Sorry about that. One problem is there's only one computer in the household at the moment. I left mine in England back in March, when I thought I would be going back in April (I still need to blog about that). So the three of us here always fight over computer time. I actually stay up late and do most of my computering in the wee small hours of the morning.
I've been working on my CV (curriculum vitae) the past few nights. That's what the Brits call a resume. It's different in the sense that it appears to be more personal and detailed. You write in first person and explain a little more what you've done. The odd thing to me is people also typically list their coursework and grades going back to the latter years of high school (what Brits call "college"). I'm not doing that bit. Heck, I wouldn't know where to begin to look for those grades! And I can't even remember what classes I had my senior year. I've barely found my college transcript and even that one isn't the official one!
This CV has been the bane of my existence the past few weeks. I searched and searched and only found two or three examples online, and those were each vastly different from each other. So I emailed a few people asking for advice/a sample if they had one. 'Cause the problem is I don't even know what a NORMAL CV should look like. Then the floodgates finally opened and I found two solid examples online AND the wonderful and beautiful Bekki forwarded her's to me, along with some good links. So I've been working like crazy the past two nights to get this thing done! At the moment it's a bit long-winded. And I don't even have everything on it yet! So there will need to be some major editing. And if anyone reading this post is a CV connoisseur and would like to give mine a looksie, I'd be ever so grateful!
So why am I painstakingly writing this CV, you ask? Well, because the plan before the British government detained me at the border and made me cry my eyes out in front of them, was to go back to Bedford and seriously search for a teaching position. I figured it would be easier to obtain from that side of the pond. Since being home I was so disoriented and unsure about things I lost the motivation to pursue teaching anywhere -- overseas and at home. But I'm slowly getting my mojo back. It's a long, hard process, and I'm probably a few weeks behind others, but I'm gonna give it a go and see what happens. So I'll keep y'all posted.
In the meantime, here's a commercial I shared on my Facebook that cracks me up. Enjoy!
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3 comments:
Just a thought: If you're thinking of teaching here in America (or doing any other job), the employers are probably not going to want a long-winded British version of a resume. In my experience with that sort of thing, they sort of like you to cut to the chase.
I agree with Bird. I've never been a teacher, but when I worked at an employment agency, I leared that employers in general like to have concise resumes. What I would suggest is maybe have 2 different versions -- the CV you're working on and a regular resume that's more concise. That way, when you arrive at your interview and offer 2 versions for them to look at, it can be an impressive thing. People sometimes like to have options. That's an idea, anyway. :) The last time I was looking for a job, I even had my job-specific resume with a brief sentence at the end, "A more detailed resume available upon request."
As a writer who's had more than my share of computer issues, you might even write out blog entries or important emails out in longhand first, and then when the computer's available, you can just type it in, proofread, and send. That can be a timesaver.
Speaking of, I'm on a computer whose Internet Explorer doesn't have Flash, so I'll enjoy your commercial later. :D
Thanks for the advice, guys. But perhaps I should specify that I'm familiar w/ a regular resume. It's the BRITISH CV I had no clue about.
I have a pretty good looking resume, imo. I have a one page version and a one and a half page version. So needing to write more details and making it into a two to three pager is what was giving me trouble. I've read on CV writing help pages where actual employers review a one page resume and think it's not enough info, and they even reviewed a three pager and was wondering why some info was left out (like a few months gap in work hist).
Anywho, updating my resume was the first thing I did back in March so that's why I've only mentioned and focused on the CV the past few weeks.
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