From Backpack to Briefcase - WE€¦ · 4 From Backpack to Briefcase Resume writing: Use this worksheet to gather and organize information for your resume. Full contact information:

From Backpack to BriefcaseCareer and Leadership Planner

AN INITIATIVE OF

2 From Backpack to Briefcase

Resume writing: Have you heard of the terms “hard skills” and “soft skills” before? What do you think the definitions are for each term?

Full contact information:

What’s an example of a time in your life when you felt successful? This could be on a sports team, a school achievement, a volunteer placement, previous job, school project, WE Schools Campaign or personal hobby.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What factors led to your success? What did you do to prepare or perform?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Circle the skills that you think you used in this situation. Add your own skills at the bottom if needed.

What’s an example of a time in your life when you felt you did not succeed or faced a barrier? This could be on a sports team, a school achievement, a volunteer placement, previous job, school project, WE Schools Campaign or personal hobby.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What factors contributed to this situation? What did you do to prepare or perform?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If faced with the same situation again in the future, circle the skills that you think you would need to be successful. Add your own skills at the bottom if needed.

Hard Skills:Definition: ___________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Examples: ___________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Soft Skills:Definition: ___________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Examples: ___________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Organization Conflict management Computer skills Teamwork Graphic design

Flexibility Writing Discipline Enthusiasm Active listening

Collaboration Empathy Patience Research Empathy

Organization Conflict management Computer skills Teamwork Graphic design

Flexibility Writing Discipline Enthusiasm Active listening

Collaboration Empathy Patience Research Empathy

Career and Leadership Planner 3

Set a goal to expand your skillset!

Develop a 30-second elevator pitch.

SMART Goals are a tool that you can use any time you want to set a goal. You can use them when creating an action plan to make sure that you are set up for success to achieve your goal!

An “elevator pitch” is an important networking tool. This is an opportunity to get your point across in a timely manner; who you are, what you have accomplished and where you hope to go in the future. Build your own elevator pitch by answering these questions:

With your facilitator in the workshop, identify at least one skill you would like to develop and write down an action you will take to develop that skill.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ .

I would like to develop/improve my _____________________________ skills. I will do that by ________________________________________

I will ask ___________________________________________________ for support. I will do this by __________________________________ .

1. Who are you and what are you passionate about?

2. What type of opportunity are you looking for?

3. What are some of your strengths that you want to highlight?

4. Action step: Offer a business card or ask for one and let the person know that you will follow up with them.

5. Write, edit and strengthen your speech:

6. Practise, practise and practise some more!

Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-bound


Resume writing: Use this worksheet to gather and organize information for your resume.

Full contact information: Name

Current address

Email Phone number

Experience: Name of company or organization

Job/volunteer/co-op title

Date from (Mo/Yr) Date to (Mo/Yr)

Description of responsibilities and accomplishments (write your experiences in bullet statements)

Name of company

Job/volunteer/co-op title

Date from (Mo/Yr) Date to (Mo/Yr)

Description of responsibilities and accomplishments (write your experiences in bullet statements)

Education: As a high school student, list the name of your high school and expected date of graduation on your resume.

Name of school:

City of school:

Expected graduation date:

Skills:Highlight your most outstanding strengths and abilities. Return to the Skills Assessment page for some inspiration!

Now put it all together!Use all the information you have gathered to create your resume. Put your full name in a clear and bold font at the top. Print off your resume and bring it to the Resume and Cover Letter Workshop for review.

Do ► Use bullet points ► Pay careful attention to spelling, punctuation,

grammar and style

Don’t ► Use distracting fonts and borders ► Use buzz words ► Include photos

Objective:

This serves as the introduction of your resume, explaining what type of job you are seeking and what experience/skills you have to offer. You can change your career objective on your resume depending upon the job you are applying for. Here are some questions you may want to answer:

• What kind of employment do you want? (I.e., internship, coop, full-time, part-time)

• What type of position do you want? (I.e., customer service, sales, etc.)

• What interests you? What areas are you looking to work in?

Seeking a position as a , that will utilize my , and skills. (Example: Seeking a part-time position as a Sale Associate, that

will utilize my communication, leadership skills and strong work ethic.)


Cover letter framework

(name of employer or hiring manager)

• Why are you applying to this role? • What excites you about this role? • Optional: Small story or anecdote about what brings you to the company

• Your work and volunteer experience and the skills you have developed through them

• What you can bring to this role • Explain how your experience makes you the best person for the job

• Show your passion for the industry • A personal story or experience that is relevant to the role

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Your name and address:____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Name and address of the company you are applying to:____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Date:____________________________________________________

Dear _____________________________________________ ,

The beginning

The middle

The end

Sincerely,____________________________________________________


Interview preparationWhat steps should you take to prepare for your interview?

• ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Questions to practise

Below are a list of questions that commonly come up in interviews. Practise writing out answers below and find a friend or family member to practise with before you go for an interview.

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. What are three characteristics you have that could add value in a workplace setting? Explain.

a. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Why should I hire you?

Don’t forget to follow up with a thank-you email.


STAR templateSTAR is a framework for effectively answering questions in an interview. In your workshop, your facilitator will walk you through the template. Fill it in below when preparing to answer situational based questions in an interview.

S _______________

A _______________

T _______________

R _______________


Notes:


Notes:


WE.org@WEmovement

Visit WE.org/frombackpacktobriefcase to see the complete From Backpack to Briefcase video series.

Documents

From Backpack to Briefcase - WE€¦ · 4 From Backpack to Briefcase Resume writing: Use this worksheet to gather and organize information for your resume. Full contact information: