BEFORE CLASS

Ideally you should bring a printed copy of your resume to every discussion section. You can update your resume as you go through the class. Having the latest version printed out can make it easy to take notes on things you want to change.

In-class activities

Your TA will lead some reflection activities dealing with your recent career assignments, such as the options below.

Reflecting on resume-building. Here are some questions about your initial resume your TA may ask you to consider during section:

What is the hardest part about putting together a resume?
Who have you consulted for help in the past when putting together your resume?
What kind of job do you think your initial resume qualifies you for?
What do you think is the biggest shortcoming or silence in your resume so far?
Are there any important qualities that you would bring to a job that are not represented on this resume?
What would you like your resume to include by the time you graduate from university?

The assembly line. Everyone take one bullet point on the SuccessWork resume review checklist. You're now reviewing with a focus on that one bullet point. The class will organize in a circle (or in a snaking path where your TA serves as the runner/back-to-start-er). You'll pass your resume to the next person for a rapid-fire 20-second review session – your job is just to make notes if YOUR bullet point needs attention. You'll keep going until your resume gets passed back to you. And, of course, you'll get lots of experience seeing other students' resumes!

Learning from resumes. Take out a piece of paper. Swap resumes with the student sitting next to you. Read through your fellow student's resume and, on your paper, write down three things about this student's resume that differ from your own – and which you'd like to incorporate into your own resume. (This might be formatting/style choices, decisions about how to organize the resume and choose what comes first, ways of creatively and specifically describing certain activities, choices about including or not including certain types of activities – anything.) Your TA will go around the room and ask you to pick one of these things to explain to the class as a model resume practice.

Mock interviews using STAR statements. Your TA will divide you up into pairs (maximum one trio). Trade resumes with your partner and take turns asking each other mock interview questions based on the resume you have in front of you. Respond with STAR statements, even if you haven't prepared one for what you're asked about! Here are some ways to formulate mock interview questions:

Pick out one work or volunteer experience listed on the resume and ask "Tell me more about your time working at _____. What skills did you use to succeed in that job? What was the most important thing you learned from the experience?"
Pick out one class listed on the resume and ask "Tell me more about the class you took on _____. What was the purpose of the course? What is the most important thing you learned from the class?"
Pick out one award or honor the student listed on the resume and ask them what they did to earn that award, and what stays with them about that experience that they would bring to a professional job.
Ask them why they chose to major in whatever they listed on their resume, what kind of job or career they hope that major will lead to, and what one thing on their resume connects most to their choice of major.