Can I take a peek at your resume...

[smallfry]

..and steal your way with words? I've read the resume threads and used the search engines but I can't find any examples of ESL Teacher resumes. There's a job coming up that I'm interested in - well it would be ideal - and I want to woo them with my beautifully presented, awesome resume. Can you point me in the right direction? I'm particularly inarticulate and braindead this afternoon but got to get it done asap. Cheers

[Glenski]

Look at what some people have posted on www.tefl.net .

[Jacque_S]

Here are a few ideas...try using active verbs

planning and teaching communicative, student-centered classes.
plan and organize trips/extracurricular activities/sporting events/meetings
designed and implemented plan to evaluate/train/etc
organized intercultural learning seminars for students
developed teaching improvement seminars for teachers
supervised students during school trip overseas/overnight

plan, organize, develop, design, supervise etc.

[smallfry]

Thanks Glenski and Jacques! I took a look at some of those resumes on tefl.net and I thought that a lot of them had unnecessary info - such as hobbies or qualifications from school - such as GCSEs (if from the UK)
Couple of questions to the more experienced out there -
Do I really need to include my marital status, passport # & visa status? If so, where abouts does it go on resume? Under my contact details?
Would u start with education or career experience?
Education - Im thinking that I will only put my degree and additional teaching qualifications. I think grades from school are irrelevant, is that the case?
Career Experience - Prior to coming to Japan I gained a little teaching experience but the rest of my jobs were either office based or in restaurants. I've read that resumes for English jobs shd be concise so how much info shd I include regarding unrelated jobs?
So far my resume is -
1.Personal details/contact info (plus photo)
2.Education
3.Career/Teaching experience....
that doesn't sound like a lot does it? Is it worth including JLPT? bearing in mind I only have 4kyuu! Thanks! Hope you are all enjoying the sunshine : )

[Jacque_S]

John Smith (big and bold, centered)
001-0001 Tokyo-to Naka-ku Sakura-shi Asahi 3-4-5
Telephone: 03-1234-5678 (home), 080 9876 5432 (mobile) e-mail: jsmith @hotmail.com
Japanese Visa Status: Specialist in Humanties and Social Science (April 2006 expiry)
[for a Japanese language resume include your date of birth, age, and health status]

Education
MA (HardKnocks), University of Australia, December 1997
BA (HardKnocks, with Honors), University of Oz, December 1996
TESOL Certificate, Happy Smiley TESOL School, Barcelona, Spain, June 2000.
[most recent degree first, TESOL certificate on the bottom if you have one]

Work Experience
JET Programme, Assistant Language Teacher, Buttf&%k Board of Education, Buttf%&k Prefecture, Japan (start date - finish date). Planned and team-taught communicative English classes for high school students. Organized intercultural learning seminars for students and teaching improvement workshops for teachers.
etc
[from most recent. Anything even remotely related to teaching should be here. Any office or professional jobs you held before coming should also rate a mention, especially if the company is well-known (if you have space)]

Skills, Qualifications, and Experience
Japanese Language Proficiency Test, Level 4 (December 2004).
Microsoft Office - Good command of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
[Definitely put JLPT score here!! Even if it`s only 4 kyuu. Other languages? Computing ability (`proficient in MS-Office`)? Any other certificates or qualifications? Correspondence course or non-uni training? Sports coaching experience or certificate? First aid or lifeguard certificate? Might help you get a job with a school that goes on school trips. Scholarships or academic awards? Special awards (for eg, when I left my JET position, I was given an `Honorary Ambassador` title by the prefecture. Of course, this is on my resume). ]

For a Japanese resume you should also mention hobbies and list your work experience from earliest to most recent. When a Japanese person reads your resume, they`re looking at it more as a timeline of your activities than as an inventory of your skills. So try to be thorough and not leave too many time gaps.

[smallfry]

Thanks Jacque!

[electric_japan]

Some people on here have a heart of G O L D.

[Jacque_S]

smallfry whats up now?

[kanashibari]

don't the japanese put their date of births on there as well

[paulh]

[QUOTE=smallfry]Thanks Glenski and Jacques! I took a look at some of those resumes on tefl.net and I thought that a lot of them had unnecessary info - such as hobbies or qualifications from school - such as GCSEs (if from the UK)
Couple of questions to the more experienced out there -
Do I really need to include my marital status, passport # & visa status? If so, where abouts does it go on resume? Under my contact details?

Dont need passport number but just US citizen etc. IF you are not in the country you wont have one but if in Japan you can write.

Marital status is important as they may need to provide accomodation or pay health insurance.


Would u start with education or career experience?

Education, usually from high school onwards. Name of school, year you graduated. Avoid abbreviations and initials. Employers here dont know what TX or Berks. means.


Education - Im thinking that I will only put my degree and additional teaching qualifications. I think grades from school are irrelevant, is that the case?

Grades not needed nor is major important. All they want to know is if you have a degree and a visa.



Career Experience - Prior to coming to Japan I gained a little teaching experience but the rest of my jobs were either office based or in restaurants. I've read that resumes for English jobs shd be concise so how much info shd I include regarding unrelated jobs?

Little as possible. Irrelevant and takes up space. State when and where, how long and simple job title.


So far my resume is -
1.Personal details/contact info (plus photo)
2.Education
3.Career/Teaching experience....
that doesn't sound like a lot does it? Is it worth including JLPT? bearing in mind I only have 4kyuu! Thanks! Hope you are all enjoying the sunshine

Anything under JLPT 2 is not really considered a proficient Japanese speaker. You wont be being paid to speak or use Japanese anyway.

Look on the stickie on http://www.eslcafe.com Japan forum about writing resumes. Should have some useful info there.

[Jacque_S]

Yes! Put the JLPT on. Even if you won`t be `paid` for it. I agree with paulh that only JLPT2 is considered `significant` language ability, but even 3 or 4 shows an interest in the language, country, and culture that can go a surprisingly long way for many teaching jobs. You`d be surprised at how many job candidates have trouble putting 2 Japanese words together. To be able to do so is to give yourself an edge, even if it is a small one. Don`t you dare leave your JLPT score off that resume!