Sunday, March 25, 2007

How to make the shortlist

OK, I have pontificated on previous occasions about how to deliver a good sample lesson when attending an interview. But you can spare yourself the ordeal of that sample lesson by failing to get invited for an interview.

Firstly, remember it doesn't really matter if you don't fill in the application form. We understand how busy you are: just send us a printout of your 10 page CV (listing every INSET you have ever attended) and we will cross reference it ourselves. It's not like we're busy.

Spelling, grammar and capitalisation errors are great. They show how happy-go-lucky you are and what a casual, easy-going approach you take to the written word and the process of checking over your work. They are really good indicators of how you will approach marking, planning and writing resources!

Illegibility and poor handwriting don't matter. Crossings out are not a problem. This is the era of the computer; you don't need to be able to write clearly to be a teacher.

If you are applying for an IT job (or if you mention your effective use of IT anywhere on your application) it's rather witty to back up your claims of being a well skilled in word-processing with an absolutely hopeless desk-top publishing job. Random font changes, embarrassing spell-checking errors, inconsistent indentation, inappropriate fonts... I know you're just showing me how aware you are of the commonest flaws in our students' work. And we love MS Word CV templates. They're so....unique.

Seriously, folks, it's not rocket science. If you can't be bothered to take care over an application form which I am duty bound to read from beginning to end, do you really think we will trust you with a teaching post? With, you know, real kids writing real essays and all that?

9 comments:

M said...

Of course you realise that Word allows people to make such mistakes, it should enforce good design principals to all the documents it produces that would stop some of the horrid aesthetic errors you describe.

To be fair, what do you expect them to use to produce these better CVs... an Apple ? Seriously you can't have a go at them for using the CV template... can you. I fear I should send you my CV to check over.

Anonymous said...

You don't need a template to make a CV!

Just a word processing program of your choice!

I work in Personnel in HE - you should see some of the applications that come in for Professors - they have spelling mistakes and everything!

M said...

Quite right the template isn't a must. However many people have no idea how to put a CV together so the first time they just fire up the Wizard, because it's not the template they're after it's support for contents and order and headings etc. then after the first time they just update the dates and the activities.

isochick why don't you post an anonymous version of your CV and then all the children can benefit from your wisdom. Seriously, I read all the books on being concise etc. but when I made my first CV at 16 I used a Wizard. From that point on all you do is update the contents not the style.

Trust me I hate Word, but it provided a much needed crutch the first time round.

Anonymous said...

eeeh - tried to post but 'puter went wrong...

was just going to recommend some of the help and advise from http://www.businessballs.com/curriculum.htm

as being very useful. After much googling I think it is a top resource for this sort of thing!

I know this as I am busy job searching at the mo.

Anonymous said...

Never used a template program, even when I was younger.

I think one day long ago I had some sort of book on writing a CV, which is where I got my ideas from.

Posting my CV - hah!
It might look nice but there's jack-all written on it. I have no wisdom to pass on, which is why I'm in my current job...

Anonymous said...

People should read this.

Anonymous said...

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syeds said...

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Ruby Claire said...

Generally Desk-top publishing job doesn't need any Degree, but they need artistic ability in their work, Many people working in this field learn on the job.

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