ADDING CITY YEAR TO YOUR RESUME
TIPS and TRICKS:
· Formatting is key! Make sure everything on your resume is neat and uniform. There are many styles of resume- if you are struggling to figure out how you’d prefer to format yours- Google “resume” for ideas!
· There are a few types of resumes, find types and definitions below:
o Chronological Resume: A chronological resume starts by listing your work history, with the most recent position listed first. Your jobs are listed in reverse chronological order with your current, or most recent job, first. Employers typically prefer this type of resume because it's easy to see what jobs you have held and when you have worked at them. This type of resume works well for job seekers with a strong, solid work history.
o Functional Resume: A functional resume focuses on your skills and experience, rather than on your chronological work history. It is used most often by people who are changing careers or who have gaps in their employment history.
o Combination Resume: A combination resume lists your skills and experience first. Your employment history is listed next. With this type of resume, you can highlight the skills you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for, and also provide the chronological work history that employers tend to prefer.
o Targeted Resume: A targeted resume is a resume that is customized so that it specifically highlights the experience and skills you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for. It definitely takes more time to write a targeted resume than to just click to apply with your existing resume. However, it's well worth the effort, especially when applying for jobs that are perfect matches for your qualifications and experience.
· When writing a resume it's important to use a basic font that is easy to read, both for hiring managers and for applicant management systems.
· Information to include in your heading: your full name, street address, city, state, and zip, home phone number, cell phone number, and email address.
· You may consider adding an objective. If you include anobjectiveon your resume, it's important to tailor it to match the job you are applying for. The more specific you are, the better chance you have of being considered for the job you are interested in.
· It's important to prioritize the content of your resume so that your most important and relevant experience is listed first.
· It’s important to use verbs: coached, tutored, lead, managed, coordinated.
· It is also recommended to include the same keywords that appear in job descriptions. That way, you will increase your chances of your resume matching available positions - and of you being selected for an interview.Be careful not to just copy and paste.
· Remember to include numbers whenever possible- don’t just say tutored students in literacy, say tutored 15 students in literacy.
· Stay away from City Year lingo. Don’t use acronyms if you can avoid it and be sure to explain anything that isn’t explicit.
· Many people have different versions of their resume- it’s wise to tweak your resume based on the position you are interested in.
· Regardless of the position you are applying to, it is recommended that you add a bullet point about working on a diverse team as this is an experience that can set you apart from your competition.
REFLECTING ON and ORGANIZING YOUR EXPERIENCE:
Answering the following questions is designed to help you reflect on and organize your professional experience with City Year. Through answering these questions you will have an opportunity to sift through all the things you’ve done, skills you’ve gained, and finally prioritize which skills/ items are most relevant to share based on the position you are applying to. Good luck!
1. Your first bullet should be a very brief outline of CY:
a. 10 months of service with AmeriCorps
b. How many CMs on your team:
c. School and Community served in:
d. Total number of students served:
2. Did you tutor students in literacy?
a. What grade?
b. How many students did you tutor?
c. Did you use a specific program?
d. Did you write your own lesson plans?
e. Do you have any information regarding your students’ progress? i.e. “…4 of which moved up by at least one grade level by the end of the year.”
3. Did you tutor students in math?
a. What grade?
b. How many students did you tutor?
c. Did you use a specific program?
d. Did you write your own lesson plans?
e. Do you have any information regarding your students’ progress? i.e. “…4 of which moved up by at least one grade level by the end of the year.”
4. Did you coach students on their attendance?
a. What grade?
b. How many students did you coach?
c. Do you have any information regarding your students’ progress? i.e “…6 of which improved their attendance rate by seven percentage points by the end of the year.”
5. Did you coach students on their behavior?
a. What grade?
b. How many students did you coach?
c. Do you have any information regarding your students’ progress? i.e. “….3 of which reduced their number of write ups by four percentage points by the end of the year.”
6. Did you do in class support?
a. What grade?
b. Summarize your primary role in the classroom: behavior management, facilitating lessons. Etc.
7. Did your team facilitate Afterschool?
a. What grades did you work with?
b. How many students were you responsible for?
c. Did you facilitate homework help?
d. Did you tutor in the afterschool space?
i. How many students?
ii. Did you run a program or write lesson plans?
e. Did you run any enrichment clubs?
i. What club?
ii. How many students?
iii. Did you map the curriculum and write the lesson plans?
8. What was your coordinator role?
a. Were you the sole coordinator on your team in that position or did you have a co-coordinator?
b. Summarize your primary responsibilities:
i. Did your role require you to conduct any meetings with teachers/ admin at your school?
ii. Did your role require you to meet with anyone outside your school community?
iii. Did your role require you to lead your peers? Hold your peers accountable? Provide feedback to your peers? Etc.
9. Were you point on any major events at your school?
a. How many events?
b. What was the theme/goal of each event?
c. How many people were in attendance?
10. Did you take on any leadership roles with CYNY? (something outside your team)
a. Did you attend any recruitment events?
i. How many?
ii. Summarize your role:
b. Were you on Corps Council?
i. Summarize your role:
c. Did you plan and/or facilitate any sessions during team time/zone time/ site-wide time?
i. What was the theme/goal of each session?
ii. How many people participated?
iii. Summarize your role:
PRIORITIZING YOUR SKILLS:
As outlined in the tips and tricks section it’s best to organize your resume based on what is most relevant to the employer. This section is designed to help you do so.
1. What position you are applying for?
2. What skills are needed for this position?
3. What, if any, keywords used in the position description do you want to include in your resume?
4. List the number of each question in order of how it should appear on your resume. i.e. If I am applying to a position that requires skills in behavior management, but academic coaching is not as important, I would prioritize the questions like this:
4 a, b, c
5 a, b
6 b
1a, b, d
2 a, b, d
3 a, b
8b
7
8a, c
This means I am going to write a bullet that summarizes question 4, using any relevant key words listed above. The finished summary will become my second bullet under the City Year section of my resume.
I will then do the same summarizing question 5, and so on and so forth. I might choose to not include information from questions 7 and 8 if there is not enough room on my resume or they are not exceptionally relevant to the position I’m applying for.
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