Résumés/Cover Letters for the Professional Educator Mike Major, SPHR - Director Tom Barnikow – Assistant Director C

1. Résumés/Cover Letters for the Professional Educator Mike Major, SPHR - DirectorTom Barnikow – Assistant DirectorCareer Services

2. Cardinal Career Network www.svsu.edu/careers

3. www.svsu.edu/careers

4. OVER 700 OPPORTUNITIES LAST YEAR WERE FOR “TEACHER” IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN www.svsu.edu/careers

5. Cardinal Career Network Tips • Login at http://www.svsu.edu/careers • Cardinal Job Postings • Recruited / posted exclusively for SVSU • NACElink Extended Job Search • National Association of Colleges & Employers • Create Job Search Agents • Personalize resumes/cover letters for positions that accept them in CCN www.svsu.edu/careers

6. Who is your competition? www.svsu.edu/careers

7. Response to a Career Services employer satisfaction survey: "I would love for someone from SVSU to contact me. I would have a couple things to report regarding the résumés we receive in response to teaching positions. The résumés that get tossed aside immediately are much more likely to come from SVSU students/grads, due to carelessness." www.svsu.edu/careers

8. Winning Résumés www.svsu.edu/careers

9. What is the purpose of a resume? www.svsu.edu/careers

10. Value Proposition • What will you bring to the organization? • Do you have the skills necessary to do the work? • Do you have the experience that the organization desires? www.svsu.edu/careers

11. Eyes tracing Down From left to right Use of bold Use of italics White space Clear headings No large text blocks Use of bullets Layout Primer www.svsu.edu/careers

12. Standard Resume Headers • Name and Contact Information • Objective • Education • Relevant (Fieldwork) Experience • Work Experience • Community Involvement & Accomplishments • Computer/Technical Skills • References www.svsu.edu/careers

13. Name and Contact Information Susan Student 7400 Bay Road University Center, MI 48710 (989) 222-2222 (Cell) (989) 555-5555 (Home) sstudent@svsu.edu http://ed_example.foliotek.me/ *cell only is appropriate www.svsu.edu/careers

14. www.svsu.edu/careers

15. Be sure that it is customized specifically for each job that you are applying for “To apply my exceptional interpersonal, creative and teamwork skills as an Elementary School Teacher.”  Too Vague Study the Job Description to see what qualities they are looking for and accentuate those aspects of your professional capabilities Objective/Personal Summary www.svsu.edu/careers

16. “To apply my exceptional leadership, interpersonal, and teamwork skills as a high school English teacher with the Freeland School District.” Being very specific in an objective statement is helpful when resumes go into a CENTRALIZED HR office with DECENTRALIZED hiring managers Know the district’s name! In this example, it’s WRONG! (Freeland Community School District) Objective/Personal Summary www.svsu.edu/careers

17. Objective • It’s not always required. • If you use one, make it count. www.svsu.edu/careers

18. Education & Certifications • Standard format EDUCATION Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education Anticipated: May 2015 Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI Minors : Integrated Science and Language Arts President’s List: Eight semesters Deans’ List: Fall 2008, Winter 2009 GPA: 3.55 CERTIFICATIONS Social Studies (RX) 6-8 Mathematics (DX) 6-8 www.svsu.edu/careers

19. Importance of Effective Bullet Statements • “A picture is worth 1,000 words” • Paint a picture in the employer’s mind • Statements should be clear, concise and detailed • “Presented to a group of students” vs.“Presented to a group of 35 college freshmen” www.svsu.edu/careers

20. If this is like your resume, come see us! • Fry CookMcDonald’s Restaurant • Helped customers • Stocked shelves • Used cash register • Cleaned store • Dealt with complaints • Referred to as “Level 1” • Not very impressive • Tasks implied by the title • Add no value to resume www.svsu.edu/careers

21. It is our recommendation that you do not use Level One bullet statements at any time on your résumé. www.svsu.edu/careers

22. This is a little better, but still not great - • Crew MemberMcDonald’s Restaurant • Assisted customers in a warm and friendly manner • Stocked shelves during down times to ensure a professional environment • Processed financial transactions through the cash register in a fast and efficient manner • Cleaned store to maintain an appealing atmosphere to enhance customer satisfaction • Referred to as Level Two • Explain how or in what way you perform level one tasks exceptionally well • Additional duties that you initiated? www.svsu.edu/careers

23. While it is acceptable to use Level Two bullet statements from time to time, you will not want to rely on these to earn you an interview. www.svsu.edu/careers

24. “Say More with Less” • Level Three • Describe accomplishments and achievements • Increase something good or decrease something bad? • Employers want individuals who will make a difference • Measurable • Created effective displays which increased monthly sales by 200% in a two-month period • Crew MemberMcDonald’s Restaurant • Earned Crew Member of the Month in June 2012 for consistently providing outstanding service www.svsu.edu/careers

25. Bullet Statements for Teachers • Speak the language of your profession • “Develop creative lesson plans for a diverse classroom using TPR-S methods” • “Implement hands-on activities through the use of simulations” • “Enhanced laboratory setting by employing project-based learning” • “Developed a comprehensive unit plan on meteorology in which the average student growth was 43% from pre to post assessment” www.svsu.edu/careers

26. Teaching-Related Experience • What is most important? • Use previous experiences that are relevant to the position you are applying for: • Acceptable format: Student Teacher , Social Studies August 2012 – December 2012 Frankenmuth High School – Frankenmuth, Michigan • Taught three sections of Economics (Junior-level) and two sections of Modern U.S. History (Sophomore-level); created lessons plans that met the compliance criteria for the Common Core standards • Utilized in-class simulations and role-playing to illustrate the concept of economic systems; collaborated with other teachers to determine which methods yielded the highest results • Implemented educational software, The Global Economics Game, which allowed students to enhance their knowledge of international macroeconomics www.svsu.edu/careers

27. Match skill sets with new position Example: Crew Member May 2010 – April 2013 McDonald’s Restaurant, Bay City, MI Prepared 500 orders during the daily lunch hour Effectively dealt with stressful situations in a team environment Work Experience www.svsu.edu/careers

28. Computer / Technical Skills • For Education majors, this section varies based on level of experience COMPUTER / TECHNICAL SKILLS Applications:Windows Movie Maker, WordPress, PowerPoint, MimioStudio, Adobe Creative Suite Classroom Management: ClarisWorks, Thinkwave Web Authoring: WebExpress, Dreamweaver Multimedia/Design: Adobe Creative Suite (PhotoShop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash); GIMP Operating Systems: Windows, Unix, Linux www.svsu.edu/careers

29. Honors/Associations • Highlight appropriate accomplishments • Example: HONORS / ASSOCIATIONS • Volunteer, Big Brothers / Big Sisters of the Great Lakes Bay Region • Received “Awesome Big Brother” award for spending over 1,000 hours with three “littles;” all of whom went to attend college • Member, Phi Alpha Theta (National History Honors Society) • Member, Saginaw Valley History Club (SVSU) • Organized a local “Save our History” event that generated over $15,000 to restore the Bay City History Museum • President, Saginaw Valley State University Student Association • 2011-2012; one-year appointment • Recipient, Saginaw Valley State University President’s Scholarship These “Extra” positions can sometimes add more value to your resume than part-time positions www.svsu.edu/careers

30. Resumes vs. CVs • Resumes – Two pages max (“old school” philosophers still say 1 page) • CVs – Longer, more elaborate, used in higher education, Federal jobs, graduate school • Use the additional space with purpose • Accomplishments / Achievements • Do NOT include “tasks” that don’t add value www.svsu.edu/careers

31. References • Ask permission!! • Choose wisely • Keep your references informed of your job search Dr. Someone Who-knowsyouwell, Professor Department of Education Saginaw Valley State University 208 Education Building 7400 Bay Road University Center, MI 48710 (989) 964-4000 (Office) swhoknou@svsu.edu www.svsu.edu/careers

32. Cover Letters • Will be read after resume • Emphasize characteristics that are supported in resume • Keep it short and simple www.svsu.edu/careers

33. Examples in the last year sent to Employers • Student had a section called “Strangths” • In this section, listed “Luck” • Another had a section called “Quirky Me” • “If I could eat one thing, and only one thing all the time, it would be bacon. Of course, I’d probably weigh 400 pounds and have high cholesterol. ” • Cover letter addressing • “Mr. Susan Student” • “Mr. / Ms. / Dr. John Doe” • “Dear Harry,” • “Bay city, mI” • Bullet statements • Weakly prepared reports from a database • Preform a wide variety of tasks www.svsu.edu/careers

34. Additional Considerations for Educators • Use the correct district name • Bangor Township Community Schools vs. Bangor Public Schools • Research title of superintendent • Mr./Ms. vs. Dr. • Identify the position you are applying for • I am writing to express my interest in the sixth grade Social Studies position available at BlahBlah Middle School. www.svsu.edu/careers

35. Last words on documents… • Review, review, review! • Career Services • 964-4954 • Appointments with staff for review • SVSU Writing Center • Faculty members • Guidelines and Tutorials available: • http://www.svsu.edu/careers www.svsu.edu/careers

36. Boston Marathon bombing victim Halloween costume makes Michigan woman target on social media A photograph posted to Alicia Lynch's Twitter account, @SomeSkankinMI, shows the Michigan woman wearing an SVSU race shirt with fake scars on her legs. The photograph has gained national attention and led to death threats following the costume tweet. http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2013/11/boston_marathon_bombing_victim.html Manage your online presence

37. Resources available from Career Services • Resume and cover letter building and critiques • Online Tutorials • Resume, Cover Letter, Interviewing, Job Search Strategies • Mock interviews and interview coaching • Network development • Career fairs on campus exclusively for SVSU students to network with potential employers • Internship/Co-op advising • Job search strategies • Developing personal brand • On-campus student employment www.svsu.edu/careers

38. T H A N K Y O U careers@svsu.edu mmajor@svsu.edu tebarnik@svsu.edu989.964.4954 www.svsu.edu/careers