MODULE 2

Table of Contents
MODULE 2....................................................................................................................................................................1
Module Overview....................................................................................................................................................2
Module 2 Vocabulary............................................................................................................................................... 4
Lesson 1: What is a resume? Why do you need one?..............................................................................................7
Quiz: reasons for writing a resume..........................................................................................................................9
Lesson 2: Parts of a Resume..................................................................................................................................10
Quiz: Parts of a resume.........................................................................................................................................14
Lesson 3: Writing a Resume, Part 1: Name and Contact Information....................................................................15
Lesson 4: Language Focus: Key Words...................................................................................................................17
Lesson 5: Writing a Resume, Part 2: Headline and Summary.................................................................................19
Lesson 6: Writing a Resume, Part 3: Work Experience..........................................................................................21
optional practice quiz: LIsting experience in reverse chronological order.............................................................23
Lesson 7: Writing a Resume, Part 4: Education......................................................................................................24
Lesson 8: Language Focus: Action Verbs...............................................................................................................26
Quiz: Using Action Verbs.......................................................................................................................................28
Lesson 9: Writing a Resume, Part 5: Complete Your Resume.................................................................................29
OPTIONAL Writing Practice: Write Your Own 1-Page Resume...............................................................................32
Optional Discussion: Reflect on Your Own Resume...............................................................................................34
Module 2: Wrap-Up and Looking Ahead................................................................................................................35
Wrap-up.................................................................................................................................................................35

© 2022 by FHI 360. “Module 2 Packet: Resumes” for the Online Professional English Network (OPEN),
sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered 1
by FHI 360. This work is an adaptation of “Unit 2: Resumes” by The University of Pennsylvania licensed under
the Creative Commons Share-Alike License. To view a copy of the license, visit
MODULE OVERVIEW

This work is a derivative of "Untitled Image" by obpia30, "Untitled Image" by congerdesign and "Untitled Image" by 422737 under Pixabay
license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the Online Professional English Network, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State and administered by FHI 360.

This PDF does not include quiz questions. You must complete all quizzes online. You must pass each quiz with at
least 70% to move to Module 3.

Overview
Welcome to Unit 2 of the English for Career Development MOOC. After identifying jobs that interest you, the next
step is applying to these positions. Many jobs will expect you to send a résumé, or a written description of your
qualifications and employment experience. In this unit, we will take you through the steps necessary to produce a
professional-looking résumé. We will first identify the components of a résumé by looking at some examples. We
will then guide you through the process of writing your own. We will practice some of the language typically used
in résumés such as key terms and action words.

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this unit, you will:

 Identify the steps necessary to produce a professional-looking American-style resume.

 Identify and practice using action verbs
 Identify key words in your resume
 Review a variety of texts and multimedia sources and show understanding of these texts and key course
ideas through comprehension check quizzes.

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To-Do List

In order to successfully complete Module 2, please do the following:

1. Review: Module 2 videos, presentations, and articles. (1 - 2 hours)

2. Discuss: Optional: Join your colleagues in a group discussion about writing resumes (30 minutes)
3. Check-In: Complete the following activities:
a. Reasons for Writing a Resume* (20 minutes)
b. Parts of a Resume* (30 minutes)
c. OPTIONAL Practice: Listing Experience in Reverse Chronological Order (5-10 minutes)
d. Optional Practice: Write and evaluate your own 1-page resume (60 minutes)
e. Using Action Verbs* (20 minutes)
f. Module 2 Check (5 minutes)

*You must score at least 70% on all graded quizzes to receive your digital badge and certificate.

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MODULE 2 VOCABULARY
Module 2 will feature the following key vocabulary words. You can return to this page to review as needed. These
words may appear in quizzes throughout the course.

contact information (n)

Definition: Your contact information includes your current postal address, email address, and telephone number.
Sample Sentence: Remember to include your contact information on your cover letter and resume.

to develop (v)

Definition: When something develops, it grows.

Sample Sentence: I developed my customer service skills while working as an office receptionist.

to draft (v)

Definition: When you draft a text, you prepare an early version or form of it.
Sample sentence: I draft our team’s quarterly reports and my manager reviews them.

to edit (v)

Definition: When you edit, you correct or change a written document.

Sample Sentence: My supervisor edits my reports after I write them.

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a positive first impression (n)

Definition: A positive first impression is a good feeling when you meet someone.
Sample Sentence: When an employer reads your resume, you want to be sure you make a positive first
impression.

postal address (n)

Definition: A postal address is the house number, street name, city, state/province, country, and postal code or
number.
Sample Sentence: Job seekers in the United States usually include their postal address in their resumes.

to stand out (v.)

Definition: When something stands out, it is clearly better than or more significant than something else.
Sample Sentence: A better-quality paper will make your resume stand out from the crowd

a summary (n)

Definition: On a resume, a summary is a short paragraph or list of your strengths and experiences.
Sample Sentence: In the heading of my resume, I always include a short summary of my skills and experience.

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Image Credits
1. contact information: This image is a derivative of “Untitled Image” by Please Don't sell My Artwork AS IS from Pixabay under
Pixabay license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN Program, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

2. to develop: This image is derivative of “Untitled Image” by Sarah Richter from Pixabay under Pixabay license. This derivative is
licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided
by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

3. to draft: This image is derivative of “Untitled Image” by Francisco Rosa Chico from Pixabay under Pixabay license. This derivative is
licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided
by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

4. to edit: “Untitled Image” by Anne Karakash from Pixabay under Pixabay license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI
360 for use in the OPEN Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and
administered by FHI 360.

5. A headline: This image is a derivative of “Full Sample Resume” by CareerOneStop, Department of Labor Employment and Training
Administration licensed under U.S. Government Works / Public Domain. This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use
in the OPEN Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered
by FHI 360.

6. a positive first impression: This work is a derivative of “Untitled Image” by Werner Heiber from Pixabay under Pixabay license. This
derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with
funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

7. a postal address: This image is a derivative of “Letter” by annstanley59 from flickr under CC BY 2.0. This derivative is licensed under
CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S.
government and administered by FHI 360.

8. to stand out: This image is a derivative of “Untitled Image” by khamkhor from Pixabay under Pixabay license. This derivative is
licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided
by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

9. a summary: This image is a derivative of : This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Free-Photos, an untitled image by Memed
Nurrohmad , and an untitled image by Elionas from Pixabay under the Pixabay license . This derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI
360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and
administered by FHI 360.

6
LESSON 1: WHAT IS A RESUME? WHY DO YOU NEED ONE?

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Hello, in this unit we will be talking about resumes and how to write an effective resume. In this video, we will start
by defining the resume and talk about three reasons why job seekers need a resume. In later videos, we will take
you through each part of the resume and how to write a clear and organized resume. At the end of this unit, you
will write your own resume to describe your work experience, education, and skills.

What is a resume?

Let's get started with the definition. What is a resume? A resume is a written document of work experience,
education, and skills. Resumes are usually only one or two pages long and give a short but detailed description
of your past job duties and experiences. Employers often need to read many resumes, so they look for key words
or phrases to decide if they should interview a candidate or not.

Why do you need a resume?

Why do you need a resume? Because there's a lot of competition in the job market. Jobseekers need to create a
resume that really shows their qualifications to an employer. A great resume is really important for three main
reasons.

1. Make a positive first impression

First, a great resume will get the attention of the employers and show why you are a good match for the job.
Employers will read many resumes from many different applicants. So, you need to make sure that your resume
clearly stands out to get the attention of the employer. Remember that your qualifications should match the job
advertisement. If the company is looking for someone with five years of sales experience, you should have five
years, or more, of sales experience, and say that clearly in your resume.

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2. Highlight your skills and accomplishments.

The second reason you need a great resume is that it communicates your strongest skills and accomplishments to
a future employer. Your resume should highlight the skills that employers often look for, such as technology skills
and communication skills. Your resume should also include professional accomplishments or activities. For
example, if you wrote a book that was published, you should put that in your resume.

3. Get an interview.

The third, and most important, reason you should need a great resume is that it gets you an interview. Your
resume is your first chance to get the employer’s attention. Job seekers want to leave the reader with a positive
first impression or a good feeling. If the employer likes what they read, they will contact you to interview for the
job. The interview is your chance to meet the employer in person and give more details about your qualifications.

Summary
In summary, a resume is an important document that describes your work experience, education, and skills.
There are 3 reasons why you need a great resume: to get the employer's attention and show you are a good
match; to communicate your skills and accomplishments, and to get an interview.

What’s next?
In the next video, we will talk about the parts of a resume.

Image Credits:
1. a positive first impression - “Untitled Image” by Werner Heiber from Pixabay under Pixabay license.
2. to stand out - “Untitled Image” by khamkhor from Pixabay under Pixabay license.
3. an interview - “Untitled Image” by Van Tay Media on Unsplash under Unsplash license .

8
QUIZ: REASONS FOR WRITING A RESUME

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

Directions:
Read the following statements and decide if they are reasons for writing a resume. Select True if they are a reason,
and False if they are not.

You can take this quiz as many times as you want, and your highest score will be kept. You must score at least 70%
to pass this quiz.

9
 LESSON 2: PARTS OF A RESUME

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Hello, in this video, we are going to look at the resume in more detail and break it down into its different parts. We
will also discover, what key things you need to include in the resume.

Make Your Resume Ready to Read

Let's begin by looking at a sample one-page resume. Some resumes are much longer than one page. But, for our
purposes, we are going to stick with a one-page version.

1 Image credit below

In this sample, I hope you can see how the writer has used lots of white space, bullet points, and a limited number
of fonts so the resume is much easier to read.

Let's look at the resume that doesn't have these things. Which resume would you prefer to read?

1
2 Image credit below

That's right, the first one. Put yourself in the shoes of a possible employer who might read lots of resumes each
day. Which one do you think the employer would prefer reading?

So, the lesson here is, make your resume easy to read. Don't give a future employer an excuse to ignore your
resume or throw it in the trash.

So, what can you do to prevent this from happening? Well, the first thing you can do is make sure that your
resume has each of the following key parts. What are these parts?

1. Name and Contact Details

Well, the first one is your name and contact details.

3 Image credit below

If an employer wants to contact you to ask you to come for an interview, here is where they will find your full
name and information about how they can communicate with you, like your email address or telephone number.

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 2. Headline and Summary
The next part of your resume is the headline and summary. This section is where you should write the job you are
looking for and then include a summary of the skills you have. So, if we look at the sample resume again, you will
see that this person includes the job title, Project Coordinator, and then gives a short summary of her work
experience and key skills.

4 Image credit below

3. Work Experience
The third part of the resume you need to include is work experience. Here, you can list the jobs you have worked at
in the past, including your current job, if you have one. Current job means what job you have now. Be sure to list
your work experience in reverse chronological order. In other words, list your most recent job first, the one before
that next, and so on into the past.

5 Image credit below

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 If we look at the sample resume, we can see this person listed her job from 2005 to the present first and then lists
her job from 2001 to 2005 after this.

4. Education
The final part of the resume that you need to include is education. Here, you should include any high school or
college degrees you received and the year you received them. If we look at a sample resume one more time, can
you see what education Beth Smith received?

6 Image credit below

She includes her associate's degree from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in 2001. If you have more than
one qualification, list them in reverse chronological order, similar to your work experience. So, you should begin
with your most recent degree first and then the one before that after.

Summary
So, in conclusion, in this video we have done a short overview of the different key parts of a resume.

What’s next?
In the remainder of this module, we will look at each of these parts in more detail.

Image Credit
The images on this page are derivatives of “Full Sample Resume” by CareerOneStop, Department of Labor Employment and Training
Administration licensed under U.S. Government Works / Public Domain. These derivatives are licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the
OPEN Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

1
QUIZ: PARTS OF A RESUME

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

Directions :
Match the parts of a resume with their purpose.

You can take this quiz as many times as you want, and your highest score will be kept. You must score at least 70%
to pass this quiz.

1
LESSON 3: WRITING A RESUME, PART 1: NAME AND
CONTACT INFORMATION

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Hello, in this video we're going to discuss the first part of a resume: your name and contact information. We will
talk about what to include and where to put this information in your resume.

It probably seems very easy but there's a specific format, or order, for this information in a resume. Job seekers
should follow the standard format to make a professional impression from the beginning of the resume.

To begin, your resume needs to clearly show your full name. This means that you write your given name first
followed by your family name. If you have a middle name, you can write it out completely or just use the first
letter. For example, Sally Ann Smith could write her name two ways. Sally Ann Smith or Sally A. Smith. Most people
include their first name, middle initial, and family name only.

Often, job seekers will make their name a larger size, or font, than the rest of the words. This helps the employer,
or the reader to find the name very quickly. It is also common to put the name in the center at the top of the page.
Another way to make the name stand out is to write it in bold letters which are darker than the other letters.

Which is easier to read?

Sally A. Smith Sally A. Smith

"Bold Text" by FHI 360 is licensed under CC BY.

The next part is for job seekers to write their contact information which means their current postal address, email
address, and telephone number.

This image is a derivative of “Untitled Image” by Please Don't sell My Artwork AS IS from Pixabay under Pixabay license. This derivative is
licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S.
government and administered by FHI 360.

1
The postal address is your official location where an employer can send you information. Your postal address is
your house number, street name, city, state or province, country and postal code or number. For example, here is
Sally Smith's postal address: 100 Main Street Los Angeles, California 90210 USA.

Your email address should be professional and contain your full name or at least a part of your name. For example,
Sally Smith's email could look like this, sallysmith@email.com or ssmith@email.com.

It is easier for a possible employer to contact you if your email address is similar to your name. For instance,
flowergirl123@email.com does not appear to be professional or make it easy for the employer to remember Sally's
name.

For telephone number, you should include at least one number for an employer to call you for an interview.
Sometimes job seekers provide a mobile number and a home telephone number. Here's an example of Sally's
phone numbers. Her home phone number is 610-555-1212. Her mobile phone number is 610-232-5551. Giving
more than one number makes it easier for an employer to contact you for an interview.

Let's review Sally's name and contact information. If she writes her name in the top center of the page, she can put
the rest of the information directly below it to look like this.

Sally A. Smith
100 Main Street
Los Angeles, California 90210 USA
610-555-1212 (home)
610-232-5551 (mobile)

"Contact Sally" by FHI 360 is licensed under CC BY.

Summary
In summary, we reviewed the first part of your resume, name, and contact information. You now know to write
your full name and include your postal address, email address, and telephone number.

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LESSON 4 : LANGUAGE FOCUS: KEY WORDS

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Hello, again. In this video, we are going to look at using key words in your resume. We will discover their
importance when writing a resume. We will also look at some examples of key words in both job descriptions and
resumes.

To begin, let's explain what key words are. Employers use key words when describing a job to an applicant. They
describe the kind of things they're looking for in a successful applicant. Do you remember the job advertisement
from unit one? Let's look at it again.

Client Services Coordinator

Web Discount Corporation of Barcelona, Spain, seeks a full-time Client Services Coordinator. Responsibilities include greeting clients,

REQUIREMENTS
High school diploma and /or business college program
2-4 years of clerical or administrative experience
Excellent organizational skills
Typing speed of 30 wpm
Word processing and database experience
Good communication skills
If you would like to work in an exciting environment, e-mail your resume to Pablo Caverro. Fax: 93 412 1044
Email:

The key words used here are related to the job being advertised. These include greeting clients, excellent
organizational skills, good communication skills.

Now, after reading this job advertisement, it is really important, when applying to this position, that you refer to
these keywords in your resume and your cover letter. Why is this important? Well, because the employer who
reads your resume and cover letter will be looking for those key words to decide if you have the key skills and
qualifications to do the job.

Nowadays, many employers are using computer software to search through resumes looking for key words.
Without these key words, these employers are not likely to invite you to an interview. Instead, your resume may
go into the recycling can and we don't want that to happen, do we?

1
So, what can you do to avoid this from happening? Well, as I said, it's vital that you include some of these key
words from the job advertisement in your resume and cover letter. So, let's see how we can do that right away.

This is Yalina Hernadez's resume. She is applying for the Clients Services Coordinator position, we just looked at.
Has Yalina used any of the key words from the job advertisement in her resume? What do you think?

Yalina Hernandez
2285 S. Eisenhower Blvd Santa Clarita, CA 91380

Tel: 661-283-5972

Client Services Coordinator

Very organized and outgoing office manager with lots of experience working in a busy office environment. Proficient in typing and M

In this summary section, she said “very organized, lots of experience working in a busy office environment,
proficient in typing and Microsoft software.” All these terms refer to the key words in the job advertisement. So,
Yalina is doing a great job here using key words in her resume.

Summary
In conclusion, in this video, we looked at key words and examined how it's really important to include these in your
resume. Using these key words will help you to get noticed by employers and give you a better chance of getting
called for an interview.

1
 LESSON 5 : WRITING A RESUME, PART 2: HEADLINE AND
SUMMARY

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Hello, in this video, we're going to look at the headline and summary section of your resume. We'll look at what
information you need to include here and prepare you to write your own headline and summary. In the past,
people wrote an objective in their resume. This objective described what the candidate was looking for in a job.
However, nowadays it is more popular to use a headline instead of an objective. Can you see what the headline in
this resume is?

Abdul Al Saud
1875 West Florida Ave., Atlanta, GA 30305
Tel: 827-468-4921

ng environment. Extensive experience supporting senior consultants in high-profile technology projects. Exceptional analytical ability and talent for man

That's right! In this case, it's Project Coordinator- someone who manages or is in charge of a piece of work.

The headline is a phrase that highlights your value as a candidate for the position you're applying for. It is often the
job title, which you want. It should be short and specific. Avoid making it too general. Again, refer back to the job
advertisement and search the key words there for help with this.

The next part is the summary. The summary is a short paragraph where you can list your strengths and experience
making you a better candidate. Often the summary is followed by a series of bullet points listing your key skills. If
we look at Abdul's resume, again, we can see he has included both a summary paragraph and a bullet point list of
his skills.

Now, let's take a closer look at each of these things.

In the summary section, Abdul has highlighted his strengths and experience. He says, “highly motivated, 5 years'
experience in a fast-paced consulting environment. Exceptional analytical ability, talent for managing information,
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification.”

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These are all things he wants the employer who reads his resume to see and then say, “this Abdul guy is a great fit
for my project coordinator position.”

Abdul then goes on to list some of his key skills. As we learned in our lesson about key words, these skills should
try to relate to the key words in the job advertisement.

The first set of skills he lists, the ones on the left, are related to project coordination or management. After all, he's
applying for a Project Coordinator position. These include project coordination, setup, and monitoring and
communication.

The second set of skills, the ones on the right, are related to Microsoft Software programs such as SharePoint
Project and Excel.

Overall, as you can see, Abdul makes a good first impression with the employer by writing a short and specific
headline, a clear summary of his strengths and experience, and a bullet point list of his key skills. All these are
directly connected to the job advertisement for the job he's applying to and uses key words from that ad.

Summary
In this video, I hope you have learned the importance of using a headline and a summary in your resume.

What’s Next?
Next, we will look at another important part of your resume, work experience. Bye for now.

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LESSON 6: WRITING A RESUME, PART 3 : WORK EXPERIENCE

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Hello, in this video, we will show you how to complete part three of a resume, work experience. In this part of the
resume, job seekers list job titles, their current and former employer names, locations, dates of employment, and
a brief description of the job duties they had. Some job seekers call this part experience so that they can include
volunteer work in addition to paid jobs. No matter what you call it, this section of your resume is the part that
future employers focus on most to decide if a candidate is a good match for the position.

It is important that job seekers are honest in the description of their duties because hiring officials often check
with past employers. Because a resume is only one or two pages long, it may not be possible to list all of your
experiences. You will need to choose the ones that best show your skills for the job. Job seekers list their
experience in reverse chronological order. This means they start with their current or most recent job, then the list
continues backwards by time order. Each entry is separate but contains all of the following information, job title,
employer name, location, dates of employment, and a brief description of the job duties.

Here is Tomoko's resume and description of her experience.

Experience:
Office Assistant, University of California English Language Programs, 2009 – Present
Manage reception and telephones for 40-person office
Develop database to track inquiries about application status
Train temporary workers in office procedures

Program Assistant, International Student Office, University of California, 2006-2009

Arranged special events for international students
Assisted program directors in orientation and cultural exchange programs
Reorganized office to be more efficient

Volunteer Coordinator, Shoreline Boys and Girls Club, 2003 – 2006

Led afternoon activities for groups of children ages 10-17
Managed activity budget for programs
Recognized as Volunteer of the Year, 2005

As you can see, she listed three separate experiences, one of which is a volunteer job.

Look at the first experience. On one line, she lists the job title, Office Assistant, then the employer and the location
together, University of California, English Language Programs, followed by the years of employment, 2009 to
present.

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The next lines are verb phrases that clearly describe what she does or did. Notice the use of present tense verbs
because this is her current job. You should also notice that the verbs used are called action verbs because they
clearly explain what a person is doing. Her verb choices “manage”, “develop” and “train”” are actions that also
show some of her skills as an employee. From this list, an employer would learn that she has computer skills, and
she can work well with a lot of other people. We will learn more about action verbs in video eight.

When describing experience, many job seekers use a bullet list of three to five lines. There is no punctuation at the
end because these are not complete sentences. it is important to be as clear and detailed as possible but in a small
amount of space. Remember that employers want to know how you are different from other candidates.

Think about what you have done well in past experiences and include those details with strong verbs. For example,
did you make your company more efficient or organized? Look at Tomoko's second experience as a program
assistant. You can see that she has arranged special events and organized the office to be more efficient. These
actions show the reader that she is well organized. This is an example of a personal trait skill that is valuable to
many employers.

Summary
Let's review what you should include in part three, work experience. Begin with your current or most recent job
and continue to list experiences backwards in time order. For each experience that you include, write the job title,
the employer name, location, date of employment, and a brief description of the job duties.

What’s Next?
Next, you can practice organizing a resume with a quiz, Ordering the Chronology.

2
OPTIONAL PRACTICE QUIZ: LISTING EXPERIENCE IN
REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

Directions :
This job seeker's work experience is not in the correct time order for a reverse chronological resume.

You can take this quiz as many times as you want, and your highest score will be kept. You must score at least 70%
to pass this quiz.

2
LESSON 7 : WRITING A RESUME, PART 4: EDUCATION

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Hello, in this video, we'll be talking about the fourth part of a resume, education. This part of the resume is very
important for current students, recent university graduates, or people with little work experience. For people with
a lot of work experience, the education section shows that they meet the required education level.

Job advertisements usually have a required degree as part of the qualifications for the job. Job seekers list each
educational experience they have had and include the name of the school, the location, the degree received, major
or subject of specialty, and the year of graduation. Those who received high grades or special honors during their
education sometimes include those awards in this section.

The development of the education part of the resume often shows future employers your academic performance,
management, and technical abilities, and general areas of interest. There are many kinds of degrees that are
included in the education section. The most common types of degrees in the United States are:
1. AA or AAS, which is associate of arts or associates of applied science. These are two-year degrees from
community colleges and technical schools.
2. is B.A. or B.S., Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. These are typically four-year degrees from a college
or a university.
3. M.A. or M.S., Master of Arts or Master of Science. These are graduate-level degrees from a university.
Number four is M.B.A.
4. Master of Business Administration. This is a graduate degree in business from a university.
5. PhD. A doctorate degree is the highest-level degree from a university.

Like the work experience section of a resume, job seekers list their educational history in reverse chronological
order. Beginning with the most recent or current degree program. Here is an example job seeker, Michael Johnson,
who attended one university and earned two degrees.

Education:
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
M.B.A. General Management 2015
B.A. Sociology 2009
Awards: Dean’s List 2008 and 2009

Notice how he begins with the name of the school and the location, that's city and state. In this example, he
attended Cornell University in the city of Ithaca, in the state of New York. On the next line, he lists his most recent
degree, an M.B.A. in General Management, which he completed in 2015. This is a graduate-level master’s degree
in Business Administration with a special focus, or major, in general management.

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Next, he lists his B.A. in sociology which he completed in 2009. His Bachelor of Arts degree is a four-year degree
and sociology is the subject area that he studied most. After listing the degrees, Michael includes an award that he
earned in 2008 and 2009. In United States universities, Dean's List awards go to students who received very high
grades at the end of the academic year. Many people put this information in their resumes to show that they were
very successful in their courses.

Summary
Let's review part four of the resume, education. In this section, job seekers show each educational experience
separately in reverse chronological order. Each entry must include the name of the school, the location, the degree
received, major or subject area, and the year of graduation. The addition of awards or honors is not required but
does provide good information about a future employee. Job seekers include all of their education to show that
they meet the required education level for the position. Being very successful in one's education often means that
a job seeker is serious and a hard worker.

What’s Next?
Now, we will move on to the next video, which will help you to learn how to use action verbs to describe your
experience very clearly.

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LESSON 8 : LANGUAGE FOCUS: ACTION VERBS

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Hi again. In this video, we are going to look at what we call action verbs. These are verbs that you should use
throughout your resume, so you are a more attractive candidate to an employer. We will look at some examples of
these verbs and see how we can use them in your resume.

Why should you use action verbs?

We use action verbs in our resumes because they're more specific verbs. They tell the employer a lot more about
what you do, or did, in your jobs than general verbs do.

General Verbs (basic) Action Verbs (specific)

For example, if I said, “worked at X company”, or “did sales at Y company”, that doesn't really tell the employer
very much. The verbs are too general, or unspecific.

However, if I change “worked” to “developed a project at X company”, where develop means to grow something
and I can change “did” to, “increased sales at Y company”, where “increase” means “to make bigger”. Now it
sounds much better. I have a more active role rather than a passive one, I am more in control.

Action verbs are usually grouped together by job or skill type. Since many jobs require you to have multiple skills,
you will probably be choosing action verbs from different skill types. There are lots of action verbs to choose from,
but for our purposes today, we are going to look at a shorter list.

As I mentioned earlier if we choose the verb “do” or “make”, it is too general, but we could use a more specific
verb like “developed” or “increased”.

To Do To Increase

I did sales at X I increased sales at X

Company. Company.

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Likewise, I could say in my resume, “I wrote a proposal”, where a proposal means a plan. However, what if I use a
more specific verb, such as, “drafted”, which means to prepare an early version of a text? So now I write, “I drafted
a proposal,” or I could say “I edited a report,” where the verb “edit” means to correct or change a written
document.
To Draft To Edit
To Write
I drafted a proposal.
I edited a report.
I wrote a proposal.
I wrote a report.

I could also use a general verb like “talk”, as in, “I talked with the customers” Or, I could use a more specific verb
like, “I negotiated with the customers,” where “negotiate” means to try to reach an agreement. Or, “I
corresponded with a new customer,” where the verb “to correspond” means to write and respond to
communication.

To Talk To Negotiate

I talked with the I negotiated with

customers. the new customers.

I hope you can see how not only are my choice of verbs more specific, but they, more importantly, make my role in
this job sound more active.

Summary
In this video, we looked at action verbs and highlighted their importance when writing your resume. We talked
about how using action verbs is much better than general verbs, as they make you sound like a more skilled and
accomplished worker.

What’s next?
Next, we'll take a short quiz to practice using action verbs.

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QUIZ: USING ACTION VERBS

Directions:
Tina has recently prepared a resume. She has drafted a list of her work experience. Can you help her choose a
good action verb for each of her duties and responsibilities?

You can take this quiz as many times as you want, and your highest score will be kept. You must score at least 70%
to pass this quiz.

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

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LESSON 9 : WRITING A RESUME, PART 5: COMPLETE YOUR
RESUME

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Hello. In this final video of Module 2, we'll talk about completing your resume. There are still some things you will
need to do to make your resume the best resume you can write.

One of these things has to do with presentation. In other words, how your resume looks. Is it easy to read? Does it
look good? Does it follow standard resume rules?

The next thing we'll discuss is proofreading and editing your resume. This means reading back over your resume
after you have written it and making sure it doesn't have any mistakes.

Finally, we'll talk briefly about the two most popular types of resumes, functional and chronological. After this
video, we hope you will feel confident and ready to research and write your own resume.

How does your resume look?

To begin then, let's look at presentation. When an employer reads your resume, you want to be sure you make a
great first impression. You can achieve this not only by having the skills, qualifications, and experience, but also by
making sure your resume looks professionally written and is easy to read.

As we've said before, you don't want to give an employer an excuse to throw your resume in the recycling can.
After all, an employer will probably read many other resumes before getting to yours. So, if it doesn't follow what
we call standard formatting, it will not make a good first impression.

Standard formatting makes a good first impression

Some examples of standard formatting include:
 using a standard font, for example, Times New Roman
 using bullet points
 using lots of white space to make the resume easier to read
 using bold text and indents to give more importance to information and show relationships between
information.

If we look at this good example of a resume, we can see each of these things.

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This image is a derivative of “Full Sample Resume” by CareerOneStop, Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration licensed
under U.S. Government Works / Public Domain. This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN Program, sponsored by
the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

Beth Smith uses only two fonts, Calibri and Ariel, bullet points to summarize her skills and work experience, lots of
white space, and she uses bold text and indents.

The Importance of Proofreading

The next thing you need to do after you finish writing your resume is to read through it a few times or get
someone else to read through it after you. You should read the resume looking for mistakes in grammar, spelling,
punctuation, and capitalization. If you are unsure of the rules for each of these things, ask someone who's an
expert or read a reliable book or website that explains the rules correctly. Make any necessary changes so that
your resume is free of any mistakes.

Nowadays, most employers ask you to send your resume by email or upload it to a job website. But if you're
planning on sending the resume through the mail, be sure that you use a good quality paper. In the United States,
you can buy cotton paper that is more expensive than regular printer paper, but it makes all the difference. A
better-quality paper will make your resume stand out from the crowd.

Functional or Chronological? Which type of resume should you use?

Lastly, you should think about which type of resume you should use. There are two common types of resumes
used nowadays: functional and chronological.

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 Chronological Functional
Resume Resume
• Lists works and experience • Emphasizes abilities over
in reverse chronological experience
order
• Used by recent graduates
• Most commonly used
those who have been out
resume format
of the workforce for an
extended period of time

Why use a chronological resume?

Chronological is the one most commonly used. It lists your work experience and qualifications in reverse
chronological order, starting with the most recent first. It is the one most people use when writing a resume.

Why use a functional resume?

On the other hand, a functional resume puts more emphasis on your abilities and less on your work experience. If
you have just graduated from high school or college and don't have a lot of work experience, you probably want to
emphasize your education and qualifications, and not your work experience. Or maybe you are just returning to
the workforce after being away for an extended period of time, for example, because of illness or having a child. A
functional resume may be a better fit for you in this case.

Summary
For the moment, we hope you've learned in this video the importance of good presentation, proof reading and
editing your finished resume and the basic differences between functional and chronological resumes.

What’s Next?
It's now time you put the finishing touches on your own resume. Be sure to carefully and thoroughly research the
job you're applying to and try to remember all the things we discussed in this unit. Good luck.

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OPTIONAL WRITING PRACTICE: WRITE YOUR OWN 1 - PAGE
RESUME
Note: This assignment is optional and will not be graded.

Practice Writing Your Own Resume

You have learned a lot about resumes in this module. Are you ready to try writing your own? You can use this
space to write or you can work offline. You do not need to submit this assignment. This is just a chance to practice.
Write Your Own Resume
Write your own one-page resume following the examples and guidelines in the unit.
You can write a resume for the sample job advertisement we reviewed in Module 1 (below) or you can write a
resume for a job to which you are personally interested in applying.

Client Services Coordinator

Web Discount Corporation of Barcelona, Spain, seeks a full-time Client Services Coordinator. Responsibilities
include greeting clients, answering telephones, and performing other clerical functions.
REQUIREMENTS

g. High school diploma and /or business college program
h. 2-4 years of clerical or administrative experience
i. Excellent organizational skills
j. Typing speed of 30 wpm
k. Word processing and database experience
l. Good communication skills
If you would like to work in an exciting environment, e-mail your resume to Pablo Caverro.
Fax: 93 412 1044
Email: pcaverro@email.com

Be Brief! Maximum-Lenth: One Page

One of the hardest parts of writing a resume is summarizing years of your life, all of your skills, experiences,
knowledge and talents into one short and compelling read. Remember, you want to stand out from the
competition. Much of that will rely on your ability to make yourself shine on just one page.

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Self-Assessment Rubric
Criteria Meets Expectations Does Not Meet
Expectations
Name and Contact Details I included my name and I did not include my
Remember to include: contact details. name and contact
 your full name details.
 postal address
 e-mail
 phone number
Headline My headline uses key My headline does not
Use key words from the job description in a short words from the job use key words and / or
phrase that highlights your value as a candidate. description and highlights does not highlight my
my value. value as a candidate.
Summary My summary describes I did not write a
 Write a short paragraph that describes your my strengths, experience, summary or my
strengths and experience and key skills summary does not
 Use bullet points to list your key skills describe my strengths,
experience, or skills.
Work Experience My work experience is in My work experience is
 List experience in reverse chronological order reverse chronological not in reverse
(most recent experience first) order, includes details chronological order,
 Include your job title, employer, location, and about the employer, and does not include details
years of employment. uses action verbs to about the employer, or
 Use action verbs to write 3-5 phrases that describe the experience. does not use action
describe the experience verbs.
Education I have included my I have not included my
 listed in reverse chronological order educational history in educational history in
 includes name of school, location (city and reverse chronological reverse chronological
state), and the degree order. order.
Formatting My resume uses formal My resume does not use
A well-formatted resume uses: and professional formal and professional
 standard fonts (such as Helvetica, Arial, or formatting. formatting.
Times New Roman)
 bullet points to organize information
 white space to make it easy to read
 bold text to give more importance to
information
o indents to show relationships among
information

Be Brief! My resume fits on one My resume is longer

Maximum Length: 1 Page page. than one page.

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OPTIONAL DISCUSSION: REFLECT ON YOUR OWN RESUME

Note: This discussion is optional and will not be graded.

"Untitled Image" by Brett Jordan via Unsplash under Unsplash license.

Congratulations! You have just written a one-page resume.

Take a moment to think:

 How do you feel? Are you satisfied with your resume?
 What did you do well? Is there a section that you are very proud of?
 Is there anything you would change?
 Did you have any trouble writing the resume? What was difficult?
 Do you have questions about vocabulary? Grammar? Phrases?

This discussion board is a free space to discuss all things resumes.

Take 15 minutes to read what others have written and reply to at least 2 posts.

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MODULE 2 : WRAP- UP AND LOOKING AHEAD
WRAP- UP

Congratulations! You have completed Module 2: Writing a Resume

In this module, you:
 Examined the key components of an American style resume
 Identified and practiced using action verbs and key words in a resume
 Produced your own 1-page resume

Looking Ahead
In Module 3, we will look at writing a cover letter.

You will:
 become familiar with the structures and format of cover letters and standard business letters;
 identify new fundamental vocabulary, and practice using that new vocabulary in course activities; and,
 identify and practice using past tense and present perfect verbs, sentence structure with time words, and
controlling tone with modal verbs.

You have completed Module 2! To receive your certificate and digital badge, complete Modules 2 - 5. Keep up the
good work!