RESUME REWRITE
I had no idea how much of a learning curve I was facing when it came to writing a resume in 2022. I had been taught that it was important to make your resume stand out visually and keep it to one page with a section for a brief summary, each job with a bulleted list of my experience and responsibilities, and my education credentials. When I first began my transition, Apple posted an opening for a professional learning specialist who would train other teachers to become teacher coaches in their own districts. I had tons of experience with this and knew I was perfect for the job. I updated my resume, submitted an application, and never heard a word. Ghosting happens often when applying for jobs these days, but it wasn’t until I learned about applicant tracking systems that I realized no one at Apple had even seen my resume. I paid a minimal fee to have my resume reviewed on indeed.com after that. In an effort to fit everything on one page, I listed my two college degrees side-by-side at the bottom. The reviewer explained that my resume was likely thrown out because an ATS can’t read columns, meaning I didn’t meet the basic education requirement listed. It turns out that my two-column approach wasn’t the only reason my application never made it to human hands.
Applicant Tracking Systems
When applying for jobs outside of the education system, there is often a computer standing between your resume and the humans who will read it. Over 98% of Fortune 500 companies, 66% of large companies, and 35% of small organizations rely on software to scan applications for keywords, skills, and qualifications that match the specifications of the employer and then score and rank them. If your resume doesn’t rank high enough, no human will ever read it.
There are ways to increase the chances of getting your resume into human hands. I came across conflicting advice in podcasts, articles, and webinars. I can’t tell you for sure who is right and who is wrong, but I can tell you that I followed all of the advice in the Teacher Career Coach Course and Devlin Peck’s resume course, and I scored interviews quickly.
Every Word Matters
I have accomplished so much in my teaching career that I am proud of. Unfortunately, hiring managers don’t care one bit that I was voted Teacher of the Year. It means nothing to potential employers and would have been a waste of space on my applications for Instructional Designer positions. If I couldn’t reword a bullet point to match what I would be doing in the desired position, I deleted it. I am a certified Advanced Responsive Web Developer, but the only evidence on my resume was two items on my skills list at the bottom of my resume. Somewhere between “Photoshop” and “PowerPoint” it said “JavaScript” and “CSS” because instructional designers can use JavaScript CSS to optimize eLearning courses. I left my certificates somewhere on my LinkedIn profile for posterity, but I am positive it did not play a role in landing my job.
Unless you are hoping to land a job that is directly related to K-12 education (content developer or educational consultant for an education company), get rid of any word that is only used in a school setting. To the right is a list of words that you should avoid using on your resume. So what words CAN you use? That depends on the role you are applying for. This is when most teachers are seriously tempted to hire a resume writer to do it for them. DON’T DO IT! Putting in the work now will help you tremendously when you get to the interview step. The words on your resume need to be your words. Do the research on the role/industry you are aiming for. You need to fully understand the role within the corporate setting to be able to talk about how you can bring value to the position. Start by reading job descriptions and googling keywords (with the job title) that appear frequently to find articles about the topic. Go to LinkedIn Learning, and search for courses related to your role. Start following these experts in the field on LinkedIn. Do the same thing on YouTube. I describe how I did my research in a previous post, Ready, Set, Go!
Job Title Matters
The most strategically worded bullet points in the world probably won’t help get you that interview if your job title still says “teacher.” This was the hardest thing for me to do because I felt like a liar. My school system didn’t hire me to be an instructional designer. I was hired to be a teacher. It was right there in black and white on my contract.
As I’ve mentioned before, I was an instructional designer every single day in my classroom. I did every step in the corporate instructional design process for every unit I taught. I started with state and district standards (On my resume: “organization goals.”). I considered my students’ various needs and prior knowledge (“learner analysis” and “learning gaps”). I wrote measurable objectives and, informed by my own research (“consulted with subject matter experts”), I designed and developed a unit of instruction (“course”). Then I taught (“implemented”) the unit. I assessed the effectiveness of each lesson and unit based on formal assessments, student feedback, and my own observations (“evaluated course effectiveness based on learner feedback and performance metrics”). So on my resume below the name of my school district employer, I listed my job title as “Instructional Designer | Educator”. I felt like a fraud and was sure I would be exposed for lying on my resume during an interview. In fact, the day before my first interview, I posted a panicked SOS in the bootcamp community asking how I could possible answer questions about my teaching experience while pretending to be an ID. I already knew the answer to my own question as a result of the bootcamp’s interview course, but that Imposter Syndrome took over with sirens blaring. In reality, as a result of my first interview, I began to wear the instructional designer badge with confidence. The only thing on my resume that wasn’t 100% factual was that job title. However, employers didn’t really care about the specific wording on my contract. They cared that I had experience performing the duties of the role they were looking to fill. They may never have read about my experience once they saw I was “only a teacher.” As teachers, we don’t get credit for all of the unofficial titles we hold and the jobs we perform. If you want to make this transition, you are going to have to give yourself that credit on your resume.
A Quick Note About Age
If you are in your 50’s like me and concerned it will be a deterrent to potential employers, you may want to consider these resume tips. Ageism is real (albeit illegal), but you can leave out or modify certain numbers that will emphasize your age. I did not include the dates of my college degrees, and instead of 35 years of experience I wrote “15+ years”. Also, I did not include my early years of teaching. My career began in 1988, but my resume begins with experience from 2006 to the present.
