Writing the Resume - Defining a Job Target

 

Preparation

Before beginning the writing process, it is essential to know who the audience will be. A resume is a selling tool used to sell a candidate to a potential employer. Just as an advertiser targets a specific population, so too does the resume target a certain type of employer.

 

By asking students to think about how advertisers target an audience, they will begin to understand how the resume is a selling tool that should be geared toward a specific reader. Manufacturers of dentures, for example, do not target teens, but manufacturers of soda do. Why is this? How do advertisers do this? Is it effective, and why or why not? How will targeting the resume help in the overall job search?

 

These activities are designed to be used independently or in conjunction with career counseling services available to students. However, they are NOT designed to be a replacement for career counseling options. They are intended to help students investigate career options that are of interest and to use this information to practice targeting a resume.

 

 

Goals:

Whether students will be writing a practice resume or one they will use to apply for jobs, this lesson will help students:

• Determine what types of jobs they are interested in.

• What different jobs entail.

• What their personal interests are.

 

Duration:

One to three sessions.

 

 

Objectives:

Students will identify their own interests by reviewing job postings, reading about different types of professions, and by reviewing their personal interests.

 

 

Materials:

• Resume Lesson Worksheets (see below).

• Blackboard, whiteboard, or overhead projector;

• job listings including classifieds and online job postings if available;

• resources listing different professions and describing each such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook, available in print or online at www.bls.gov/oco. Ask the reference librarian for assistance in materials available in the library regarding professions.

 

Procedure:

It may be helpful to have students work in the library to best access print and online resources including books and newspapers. Depending on how many sessions are assigned to the lesson, students may rotate through each worksheet, work simultaneously on each, or focus on one per session.

 

If sessions are conducted in the library, ask for the assistance of the reference librarian to assist students in using the resources available.

 

As students finish worksheets, ask them to circle or list those factors that are similar among their chosen job targets and interests. These worksheets will be kept in student files to be used later when the actual resume-writing process begins.

 

Students may work individually or in small groups.

 

Assessment:

Assist students as needed. Encourage students to investigate all options that look interesting.

 

 

 

 

Lesson Printable Materials - Worksheets

Print out the following pages for use with this lesson:

 

1. JOB INFORMATION
	Job Information Worksheet Job information worksheet.
2. JOB POSTINGS
	Job Postings Worksheet * Job postings worksheet.
3. PERSONAL INTERESTS
	Personal Interests Worksheet * Individual personal interests worksheet.
Do you have a recommendation for an enhancement to this resume lesson, or do you have an idea for a new lesson?  Then leave us a suggestion.
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