Templates for Certificates of Appreciation

							Student Teacher Day




   Resumes, Cover
   Letters and Portfolios
                      5 P’s of Resume Writing



Packaging        Positioning         Punch



        Personality     Professionalism
                                 Packaging
• Overall appearance
  – Paper, font, and envelopes

• Avoid Templates

• Order of Documents

• Online Materials
                                        VS
• 1 to 2 pages
                             Positioning
Organization
   – Easy to read-specific section headings
     Examples: Teaching Experience, Youth Involvement,
     Experience with Children, Diversity Experience)

   – Consistent format and tense

Tailor to each position
   – Use keywords from job posting

   – Most important information to the top
                                     Punch (the most important P)
• Deliver the information the hiring official wants to see

• Writing Powerful Skill Phrases:
   1. Action verbs or power words in the past-tense
   2. Specific skill or accomplishment that was learned or honed
   3. Results of your work, or how or why you did the work


• Responsibilities do not sell. Benefits, results and success sell!

• Avoid personal pronouns when writing skill phrases
                              Personality

• Packaging and vocabulary convey uniqueness-
  utilize a variety of action verbs

• Do not reuse an action verb within an experience

• Highlight the variety of experiences
  – Age ranges
  – Experience utilizing different curriculum
  – Variety of settings (Public, Private, Montessori)
                        Professionalism
• 30 seconds to make a first impression

• Follow the application directions

• Proofread

• Clean look and feel


                                      Resumes
Cover Letter Principles
                         Purpose
• Introduce you

• Value of Experiences

• Emphasize what you can do for the
  school district- why interested
                      Why Research School Districts?


• Helps demonstrate your personality and
  discover if a school district is a good match

• Identify a school district’s needs so that you
  can market yourself appropriately

• Helps to prepare for potential interviews
                            Critiquing Guide
• Headings should match
• Address to a specific person-shows time & effort
• Block style format
• Use a colon in the greeting
• Edit carefully
• Keep letter to one page
• Remember to sign
                            Writing Style
• Avoid beginning all sentences with “I”

• Avoid the phrase I am writing…

• Lengthy paragraphs are overwhelming to read

• Do not use contractions

• Provide concrete evidence of your skills and
  qualifications- Be Specific!
                                   Thank You Notes

• Send to each person involved in interview process

• Vary the content of each thank you letter

• Show appreciation for the interview

• Reiterate interest in position

• Address anything you forgot to mention in the
  interview
Portfolios
                  Portfolio Formats




Regardless of the form, the development
      process should be the same
                                      Sample Sections & Artifacts

Credentials:                              Planning/Organizing:
•Resume                                   •Curriculum & unit plans
•Transcripts                              •Themed studies
•Teacher licensure                        •Lesson plans
•Letters of recommendation-               •Event planning; field trips
cooperating teachers, faculty, etc.       •Seating arrangements
                                          •Bulletin boards
Awards/Honors:                            •Cooperative learning strategies
•Awards
•Certificates, letters, photos
                                          Evaluation:
Subject Knowledge:
                                          •Explanation of grading system
•Lessons, assignments, projects &         •Sample tests & assignments
activities that demonstrate content
knowledge
                                      Sample Sections & Artifacts


Student Engagement:                        Extracurricular:
• Innovative ideas & activities            • Coaching, advising, & tutoring
• Examples of adapting lessons             • Volunteer/Community service
• Individualized plans                     • Involvement with children
• Appreciation for diversity; ability to   • Camp counselor roles
  develop rapport with a wide array of
  students                                 Professional Development:
                                           • Professional memberships
Parent Involvement:
                                           • Leadership roles
•Letters to parents; progress reports      • Publications
 Parent/teacher conferences                • Conferences attended
                                           • Meetings & workshops
                                     Captions

• Similar to the skill phrases or bulleted statements on
  your resume
   – Start with past tense action verb
   – State what you did or the significance of the
     document


          Redesigned the departmental portfolio to provide a
          high quality representation of our office
          accomplishments and services. Was updated in time
          to be included in the resource room for the
          accreditation team.
                            Utilizing Your Portfolio Effectively



•Role-play using your portfolio
• Know where key items are located throughout your portfolio
• Don’t leave your original portfolio behind
•Weave your portfolio items into the interview process
• Showing less is better (3 to 5 items)

• Answer the question, locate the portfolio item, pull out the
individual item & hand it to the interviewer, and explain the
relevance of the item