Overview - Resumes & Professional Statement

Kerrie Petersen

Language and Learning Service

Beth Keane

Careers & Employment Service

Feedback: Commitment to reflective practice!

• Usefulness 4.81 • Presenters Effectiveness 4.78• Quality Materials 4.25 • Overall Helpfulness 4.78

• Comments:– Would love more hands on material, like a resume template – Maybe the STARL could be modelled on handout

• Actions– Have included Resume and transferable skills handouts– Have elaborated on STARL and will provide opportunity to practice

The Process

EDUCATION QUEENSLAND process your application after official results are released and contact you regarding an interview once a vacancy becomes

available

YOU complete your application for Education Queensland/Catholic Education and or approach independent school directly

QCT puts your information onto a publicly available register

YOU supply information to the QCT

Build the bridge between you and the job

YOU• Your personal preferences• Your referees reports• Field experience reports• Life and work experiences• E-portfolio reflections• Points of differentiation• How you add value

THE JOB• Link to professional standards• Ed Qld vision – Clever

Creative Skilled• School mission statements

What to include?

• Contact details• Career goal• Education – usually reverse

chronological order• Employment experience –

usually reverse chronological order

• Interests, extracurricular activities

• Achievements• Professional/other

memberships• Referees• Selected reference

• Academic background• Career achievements• Career objective• Community involvement• Teaching related experience• Educational background• Creative pursuits• Leisure activities• Professional highlights• Professional experience• Professional skills• Specialist knowledge & skills

Common headings Alternative headings

Resumes for non-EQ applications

• Look for clues re information to include ie:– in advert for the

position– in the school’s mission

statement, philosophy, marketing documents

– from information interviews, voluntary work, prac placements etc

Thumbs up or thumbs down?

• Age / date of birth• Health• Marital status• Photo• Children• Religious affiliation• Career objective• Emoticons• Other graphics

EQ-specific resume requirements

• All applicants are required to include a curriculum vitae (CV)/

resume of no more than three (3) pages.

• The CV provides an opportunity for applicants to detail their work

and life experiences, community involvement and other skills and

competencies that they can offer as a teacher in a Queensland state school.

• The CV should also include details of membership of relevant professional associations and networks and relevant professional development activities that they have undertaken.

• Applicants who have had extensive and relevant non-teaching work experience may also like to provide contact details for up to two (2) professional referees.

• http://education.qld.gov.au/hr/recruitment/teaching/forms-guides.html p 20

Education

• Expected completion date identified• Availability to commence employment – or include in

letter• Highlights from course – skills developed, key subjects,

assignments, team projects, high grades for units related to position being applied for

• Less attention to secondary education.• Other qualifications/skills

– Computer (competent, familiar with)– Foreign languages (studied, fluent, familiar)– First aid, music, sport……

Professional experience/ employment

• Career related experience highlighted– job title– company/organisation name– approximate no. of hours per week if part-time– approximate no. of days/weeks/months

• Highlight skills developed/ responsibilities of roles highlighted as well as achievements

• Other employment/ voluntary work• Transferable skills highlighted• Awards & achievements in these roles

From tasks to teaching-related skills

Mandy’s candy bar assistant job:• Serve customers →

• Deal with busy periods →

• Act as manager →

• Share workload →

Communication, interpersonal skills, dealing with conflict, problem-solving

Organisational skills, managing pressures and stress

Supervisory, training, motivational skills, responsibility, positive work ethic, work autonomously

Collaborative, work as effective team member

What are my transferable skills?

• Talk to the person next to you about a recent job that you have held.

• What tasks did you perform while in that position?• What skills did you utilise to complete those tasks?

• These are your transferable skills –

ie they transfer from your non-teaching job

to teaching• They are valuable - so make sure you tell • employers about these skills!

Transferable Skills

• Communication– effective writing– effective speaking– listening– languages– computing

• Managing & Organising– organising– can work independently– achieve outcomes

• Teamwork– cooperation– motivating others

• Problem solving– identifying/analysing– applying knowledge– research– decision making– follow through– capacity to see the ‘big

picture’– appreciation of values/ethics

Achievements and other (relevant!) information

• Tell the employer about YOU the person• Memberships - student groups, student chapters,

professional, sporting, social (appropriate!)• Achievements - community, sporting, etc• Voluntary/ community involvement – if education-related, this

may sit better within professional experience section• Interests/ extracurricular activities

• Use positive language – give value to experiences• Know why you are providing this information to an employer

– know what this says about you

Referees

• Work related and/or academic rather than personal where possible

• Name, position title, address, phone, fax/email details provided

• One line explaining relationship to referee (ie Joe Bloggs was my supervising teacher on my most recent prac)

Resources• Sample education resume – also available in

employment preparation booklet http://www.careers.qut.edu.au/student/resource/ResumeEDU.pdf

• Career development modules• http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/f

rameset.jsp?tab=community&url=/webapps/blackboard/execute/courseMain?course_id=_37761_1

• Resume Feedback Service mandy.white@qut.edu.au careers@qut.edu.au

EQ’s personal statementPersonal Statement (p 19 Guide to teaching in Qld state schools)

The Personal Statement (Statement) provides applicants with an opportunity to emphasise their suitability for employment as a teacher in a state school.

The personal nature of the statement enables applicants to highlight the skills, knowledge and attributes that they can offer as a potential employee.

The statement should be no more than 500 words and can be provided in paragraph or dot point format.

Some suggestions for the personal statement include:

linking teaching capabilities and practice to relevant departmental reforms and initiatives;

highlighting and providing examples of demonstration of the Professional Standards for

Queensland Teachers;

linking previous work and life experiences and community involvement with the role of teachers in Queensland state schools;

discussing the role of reflective practice in regards to teaching and learning; and

outlining teaching career aspirations.

It is not anticipated that applicants will try to address all of the above in their statement as these are provided as suggestions only.

EQ’s Personal Statement

Look for clues on the Ed Qld website

http://education.qld.gov.au/hr/recruitment/teaching/forms-guides.html

and in the QCT Professional Standards

http://www.qct.edu.au/Standards/documents/PSQT_GradLevel_v3_Web.pdf

Clever

CreativeSkilled

EQ is looking for

employees

How do you demonstrate these?

Clues from EQ

• The Department of Education and Training needs high achieving and skilled professionals who are dedicated, enthusiastic, flexible and team-orientated to teach in our schools.

• All offers of employment as a teacher in a Queensland state school are vacancy driven and aim to match school needs with the expertise of applicants.

• Opportunities for valuable experience and advancement are available for teachers who are willing to work in rural, remote and regional locations.

• p 4 Guide to teaching in Qld state schools

Professional Statement

Look for clues in the ED QLD website and your Professional Standards

Gather some evidence & examples: use STARL

• SITUATION

• TASK

• ACTION

• RESULTS

• LEARNING

• Describe the context – Uni, prac, community

• Define the duties and SKILLS REQUIRED

• Describe your step by step process - HOW

• Outcomes, what happened – MEASURES (Good feedback from prac, established rapport)

• Outline what you learned and will use/ would do differently next time - REFLECT

Professional Standards-

Knowledge

Uni/legislation/

EQ policy/ national curriculum etc

Related Experience

Voluntary experience /

prac/part-time/ full-time work

Work & Life

Other experiences/ hobbies/ sports/

extracurricular activities

Community Commitment

Committees/ voluntary work/

other involvement

Standard 1 Know Students and how they learn

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Your Turn

• Choose one of the standards and generate some STARL dot points in the table provided.

• Share this with the person sitting next to you

Writing your personal statement

• Let’s have a look at

some examples!