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Resume Question

January 24th, 2014 at 01:49 am

So ... I think I may have found a job for next school year in NE (at least one that I can apply for!) It is for a technology instructor K-8 at a Catholic school. My principal has already told me she'd write me a rec letter, as well as a couple other teachers.

I've written my cover letter, and updated my resume. My mom thinks my cover letter is fantastic, but that she questions my resume some.

My previous resume I used the summary of skills type format - mainly to lessen the impact of a very short lived job and the ensuing job gap. Now that that is well over ten years ago and I can leave it out, I decided to go with a chronological format. This of course means that there is the time between being laid off from my oil and gas job and starting my tutoring. During this time I worked at a fitness center for minimum wage - it was basically a stopgap job. I was there for a total of around 15 months (including time I was there on a very part-time basis before being laid off from my 40hr/wk job). It's a total of about 8 months between being laid off and starting the tutoring.

My mom thinks I should leave the job at the gym off my resume even though it gives me a gap of 8 months.
I think the reason she says this is because of the job being a minimum wage job and not a professional job. My thinking though is that I don't want such a huge gap, plus even if the job was a min wage non-professional job, it shows that I'm willing to do what it takes to bring in income.

Oh, also, I'm planning on buying paper tomorrow to print my resume on. Is it still good form to print it on special paper??

I'd like to hear what you all think. Would you leave it as is (include the gym job), or would you not include the gym job and maybe go back to a skills summary format? Something else?

10 Responses to “Resume Question”

  1. Jenn Says:
    1390533988

    Just my opinion: I wouldn't send a paper resume (unless that's what was specifically requested). I'd establish a LinkedIn account and send your cover letter (PDF) with reference to the LinkedIn account. Then if you get an interview, you could tailor a brief resume to hand the interviewer.

    I wouldn't feel bad about the temporary detour in your career - that's common to see during the past decade.

  2. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1390534329

    Thanks Jenn.

    A paper resume wasn't specefically requested, but they didn't include an email address. So the only way for me to send my info is via mail.

    I have a Linkedin profile (just recently actually.) I haven't done much with it yet - have a list of past employment and education - but haven't added any samples. Not really sure what to add .. Would the basic profile on Linkedin be enough to substitute for a resume?

  3. Looking Forward Says:
    1390537379

    Fingers crossed! Smile

  4. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1390540979

    Thanks!

  5. laura Says:
    1390581582


    Having had children in parochial schools for the past eight years and knowing the environment, I would suggest that you call the school (which is mostly small), ask for the principal and introduce yourself. Ask for an email and forward your resume that way (with a cover letter/email). If you are interested in that area for employment, I would also look at the web page for the diocese where other school jobs are listed (most diocese are large and have many schools and they list their employment on the main website with contact information).

    You may also want to ask the principal what her order is and see if there are any connections that way. I am sure that most faith-based religions are this way, but I see the tremendous gift of "word of mouth" and "friend referrals."

    Best of luck to you!

  6. creditcardfree Says:
    1390584581

    Glad you found a job to apply for! I know many things seem to have gone digital, but if an address is all they supplied, I would probably mail it. Great question, just not sure I have the right answer!! Smile Good luck. Smile

  7. bluesfemme Says:
    1390635371

    Best of luck! i do recruitment for the positions i supervise, and had 44 applicants for the last job. It was all electronic submission, so paper was irrelevant, but clear, well-written, cleanly-formatted applications stood out. if you do email it, convert it to a PDF, as different printers can print Word docs out differently, with the formatting askew.

    I would keep the gym in, for the reason you stated, and, as Jenn said, it won't be uncommon - didn't many districts cull teachers when their budgets went red, so other applicants may have those gaps too? Think about if they ask about the gap - if you're going to tell the truth you might as well put it in. If you are going to lie, you could say you were travelling. Good luck!

  8. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1390668955

    Thanks everyone for your suggestions and ideas.

    I think I've figured out how I'm going to fuss with my resume. Smile
    I also realized that they included a fax # in their contact information. I really don't feel comfortable calling (I'm a bit on the shy side ... way on the shy side) and faxing eliminates the paper question completely. Smile My next task is to fiddle with my resume, print out both cover letter and resume, and put together a professional looking cover sheet. I hope to get it sent out by Tuesday!

    Laura - My principal isn't a nun. I did ask her though if she had any possible connections in NE's town - she didn't, but did write me a letter of recommendation.

  9. mamasita Says:
    1390768869

    You've got several good years of teaching under your belt now, are you sure you need to include the previous experience? Unless, of course, it relates to education or technology.

    I don't think the school would care about gaps or whatever prior to teaching, they just want to know what your experience is and how it can benefit their students. Plus you've got AmeriCorps (or something similar to that, if I recall correctly?), so I think your resume could be very full for an education position. Good luck, very exciting!

  10. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1390769092

    Thanks Mamasita,

    You know what, I didn't put anything about Americorps on my resume. I didn't even think about it! I put on there that I voluntarily led a Technology Club after school (actually, that's in my cover letter.) I'm not sure where / how the best place/way would be to add in about Americorps. Thanks for making me think about that!

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