Resume Tips: What to put in your resume

Well, I attended the PD day run by the IEU 'Best Foot Forward'. Like most PD it included some sessions that were were great and others that weren't. Lucky for you I sat through those sessions so that I could bring you the good stuff! The best sessions were those on Interview skills and resumes, and we were given a really good booklet that gave some good resume tips. So, because it's late and i'm feeling lazy i'm going to copy it straight out of the booklet for you. Credit therefore goes to the IEU for this post!

Resumes 

Your resume is your first and most essential job-hunting tool whose purpose is to get you short-listed for interview. It is basically a marketing document on which you promote your 'Unique Selling Proposition' (Knowledge, skills, experience, attributes etc.)... For that reason, your resume is a uniquely personal document. There is no one-size fits all approach. There are, however, some general guidelines to remember (See Table)

Resume Template

Your Name

Address

Mobile

Email

VIT registration #

Professional Overview (or personal statement or career objectives)

50-100 words outlining in clear terms what it is that makes you stand out from all the other applicants

Education (or Qualifications)

List in reverse chronological order: Institution, qualification, dates

Key Achievements (or key skills and attributes or what I am known for)

• 5 - 8 Bullet Points
• Avoid Generic items such as 'good communication skills'

Employment (or teaching or professional experience)

• List your employers (including school placements) in reverse chronological order : Employer, job title, dates
• Provide a brief overview of the position if not obvious, including year levels and subjects taught
• Provide up to 5 key achievements whilst in this role (bullet points)

Professional Development

Bullet points in reverse chronological order or grouped by function eg. Curriculum, classroom management etc. No more than 12

Other sections as appropriate

• Awards/Scholarships
• memberships
• Publications and conferences
• Volunteer and Community work

Activities and Interests

• 4-10 bullet points on how you spend your time when your not studying or working

Referee Details

• Generally 3 are required
• Name
• Relationship to you or what they are able to comment on
• Position held
• Organisation
• Email
• Phone

In conclusion.....

Obviously this is just one template designed to give you guidance on what to put on your resume, but don't freak if the resume that you already have doesn't follow this template. The main things that I took from the session are that presentation is almost as important as content, so be really thoughtful about the way that you layout your material. Secondly, be succinct, as principals are going to have ALOT of resumes to look at and the easier yours is to read the better. Finally, it is ok to tailor your resume to the school you are applying for. For example if the school is heavily into technology, try and express how your skills and experiences are ICT related.

As always I hope that this has been of use to some of you!

Happy Teaching!

Interview with a first year teacher

I am lucky enough to have terrific friends who are first year teachers. One of them, Jen, who graduated from Deakin last year, has been kind enough to answer some questions about her experiences teaching this year. Enjoy!

Name: Jen

Where are you teaching and what year level?

I’m teaching Prep at a state school near my house.

How did you go about finding a job and did you have to do many applications/interviews?

I sent resumes and cover letters (not in reply to specific advertisements) to lots and lots of schools in about July. Then later on in the year I used the DEECD’s Recruitment Online to send more applications. I did about 15 applications on Recruitment Online.  I also answered a couple of advertisements that I saw in the newspaper. I ended up having three interviews (all in the space of a week) – one of which was a school that I had just sent my resume to. I ended up getting a job at the third school I interviewed for – which was the one I wanted most! So I was very lucky.

The interviews were no way near as scary as I thought they would be – I found them to be very relaxed. It helped that Deakin gave us a list of Interview questions that might pop up because I had used them to think about everything I might say in an Interview.

What has been the most challenging thing about your first year of teaching?

Gosh – that’s a tough question because so far I have loved everything about my first year. I suppose the first day was challenging in that I was a bit nervous and didn’t quite know what to expect. But as soon as the kids arrived I was quite fine and the nerves disappeared – I guess the fact that these kids were new too helped. We were kind of on a first day journey together. 

The teachers at my school have been very supportive and are always ready to help when I have questions about things. It’s a very team-orientated school and we all do lots of things together – so I have never felt like I’ve been thrown into the deep-end.

What has been the best thing about your first year of teaching?

I love everything!!!! The kids in my class are fantastic and we have a lot of fun together! Everyday I go home with a big smile on my face. There’s always something funny happening – kids say funny things and they keep me amused with their funny antics.

I also love the things we learn in Prep – they are things that can easily be taught in a really creative and hands-on way. The kids (and me too) have a lot of fun doing the learning.

I also love my school – it’s a real community school where everyone knows everyone and everyone is really friendly and supportive.

What advice do you have for starting out teachers?

1)   Organisation is essential!! You have to be super organised because once the school bell goes there is no time to dash off to get worksheets or resources, and it’s all hands on with the kids (even at lunchtime kids will hunt you down for talks etc). I try and have everything for the week ready by the Friday before. That way there’s no stress over having not got something ready and you can go into every session prepared.

2)   Have fun – It’s important to remember that kids will learn better if they have fun – so make everything enjoyable!!! Plus, let’s face it – no one remembers what they learnt at school – you remember the fun things you did.  Kids know when the teacher is enjoying school too – it sort of radiates out – and the kids pick up your enthusiasm for what you are teaching. 

3)   It’s better to be relaxed – remember that it’s okay to have a bit of down time in the classroom – you don’t need to be working 100% of the time. Play games, have fun!

4)   Ask for advice from other teachers. Teaching is about sharing ideas and resources so don’t be afraid to ask others!!!!

More Practice interview questions

As requested here is another lot of practice interview questions, generously donated to me by my practicum teacher. These ones are quite specific, so should help you really narrow down your skill set :) Enjoy!

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

You are advised to spend about 5 minutes on each question.

1. Explain how you would plan a ________________unit of work for a senior level. Comment on:

·      teaching & learning strategies

·      assessing student outcomes

·      evaluation.

2. Scenario: You are part of a _____________team. Outline ways in which you would contribute to working as a teacher in a multi cultural college.

3. Scenario: A boy in one of your classes seems very disengaged – he attends poorly, does not bring his books to class, does not do his homework and becomes hostile when corrected. Outline the strategies you would use to deal with this situation.

4. What role would you play in a team of teachers in delivering VELs / VCE and wider school initiatives such as literacy?

5. What is your view about the National Curriculum? What aspects of it do you find particularly interesting/challenging in relation to your discipline?

6. Scenario: A difficult situation develops between yourself and an irate parent, who is taking the side of his/her child over an after school detention that you issued. They are refusing to let them attend. How would you deal with the situation?

7. Education is an area of constant change. What changes do you regard as important and how would you deal with them?

8. Describe a unit of work you have developed and explain how it would improve student outcomes. How did you measure its effectiveness?

9. Describe the characteristics of a good teacher.

10. What significant challenges are there currently in curriculum development? What are the challenges for Assessment and Learning?

11. What would your priorities be as a beginning teacher in this school?

12. What topics, themes, units… have you developed appropriate to a 7 – 10 or VCE program in English/Maths/Science/Music/Humanities……?

13. What are the main educational initiatives and/or priorities for the college in the coming three years?

14. What role do you expect to play as a member of the teaching staff and as a member of the Learning Areas in which you teach?

15. In regards to the Middle years at this campus, what do you see as being the greatest area of need? What pedagogical approach do you think best addresses this need?

16. What communication skills and experience are needed working in a multi campus college?

17. How would you approach the study of issues in teaching VCE?

18. What are main educational initiatives in English, Humanities, Science…. and how would you go about implementing them in 2010?

19. Describe a successful classroom/student management strategy you have used appropriate to this educational setting.

20. Outline to the panel a program or curriculum development you have been a part of. What was your role in the program? How did it improve your own teaching of Maths or Science and the learning of students?

21. What strategies do you employ to maximize student learning and success in your classroom?

22. Teamwork is a very important part of the job. Describe which teams you have worked with at a previous workplace, and your role as a member of those teams.

23. A student misbehaves in your class. She is rowdy, rude, disrupts the learning of others, and does not listen to your instructions. Outline the steps you would take to resolve this problem.

24. Literacy and Numeracy are recent policy initiatives of the college. Explain how you would contribute to the development of one of these initiatives and provide examples of its influence on your teaching.

25. Visualise this scenario: You are the only teacher in your Learning Area to teach a subject. You are suddenly taken ill and need to take extended leave. What work practices do you currently use which would ensure that other colleagues could take over from you?

26. What interpersonal and communication skills do you employ to manage conflict with either a student, colleague or parent?

27. In what ways have you grown as a teacher during your training? How will you make a productive contribution to the school program?

28. Our school prides itself on its co-curricular program – how would you contribute to this?

29. Can you tell me about a lesson or series of lessons which went particularly well? What was it about those lessons that made them effective?

30. Our classes are all mixed ability groupings. How would you go about catering for this type of class?

31. One of our Annual review priorities is to increase the use of ICT in teaching and learning. What are your capabilities in the use of IT and how would you use them in your classes?

32. In 2007 we introduced a curriculum based on VELs. There is a requirement for interdisciplinary learning as part of the standards. As a xxxxxxxxxxxxxx specialist, how would you implement this strand within your Learning Area.

33. As a graduate teacher, what do you consider to be your particular strengths?

34. You will be responsible for assessing student achievements. What assessment strategies have you used and how successful do you think they were?

35. What goals do you have for your Professional Development over the next five years?

36. What is your personal philosophy in relation to teaching>

37. Why did you apply for this position?

38. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself and teaching?

What should I put in my portfolio?

It's that dreaded piece of work that has student teachers shaking in their boots...the portfolio. If your anything like me, the portfolio didn't exist until it was briefly mentioned in second year, and since then it has become a source of stress and mystery. So here's the biggy: What the heck do you put in your portfolio? This question was asked directly to my tutor and his answer was as ambiguous as you could possibly get: 'your portfolio should be a reflection of yourself'. I found this about as helpful as a kick in the death. While I would definitely agree that there is no set definition of what a portfolio should look like and contain, and I am in no means an expert, I have gathered some ideas from the work of others.

First of all it is a good idea to work out how you want to present your portfolio, as this will be a major factor in what you will include, and the way that you will lay this out. For example, do you want to go traditional and opt for a hard-copy portfolio? Or are you going to more modern and do an online portfolio. There are definite advantages to both. A traditional portfolio is something tangible that you can take with you into interviews and give to the panel to show them. However given that there is one and only one of this portfolio, you cannot leave it for the assessors to come back to after the interview has happened. Online portfolios do address this problem, as you can simply give the panel the URL for your website, and hope they take the time to look at it. The downside is that you cannot guarantee they will do this, or that they will know how to use the nifty and innovative technology you have utilised. At the end of the day there are pro's and con's for both forms, so just pick the one that is the easiest and most reflective of you as a practitioner.

Once you have chosen your format, you must begin to collate and collect evidence that demonstrates what you know and have done on your rounds: go ahead, show off how awesome you are! I have found a good way to structure this is by using the VIT standards or the key selection criteria as your framework. This is a good way to make sure you are including relevant and useful examples.

In most of the portfolio's I have seen, they usually begin with or include an 'about me' section and incorporate things like a photo of you, your hobbies and interests, why you decided to become a teacher and the journey that you took to become one etc. This will be pretty straightforward and specific.

If you are using the standards as a guideline, pick things to include that demonstrate how you meet that criteria: for example lesson plans that you have designed, assessment tasks that you have designed, samples of student work if you have them, photo's of you teaching, comments made by your assessors, comments made by students, examples of student interactions, videos of you teaching etc.  Find things that demonstrate how you meet each standard or criteria, describe how each piece of evidence denotes this and link it to a little bit of theory or guidelines. Don't overload the viewer with theories, but rather name a theory or idea from POLT that is relevant to what you have done, and to you as a practitioner. For each criteria it is a good idea to include a brief statement of your beliefs regarding that criteria so that the portfolio is a reflection of you :)

For those of you who are lucky enough to have a few years left of your course, start collecting your evidence now and KEEP EVERYTHING! I'm so mad at myself for not keeping a lot of the lesson plans and units of work that I have run during rounds. While I didn't have student responses to many of the assessments I had designed, the units of work themselves proved that I can plan and assess. Also, take notes during your classes, so that you can remember later what worked and what didn't. This will make anecdotes easy to refer to later. I was given a useful tool for collecting evidence for each standard, which I will put up in the next couple of days, so you can see what you have and what you might need.

For a really good example of a teaching portfolio made on prezi, please take a look at:

http://prezi.com/zo6opjr6t-bj/rivera-teaching-portfolio/

For a much more detailed explanation of what to put in a teaching portfolio, this document was compiled by the University of Adelaide:

http://www.education.adelaide.edu.au/higher-education/portfolio/t_portfolio.pdf

I hope that this has been useful! For more examples of portfolios, or if you have any questions, please comment!

Happy Teaching!