Résumé Revisit: Rezscore

Summary

While creativity can be a good thing when it comes to the design of a résumé, there are some “rules” that should be followed when it comes to things like length, order, and language. When I originally created my résumé I used books and online templates for guidance. However, I have recently been told my résumé was too long. In anticipation of the coming school year, I set up an appointment with Career Services in order to gain advice on making my résumé shorter (one page instead of two) and more presentable. I was complemented on the impact of my descriptions and was given the following suggestions.

·         “Honors” and “Activities” go near the end

·         List “Honors” and “Skills” one-by-one for easy reading

·         Align dates to the far right for easy reading

·         Dates should be specific if possible (i.e. saying Oct-Dec is better than Fall 2010)

·         Bold degrees earned and put them before educational details (this is what you want to stand out as your most significant accomplishment)

·         There is no need to mention President’s list or Dean’s list if you graduated with        honors (it’s implied)

·         There is no need to create two categories for “Skills” and “Languages”

·         Descriptions are not needed for volunteer positions held

In addition to addressing the above, I also update my résumé to reflect my current status. I changed my email address, my home address, I included my graduate education, and I put the action verbs of my last job in past tense. Last but not least, I updated the “Skills” section with newly learned technologies!

            Additionally, I uploaded the original document to Rezscore. This website, through three easy steps, provides instant feedback on résumé quality. It will show a graded score and commentary regarding what was done well and what would make it better. After uploading my document, checking the “Resume Help” box, and clicking the “Submit” button, I was served this screen.

www.rezscore.com

My résumé was placed in the 87^th percentile and it was suggested that it could be improved by making it more concise and impactful with vivid language. Rezscore also sent me an email (although I did not ask them to or provide them with my address other than including it in my résumé) explaining that I scored 82 out of 100 for brevity, 90 for impact, and 99 for depth.

After revising my résumé, I submitted the revised copy to Rezscore, receiving the same grade and suggestions. However, the breakdown was different: 71 for brevity, 99 for impact, and 99 for depth. While I agree that my résumé is not as brief as it could be, I am happy with the extent to which it represents my accomplishments and do not feel that I could minimize it further without taking out meaningful content.  

What I Learned

After completing this activity, I now have a revamped résumé that I will be confident to send to my dream school. It can be hard to see deficiencies in things that you have personally created but, a professional should have the gumption and sense to consult higher-ups, experts, or colleagues to ensure that what they make available to others is the best possible product. Also, professionals should never be scared to make changes. In this day and age, nothing stays the same for long. Expectations change with the rise of knowledge and innovation. Products such as résumés and lesson plans should continuously be updated and revised.

            In regards to technology, I learned just how easy it can be for the Internet to scan, retrieve, and use your personal information. When I uploaded my résumé documents to Google Docs I was careful to obscure my address and phone number. However, I mistakenly uploaded the unprotected documents to Rezscore. This website and the people involved now have all of my personal information and know more about my history than any of my Facebook “friends.” I thought I was a knowledgeable and safe Internet user, but since this activity, I have learned to be more aware and careful. From now on, I will slow down and think carefully about what it is I use the Internet for.

How I Would Use It

            No professional can get very far in the working world without a well done résumé. Don’t let a poor résumé keep you from making a difference in our schools. If you are working towards professional development, you will always have something new to add. Use Rezscore safely to ensure that your accomplishments stand out and don’t go unnoticed.

Standards Reflection

            In aligning this activity with an ISTE-NETS-T standard, I would have to choose Standard Five. Since high school I have been doing what I can to develop skills that I can contribute to a school community’s effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal. Almost all of these things appear in my résumé. As I gain steam in the educational community I hope for my résumé to also demonstrate my commitment to professional improvement and lifelong learning. These are qualities that Standard Five requires to prove in conjunction with the use of technological tools and resources.

Fixing a Résumé

           A résumé must make a good first impression. You wouldn’t walk into an interview with unkempt hair and a sloppy outfit would you? Likewise, you shouldn’t send out an untidy looking résumé. A résumé should catch an employer’s eye and keep them reading. In order to create a résumé like this, it is necessary that one is familiar with the ins and outs of technology applications used to create résumés. While creating a résumé one may choose to create headers, adjust formatting, change text size and color, create text boxes, create dividers, and more. In this respect, creativity is your best asset and your ability to show creativity also demonstrates your level of digital literacy.

To me, creating the perfect résumé is touchy business. Résumés travel and speak to people about who you are, what you have done, what you are doing, and what your future holds in store for you. In short, when someone sends out a résumé, they are sending out an extension of themselves. Yet, a résumé goes through much critiquing before it is able to snag you that interview you were hoping for at that school where you have always want to work. As a student at SU, my résumé will have been critiqued by career services, professors, peers, and a website before it is seen again by a school principal. Further, nearly everybody has an opinion regarding what makes or breaks a résumé and sometimes it can be difficult to take constructive criticism, especially when it involves something so personal and the need to revise something that is close to a piece of art.

 

This post is brought to you in anticipation of the publishing of my revised résumé.

Résumé: Google Docs

Creating New Documents: Examples

I began using Google Docs for the first time last year (my senior year of college). Over the past year, I have been led to discover the versatility of this tool. At first, I used this feature with classmates to create papers for group assignments. Recently, I have used Google Docs with friends to organize potlucks and with professors to sign-up for presentation times and topics. Additionally, while working closely with an English for International Students teacher at a private high school, I saw her using Google Docs to monitor students’ work and provide editing suggestions during in-progress assignments. So far, this tool has proven useful to me in school, in my personal life, and in my professional field and I’m sure there are many more ways it could be used that I haven’t even thought of yet!

Potential uses for Google Docs

            In the elementary classroom, Google Docs may be used for such things as sign-up sheets (computer use during indoor recess, group projects, etc.). Additionally, teaching productivity may be enhanced in elementary schools using Google Docs when applications are used to collaboratively create and share lesson plans, notes about student performance for team teachers, presentations for shared unit plans and lessons, administrative sign-up sheets (bus duty, kitchen duty, etc.), parent sign-up sheets (parent volunteers, supply list, etc.)

 

How I Uploaded my Résumé

I am most familiar with the ability Google Docs provides to create a word document and work collaboratively on the document with one or more people at the same time. However, just a few weeks ago, I discovered that documents could also be uploaded to Google Docs to allow for collaboration on previously developed documents, spreadsheets, etc. In completing the Google Docs Résumé assignment, I uploaded a PDF for the first time. I originally created my résumé in a Word document. To protect my privacy, I covered my addresses and phone numbers. In addition, to protect the file from being altered, I converted it to a PDF. While uploading the file I was prompted as to whether I wanted to change the file format; I simply made sure to uncheck the boxes in the prompted to keep the original format.

Before publishing the document, I was nervous about making it public. I was relieved to learn that Google provides options regarding who you want to share your document with. I was able to limit the viewing of my résumé to people at SU, allowing them to find and access the document. However, I could have refined the options further to say that I wanted only people at SU with a link to be able to view it. Therefore, while working in my school’s Gmail account, I will be able to limit my viewers to individuals in my network. If you are in the SU network, click here to view my résumé.

Learning Outcome

            To answer the question, “What advantages and disadvantages does cloud computing with Google have over traditional desktop applications?” it was necessary for me to learn what cloud computing is. Through some quick glances at various websites, I have found out that cloud computing enables people to make use of various applications through the use of the internet, without accessing the applications on their personal computers. That is, applications are hosted by cloud computing resources using networks of remote servers. In theory, I would not need to have Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc. installed on my computer in order to make use of these application’s features as Google provides Google Docs were these files can be created, stored, and managed. For instance, cloud computing seems are very practical for businesses and institutions. A school administrator may choose to have teachers and students use a cloud computing resource instead of spending money to furnish each individual computer with a software package.

Question

Question: “What advantages and disadvantages does cloud computing with Google have over traditional desktop applications?”

Advantages: 1) Google applications are free, 2) projects sharing either publicly or with select people without the use of email or flash drives, 3) collaborative and simultaneous creation of projects, and 4) projects are safe in case of computer crash

Disadvantages: 1) projects not accessible without internet access, 2) publishing online is never entirely private, and 3) projects can be altered by colleagues our yourself in undesirable ways (no previous versions available)

Standards Reflection

I believe that this activity and the use of Google Docs as a professional best corresponds with the ISTE-NETS-T Standard three and its components. I believe that Google Docs can most thoroughly be used to enhance a teacher’s professional abilities. I believe that if one used Google Docs in their school community in the ways I suggested above, in regards to teaching productivity, they would be engaging in processes that would meet each of the components of this standard. Cloud computing is an emerging technology. By using a cloud computing resource such as Google Docs, teachers demonstrate an ability to adapt with the times and learn the newest technologies before and alongside their technology savvy students. Working with teachers and parents in the school community through Google docs allows for the sharing of resources and knowledge, a demonstration of collaboration and the ability to communicate ideas. Any teacher who is able to make use of Google Docs and does so proficiently, proves themselves to be engaged in professional advancement in the field of digital technology and able to contribute productivity to a large community and so, successfully meets aspects of standard three.