N A V I G A T I O N 1 0 1

GRADE: 9 LESSON: 10

THEME: PLANNING FOR LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

LESSON GOALS:

• Go over career interviews.
• Help students develop resumes.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

• What do I want to do in the future?
• How can I plan?

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• Career Interview Handout
• Resume Handouts

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES:

1. Collect Interview. Students should have brought back their Career Information Interview Handout. Discuss the process with the students. Did they like it? Did they learn anything they did not know before? Then, teachers should check this off and have them file this into their portfolios.
2. Create resumes. Your students may not get paid jobs for another year or two, but they may need to summarize their skills and experience for volunteer opportunities, internships, or even to get into advanced classes. Learning to prepare a resume is a basic life skill. Students will prepare simple resumes this year, and will have opportunities to update them in the future. Use the Resume Handout to help students understand the purpose of a resume and the components of a good resume. Help them begin the process of creating resumes. Explain to students that they will actually create their resumes next year.

STUDENT PRODUCTS:

• Resume. Each student should fill in the Get Started on your Resume worksheet. Teachers should check this off and then have students put this into their portfolios.

RESUME HANDOUT – GR 9

WHAT IS A RESUME?

A resume is a good way to introduce yourself. It’s just a piece of paper… but if you are applying for a job or an internship, you will need one. A resume summarizes all the basic information about who you are and what you can do on one piece of paper.

CREATING A RESUME

A good resume has four parts:

• Contact information. The top of your resume should include your contact information:

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• E-mail address

This information is often centered on the page. You might want to print your name in a larger font size or in bold so that it stands out. Remember, you want to make it easy for an employer to contact you! Make your resume easy to read by using a font size that is larger than 10 point and lots of white space.

• Objective. Why do you want this job? Your objective is a short statement, usually just one sentence. It explains why you want the job. Your objective might say, “I am seeking a position that will allow me to use my computer skills.”

• Skills and strengths. (This section can be combined with “Experience.”) In this section of the resume, list your skills and strengths. Even if you’ve never held a paid job before, you have skills. What are they? Maybe you have tutored younger students or know how to develop a web site. Maybe you have run for office at school or organized a school event. When you write about your skills and strengths:

• Use short bullet points rather than complete sentences.
• Use action words.
• Use numbers and percentages to quantify your accomplishments.
• Mention your technical or computer skills.

• Experience. In this section, list any paid or volunteer jobs you’ve held. Describe each position briefly using bullet points. You can also list extracurricular activities or community service, especially if these activities show your skills or your responsibility and dedication. You can also list awards you’ve received.

GET STARTED ON YOUR RESUME

Use the space below to take notes for your resume. Ask your advisor if you should just file this handout in your portfolio, or if you should use a word processing program to type up a finished resume.

Contact Information:

Objective (Why you want the job, what you hope to learn – if you aren’t applying for a job right now, just write that you want to put your skills to work in the community):

Skills and strengths (remember, short bullet points using action words):

Experience (don’t forget volunteer service, extracurricular activities, and awards):

References (list 3 people who are not related to you and then fill in the rest of the information).

First and last name Phone number Address

1.

2.

3.