if you graduated more than 5 years ago.

#3: Use a logical format that is concise and easy for the reader to follow


#3: Use a logical format that is concise and easy for the reader to follow

• Keep your resume to one page. – Often, an objective is not necessary– Be thoughtful in how, and to what extent, you detail old positions

• Organize your resume by using bullets. It makes your resume easier to read.– Use short, descriptive phrases rather than long narrative sections or paragraphs– Avoid using the first person “I”

• Use consistent, easy-to-read formatting.– Recommended fonts: Times New Roman, Arial, or Book Antiqua– Recommended font size: 10-12 point– Be strategic in your use of bold and italics- never use throughout document

• Proofread!– Many principals or hiring committees will automatically reject people with typos in

their resume or cover letters


Take these next steps in your job search

Finalize your resume– Use your workshop materials as a reference.– Research schools at www.mcsk12.net.

Email or upload your updated resume to add to your surplus application– Visit our Contact Form at www.teachmemphis.org/contact.– Email us at [email protected].

Attend upcoming networking and hiring events – Schedule follow-up appointments and school site visits at the events.

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http://www.mcsk12.net/

http://www.teachmemphis.org/contact

mailto:[email protected]


Questions?

Teach Memphis

Website www.teachmemphis.org

Contact Form

www.teachmemphis.org/contact

Hotline 901-416-9905

Fax 901-416-0540

Email [email protected]

Mailing Address

Teach Memphis2597 Avery Ave, Room 148-BMemphis, TN 38112

Become a fan of Teach Memphis on Facebook or follow us on Twitter via @TeachMemphis!

Date post:	07-Nov-2014
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