Resumes & Cover Letters

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Sample Resumes | List of Action Verbs

Sample Resumes

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Guide for Developing Student Teaching Resumes

The goal of a student teaching resume is to clearly present your education, training and experience in such a way that your reader can clearly review your information, particularly as related to the field of education. To accomplish this goal, your document should be well-organized, concise, and prioritized appropriately.

Gathering Information

First you need to brainstorm and identify what you have accomplished in terms of education, training and experience. Consider what you are currently involved in, and then work backwards. This should be a comprehensive list which you will then edit to include only the most relevant information. Include any field work (internships), paid employment, volunteer work, activities, memberships, etc. The categories listed below may be helpful.

• Education
  
• Related Experience
  
• Honors / Awards
  
• Field Experience
  
• Internship Experience
  
• College Employment
  
• Community Service
  
• College Activities
  
• Other Experience
  
• Memberships
  
• Foreign Study
  
• Computer Skills / Expertise Continuing Education
  
• Writing Experience
  
• Presentations
  
• Research Experience
  
• Leadership Experience
• Professional Experience
  
• Special / Related Skills
  
• Business Experience
  
• Management Experience
  
• Athletic Experience
  
• Military Experience
  
• Customer Service Experience
  
• Freelance Experience
  
• Performance Experience
  
• Internations Business Experience
  
• Travel Experience
  
• Interests / Hobbies
  
• Training / Development Experience

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Organizing Your Document

Present the most relevant information first (i.e., anything related to teaching or working with youth). For a student teaching resume, Education should come first. Begin with your most recent institution - see sample resume for additional formatting suggestions. References do not need to be included in this document, but you should open a Credential File in Career Services.

Experience Categories

Categories should be specific. If everything is listed under "Experience" or "Work Experience", then as a reader it will take me much longer to sort through the kind of experience referred to in each position. Categories appropriate for a student teaching resume may include RELATED, TEACHING, TUTORING, LEADERSHIP, etc. A position as a substitute teacher, summer camp counselor, tutor or day care provider would be related experience for someone seeking to teach.

Many people entering the teaching profession have significant, but perhaps unrelated, professional experience. Be specific in your categories (BUSINESS, MANAGERIAL, OFFICE, etc.). In your descriptions of these experiences, make sure you select the most appropriate information and exclude extensive task-oriented information that is less relevant.

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Developing a Dynamic Description

The descriptions you develop are critical to the success of your resume. These descriptions demonstrate to your reader how effectively you can assemble and prioritize information, and how you can communicate in written form. During this process you will compile more information than you will actually need to include. The editing phase is designed to identify the information that you really want your reader to learn about each experience you have listed.

1. What did you do? This section focuses on the activities of the job and the clientele. Ask yourself the following questions: How much? How often? How did you do this? For whom? Duties? Responsibilities? Results? If you are providing services to students/clients (i.e., teachers and social workers), ask: How many? Setting? Ages? Disabilities, if any?

2. What are your skills? When assessing each experience, consider the following skill areas, (keeping in mind that this is not an inclusive list): Communication, Organization, Teamwork, Critical Thinking, Writing, Coordination of Efforts, Flexibility, Leadership, Management, Computer, Problem Resolution, Planning, Independence, Ability to Prioritize.

3. What was your most significant accomplishment? This step is important for two reasons. First, it helps you define what holds importance for you, and therefore will help you edit your descriptions. In addition, however, it helps clarify and prioritize your experiences so that you can confidently discuss them in interviews. Your most significant accomplishment is something you may or may not choose to include in your description, however, it remains an important piece of self-knowledge.

4. Pulling it together/editing
   • Survey your list and highlight the information that you clearly want your reader to know. Make sure to include information that most closely resembles the type of work you seek.
   • Descriptions should include sentence fragments, not complete sentences. This helps keep your document concise. Do not use pronouns such as "I" or "we". Typically, you should consider 3-4 sentence fragments for each key description, or use a bulleted format for your most important experiences.
   • Begin your sentence fragments with action verbs, e.g., "Developed and implemented creative unit on the environment." Avoid starting sentence fragments with "Responsible for ..." A list of sample action verbs follows.

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Sample Action Verbs

Accumulated Achieved Adapted Addressed Administered Advised Analyzed Answered Anticipated Appraised Approved Arbitrated Arranged Ascertained Assembled Assessed Assigned Assisted Attained Audited Began Bought Brought Built Budgeted Calculated Cared for Catalogued Categorized Charted Checked Classified Coached Coded Collected Communicated Compiled Completed Composed Computed Conceived Conceptualized Conducted Confronted Consolidated Conserved Constructed Contracted Contributed Controlled Coordinated Copied Corresponded Counseled Created Dealt with Decided Defined Delegated Delivered Demonstrated Derived Designed Detailed Detected Determined Developed Devised Diagnosed Directed Disapproved Discovered Dispensed Displayed Disproved Dissected Distributed Diverted Dramatized Edited Effected Empathized Encouraged Endured Enhanced Enlarged Entertained Equipped Established Estimated Evaluated Examined Exhibited Expanded Experimented Explained Expressed Extracted

Facilitated Filed Financed Fixed Focused Formulated Found Gathered Generated Governed Grouped Guided Handled Harmonized Headed Heightened Helped Hurried Hypothesized Identified Illustrated Imagined Implemented Improved Improvised Increased Indexed Influenced Informed Initiated Innovated Inspected Inspired Installed Instituted Instructed Integrated Interacted Interpreted Interviewed Introduced Intuited Invented Inventoried Investigated Kept Lectured Learned Led Listened Located Logged Made Maintained Managed Mapped Measured Mediated Memorized Mentored Met Moderated Modified Monitored Motivated Moved Navigated Negotiated Observed Obtained Offered Operated Ordered Oriented Organized Outlined Oversaw Participated Perceived Performed Persuaded Photographed Piloted Placed Planned Predicted Prepared Prescribed Presented Presided Printed Problem-Solved Processed Produced Programmed Projected Promoted Proof-read

Proposed Protected Proved Provided Publicized Purchased Questioned Raised Read Realized Reasoned Reassured Received Recommended Recorded Recruited Rectified Reduced Referred Regulated Rehabilitated Related Rendered Reorganized Repaired Repeated Reported Represented Researched Reshaped Resolved Responded Restored Retrieved Reviewed Revised Risked Scheduled Searched Selected Sensed Separated Served Set-up Shaped Showed Simplified Sketched Sold Solved Sorted Sought Spoke Straightened Streamlined Strengthened Studied Succeeded Summarized Supervised Supplied Supported Symbolized Systematized Synthesized Talked Taught Tested Timed Took Trained Transcribed Translated Treated Trouble-shot Tutored Typed Undertook Unified United Updated Upgraded Used Utilized Verbalized Verified Volunteer Worked Wrote

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