Writing in English

How to Write
a Resume
Lesson Objective
In this lesson, you ill learn ho to rite a resume in English.
our resume represents your achievements and uali cations.
It spea s or you until you meet your potential employer. ou ll learn the
important parts to include in a resume as ell as the parts to leave out.
Did You Know?
The word “curriculum vitae”
Warm-Up is another ord or resume.
his is usually shortened to C .

A. Writing Resume is sometimes spelled

with one or two accents:
r sume, resum , r sum .
Choose one o the ollo ing our topics.
rite or ve minutes in the space belo or in your noteboo .

1. y greatest achievements . My work and volunteer experience

2. y educational bac ground . My top skills

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Warm-Up cont.
A. Writing cont.

B. Vocabulary Preview

atch these ords to their correct de nitions.

b
1. curriculum vitae a an occupation that one has or a long period o time
k 2. uali cation b a document that summari es one s s ills and uali cations, a a C
a . career c describes a type o resume that highlights abilities over e perience
d . keyword d a ord usually a noun related to a speci c eld or topic
l . ob ective e overused and outdated, a ord or e pression to avoid using
h . bullet point long and detailed
c . functional g describes a type o resume that highlights ob e perience in a timeline
g . chronological h one o a series o short orm notes placed under a heading
j 9. potential i a person ho is see ing someone to hire
i 10. recruiter possible in the uture
e 11. cliché an ability or s ill that one has earned or learned
f 12. extensive l the main purpose

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Planning a Resume
A. Keywords Task 1

Before you write or edit your Identi y a career or ob that you are interested in.
e isting resume, ma e sure you rite ten ey ords nouns that are related to this career or ob.
no hat type o ob you are
applying or. Identi y at least Job: 
ten nouns that are related to this
ob. ey ords include industry Keywords:
ords, technology ords, and 1. .
product names. he ey ords
in the ob description should 2. .
be in your resume. his ma es . .
it searchable by recruiters and
ob search engines. . 9.

. 10.

B. Header Task 2

At the top of your resume, include Write down all of the contact information that you want
the ollo ing contact in ormation to include in the pro le section header o your resume.

• full name
• email address Full Name
• mailing address
• phone number
Email Address

Note:
You may also want to include
one or t o social media
accounts, such LinkedIn Mailing Address
and Twitter.

Phone (or Cell)

Number

Social Media
Accounts

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Planning a Resume cont.

C. Summary

eneath your contact in ormation, add a career summary. his includes

a sentence about your career ob ective. It may also include a e bullet
points about your top uali cations and s ills. eep it short and use
ey ords. ere is an e ample o a career summary.

Example: *Note:
rained che ith three years catering e perience see ing ull time A career summary takes
position in a ne dining establishment in the us o a region. the place o an ob ective
statement,” which many
• graduate rom est Che s Coo ing School recruiters consider outdated.
• specializes in French cuisine and desserts
• patient, thorough, good natured, energetic

Task 3

Now write your own career summary

or the career or ob you identi ed in as 1.

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Planning a Resume cont.

D. Format

here are t o standard resume ormats to choose rom.

hin about hich one ma es more sense or you at this point in your li e.
Each type o resume includes a summary at the beginning.

Type of Resume Notes

This type of resume is also called a skill-based resume.

It highlights your abilities rst and then your ob e perience.
Functional
A functional resume is ideal for students as well as people who are
ready to change careers or ho have ide gaps in their or e perience.

his type o resume lists your or e perience rst.

Education and other s ills come a ter or e perience.
Chronological List your work experience in point form from most to least
recent reverse chronological . I your or e perience is e tensive,
do not include every ob and position.

Task 4

Fill in the blan s ith the in ormation that you ill need to include in either
type o resume. ou ill decide hich type o resume is best or you later
in this lesson.

Skills Education & Achievements Experience

include personal and job-related skills include honours and awards include work and volunteer experience

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Planning a Resume cont.

E. References

It is unnecessary to include your re erences in a resume. It is necessary Note:

to have a re erence page ready in case a potential employer as s you or
on t orget to as permission
it. dding the note Re erences available upon re uest to your resume
from the people you want to
is considered clich by some recruiters. use as re erences. It s also a
good idea to give them a copy o
Prepare a list o re erences on a separate page rom your resume, your resume in case a potential
and bring it to every intervie . ouble chec the phone numbers employer calls or a re erence.
and email addresses.

Task 5 Example: 
REFERENCE FOR MARK KING
ho can provide a good personal or pro essional
reference for you? Typical references include former ate Stone
bosses, teachers, coaches, and colleagues. Prepare uman Resources anager
a typed list o three or our people. Include contact Success utoring Service Inc.
names, or places, titles, and contact in ormation atehr successtutoringinc.com
email and phone number . se the space belo to 0 9 901
come up ith ideas.

1. .

2. .

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Resume Dos & Don’ts

A. Resume Don’ts

CLICHÉS ETC.

Do not...

• list every ob you ve ever had i you have a lot o or e perience

• list your secondary school s i you also have post secondary education

• use an inappropriate email address

• use the rst person I, my, me

• add a picture of yourself *Note:

It s o ay to add one or t o
• use a ancy ont or ormatting
interesting acts about yoursel
• attach your resume to an email to ma e your resume stand out.
For e ample, you might include
• orget to spell chec your gol handicap in your
achievements. on t add a list
• include a list o hobbies o hobbies or include childhood
e periences.

Task 6

elo are some e amples o hat to do on a resume.

Identi y the problem ith each e ample. Resume Clichés
ere are a e overused ords
1. Please nd my resume attached to this email. and phrases to avoid using on
a resume.
2. I am a hard or ing sales cler .
• team player
. oversaw lemonade stands • problem solver
• good communicator
. cuteguytony yahoo.com • go to person
• strong trac record
. gradutate o ill ord College
• good organi ational s ills
. enthusiastic team player

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Resume Dos & Don’ts cont.

B. Resume Dos

POWER WORDS

ou have already learned the importance o ey ords nouns . hese are

the most important ords in your resume. ou should also use po er ul
verbs and ad ectives. Some o your po er ords ill be ob dependent.

10 Powerful Verbs 10 Powerful Adjectives

• advanced • amicable

• coordinated • attentive

• collaborated • diligent

• maximized • disciplined

• implemented • enthusiastic

• launched • e ible

• pioneered • thorough

• represented • productive

• secured • prompt

• spearheaded • resilient

10 verbos poderosos 10 adjetivos poderosos

• avançado • amigável
• coordenado • atento
• colaborou • diligente
• maximizado • disciplinado
• implementado • entusiasmado
• lançado • fexível
• pioneiro • minucioso
• representado • produtivo
• seguro • mensagem
• com ponta de lança • resiliente

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Sample Resume
A. Reading

Maria Montague Contact Info

Name
eslmaria teachermail.com Email ddress
c  0 2 Cell and or Phone umber
2 0 1 th Street ome ddress
Toronto, ON M4B 1B4 Social edia
@mariamoesl

Enthusiastic CEL trained English language teacher ith ve years o overseas teaching Career Summary
e perience see ing ull time position in an English language school in oronto.

Teaching Experience: Heading

osco ELL Inc., Russia  ay 201 anuary 2019

IEL S teacher and private tutor
• taught lo and high intermediate classes o 20 students Details
• tailored lessons according to student needs bulleted list ith details in
• used English E perts 2, Communicate o , and usiness English Pro essionals short orm most recent rst
• supervised a team o three ESL teachers
• launched a homework help room for special needs students
Note:
o yo School o Languages, apan  une 201 February 201
English language teacher There are many styles
of resumes to choose
• taught private EIC lessons to business or ers
rom. ou can nd
• taught EFL, essay riting, public spea ing to high school students
templates and samples
• coordinated and launched a school newsletter
online. se a basic ont
he English School  ecember 201 pril 201 and a simple style. our
English language teacher and social events coordinator name should appear in
• taught private lessons to elderly learners large, bold te t at the
• coached young English learners in pronunciation using IP top o the page.
• spearheaded an e tracurricular program or teens

Skills: Heading

• con dent teacher o English grammar, spea ing, reading, riting, listening, and pronunciation
• amicable and approachable aria the Singing eacher Details
• thorough in lesson planning and hiteboard or bulleted list ith details in short
• e perienced in classroom and 1 1 settings orm most important rst
• uent in English and Russian
• competent in supervising and training ne recruits

Education: Heading

achelor o English 2009 2012

niversity o oronto, oronto, Details
bulleted list ith details in
CEL  Summer 2012 short orm most recent rst
ESL eacher raining Institute, oronto,

Achievements: Heading
Details
eacher o the ear 201 osco ELL Inc.
bulleted list ith details in
Comedy ction riting contest inner 201 E pat e s apan
short orm most recent rst

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Sample Resume cont.

B. Reflection

Is the resume in Part unctional or chronological

Why do you think Maria chose this type of resume?
o ould you change it into the other ormat

Comprehension
What have you learned so far?
ns er and discuss these uestions in pairs or as a class.

1. Why is it important to use keywords in a resume?

2. hat goes directly beneath the contact in ormation on a resume

. hat is the di erence bet een a functional resume and a chronological resume?

. hat are t o things you should do on a resume

. ame t o po er ul verbs and ad ectives to use on a resume.

Vocabulary Review
Complete the sentence in the chart ith a ord or phrase rom page 2.
In the last column, indicate the part o speech.

# Sentence Part of Speech

1 I don t have the necessary or that ob.

2 nder each heading, list a e .

3 Please list your ob e perience in reverse order.

4 I sent my resume to a employer.

5 on t use the ord team player. It s a .

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Write Your Own Resume

A. Writing B. Proofreading

Find a ob ad that interests you and rite a resume
ith this ob in mind. Plan your ey ords, summary,
and ormat be ore you type your resume. Re er to the
sample on page 9 as ell as other samples that you
can nd online. Prepare a page o re erences to go
ith your resume.
ter you rite your resume, save it as a dra t.
on t send or deliver it yet. Come bac a e days
later and read the document out loud to yoursel .
Fi any mista es you see and run a spell chec
program through it.
Review the resume checklist and make any
necessary changes. hen as a classmate
or teacher to proo read your document.

Resume Checklist
! id I include all ey ords that employers or search engines ill loo or

! id I include a header ith necessary contact in ormation, and is it correct

! id I add a career summary beneath my header

! id I choose a ormat chronological unctional

! id I include s ills, or e perience, education, and achievements

! Is there something that stands out about me

! o I have a page o re erences available

! id I use a simple, clean ormat

! id I proo read and chec spelling

! id I as a riend or teacher to proo read my resume

Are you ready to start applying for jobs?

Print your resume and page of references.
You may also need a cover letter.

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: igh Int

In this lesson, students are introduced to resume riting. TIME: 2–3 hours
hey learn about ormatting and use ul vocabulary.
TAGS:  resume, riting, or , ob, r sum , r sume,
hey also learn ho to avoid resume clich s.
resumé, application, employment, career, cliché

Warm-Up C. SUMMARY

Task 3
Read about our editor s decision to spell resume without accents
in ESL Library materials http blog.esllibrary.com 201 0 2 his may be the most di cult part o resume riting. It is also the

resume resume or resume most important part. elp your students ith phrasing. ou can
also as students to rite moc career summaries or celebrities.

A. WRITING
Extra (Optional):
ive your students time to rite on one related topic.
The topic they choose may help them decide Even though many recruiters thin an ob ective statement

on an appropriate resume ormat. is outdated, some applicants still pre er this style o resume.
ou can decide hether to assign an additional tas o learning

B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW about and riting an ob ective statement.

1. b . a . l . c 9. j 11. e Optional Lesson Component:

2. k . d . h . g 10. i 12. f An objective statement is used hen applying or a speci c ob.

It should be tailored, concise, and in ormative.

Planning a Resume Style A – Begin with to base verb

• o obtain the position as head che at ountainvie otel,
A. KEY WORDS here I can apply my three years o catering e perience
and serve guests in the us o a region ith high uality
Task 1
French cuisine.
ave ob ads or computers mobile devices available, and
Style B – Begin with adjective + noun:
encourage students to loo up ey ords in ob descriptions.
• ell trained catering specialist see ing to become
head che at ountainvie otel to serve guests in the
B. HEADER
us o a region ith high uality French cuisine.
Task 2
Optional Task:
Individual ans ers. our students may also ant to e amine the o try riting an ob ective statement in styles and .
di erent header styles that people use centred, le t usti ed, bold, se the ob you chose in as 1.
large ont, abbreviations, etc. .
(continued on the next page...)

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Answer Key cont.

Planning a Resume cont. Comprehension

D. FORMAT 1. It is important to use keywords in a resume

so that it is searchable by a potential employer
Revie the di erence bet een unctional and
or online recruiting agency .
chronological resumes and assign as . or on
2. career summary goes beneath the contact
appropriate ording in short orm bullet points.
in ormation on a resume. lternatively, some applicants
use this space or a tailored ob ective statement.
E. REFERENCES
. unctional resume lists education and s ills rst, hile a
Task 5 chronological resume highlights ob e perience. unctional
resume is more suitable or a student or someone ho
Revie the ormat o a re erence page. It may be easiest to assign
is changing careers or has a large hole in their resume.
Task 5 for homework as students may not have the necessary
chronological resume hich lists or e perience in
in ormation available. lternatively, have your students rite
reverse chronological order is use ul or people ith
ctional re erences or themselves or or a celebrity.
e tensive or e perience.
. ns ers ill vary rom Resume on ts list page .
Resume Dos and Don’ts . ns ers ill vary rom Resume os lists page .

A. RESUME DON’TS
Vocabulary Review
Task 6
1. uali cations noun . potential (adjective)
1. Indicates that an attachment is included in an email.
2. bullet points noun . cliché (noun)
2. ses the rst person.
. chronological ad ective
. he in ormation is a childhood e perience.
. as an inappropriate email address.
. as a spelling error graduate . For un, have your students
Write Your Own Resume
loo up common spelling errors that are ound on resumes.
A. WRITING
. ses a ancy ont and contains a clich .
ave students rite their o n resume tailored
B. RESUME DOS to a real ob ad that they are interested in.
hey can dra t it on paper and then type a good copy.
our students can use this list as a re erence.
ave them loo up ords they don t no .
B. PROOFREADING

Sample Resume ive students time to go through the resume chec list.
s students to spend time proo reading each other s or .
ave students revie and discuss the sample. Loo at other
samples or obs that your students identi ed in as 1. Resume Checklist

ave students re er to this chec list hen

riting and proo reading their resumes.

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 How to Write a Resume
Writing in English

Extra Vocabulary Practice (optional)

rite de nitions in your o n ords. Cut up these vocabulary strips.
Challenge a partner to match the vocabulary to your de nition.

curriculum vitae

qualification

career

keyword

objective

bullet point

functional

chronological

potential

recruiter

cliché

extensive

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