Job Discussion Forums

[matador]

How do I write a good resume? I have heard so many suggestions about what makes a good one and what to avoid. Any examples of a good one?? I heard that its better to email a resume than to fax/post one.

How do I stand out from the crowd? I heard that each decent TEFL job gets about 20 applications.... Is it more important to have QUALIFICATIONS or EXPERIENCE ??

[johnslat]

Dear Matador,
If you type " resume writing " into, for example, Yahoo search, you'll get 1,600,000 hits, which may be a bit much. But the top 10 or so should provide you with more than enough help, samples, etc. and most of them are free. Here's just one example:

http://www.rockportinstitute.com/resumes.html

As for e-mailing resumes, that's how, I'd say, most employers do it these days. But when you contact a specific employer, they'll let you know how they want it sent. Are qualifications or experience more important? In a word, yes. What I mean is that'll also depend on where you're applying. Here in the Middle East, they tend to be very " qualifications orientated ", but from what I've read on Dave's, that's certainly not true everywhere. So, that's a question that can't be answered generally. Hope all this helps some.
Regards,
John

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Dear matador:

johnslat gave you an excellent link. It's so good, in fact, I'm going to add it to the 'sticky post' on the Russian forum for anyone that needs a few solid tips.

I won't pretend to be able to improve much on the info contained in that link, but I do have one general tip for you based on my own experience in reviewing employment apps and resumes':

1. highlight and expand somewhat on the qualities and qualifications you have that are relevant to teaching English. A few months ago I received an application from a guy who was a hobby pilot; he actually sent me a scanned copy of his professional pilot's license! While I'm sure he's proud of that distinction, I didn't need to know all the details.

These days, it's rather easy to use Microsoft 'Word' to create visually appealing documents, so don't be afraid to vary your font styles a little to highlight the things you feel need to be highlighted.

As for standing out from the crowd, remember that it's always better to be honest about your qualifications and experiences than to try to 'pull one over' on someone. An experienced DOS will probably see through it.

Personally, I look more heavily at experience in the classroom, and tend to give it more weight than paper credentials and certificates, which are sometimes difficult to verify ... but that's just me.

If you have at least a BA, and a few years of bona-fide classroom experience under your belt, you're on the right track. In lieu of the classroom experience, a CELTA or TESOL cert is nice, but I don't treat the 2 equally.

Other than that, take some time to read the information in johnslat's link and good luck to you!

Yours,
keNt

PS: Here's one more link with 10 brief but concise tips for writing a killer resume': http://www.intratech1.com/CareerAdvice/10steps.htm

[ESL Guru]

Yes mam. Just give us the facts mam. Just the facts. Sgt. Friday. Dragnet (circa your birth)

[guest of Japan]

John that is a fantastic link. Thank you.

[johnslat]

Dear keNt and guest of Japan,
Man, the Net is amazing, isn't it? It's extended our ability to access information ( and so much of it - best part - for FREE ) to an incredible degree. And what also seems strange ( and wonderful ) to me is that we've " adapted " to it with such seeming ease. Of course, there IS a downside ( there's ALWAYS a downside ) - some of that info floating around out there is incorrect and/or even dangerous. Another, slighter, downside is that there's just so darn MUCH of it ( 1,600,000 hits for " Resume Writing " ). But to my mind, the benefits far outweigh the bad aspects. Hope it stays that way.
Regards,
John
P.S. And that's not even mentioning how it's made " real-time " and, on boards like this what could, I suppose, be called " semi-real-time " communication so easy. Still, we should also recall the words of that great science fiction writer, Theodore Sturgeon:
"I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of sf is crud.

The Revelation: Ninety percent of everything is crud. "


( Found it - where else - on the Net )

http://glinda.lrsm.upenn.edu/~weeks/misc/sturgeon.html

[guest of Japan]

When I was teaching history in the United States the new challenge we were faced with was teaching students how to filter information. They did not know how to see the difference between logical documented material and propaganda. Students generally try to research as fast as possible and take the first hit they can find. The downside to this was is that the first hit was often a cleverly disguised white supremacy essay, or paranoia article. I think recent search engines like Google have helped the situation some by supplying the researcher with the exact information requested. But yeah, 90% is crud.