After getting a new job or starting a new school year, updating your resume may be the last thing on your mind. Now that you’ve been reminded, why not take a few minutes to make some thoughtful improvements!
There is no strict government law stating exactly how one must write a resume, so you should always feel free to do things your own way. In fact, even the general style that is recognised as relatively “standard” can be very different, even among English-speaking countries. However, speaking from the perspective of someone who reads a lot of resumes on a regular basis, there is certain information that is expected, some of which is particular to foreigners working abroad:
Basic Information:
-Name
-Address or General Area
-Contact Information (email, phone number)
-Nationality
-Date of Birth
-Language Ability (English, Japanese, or others)
-Visa Status
-Teaching Certifications and/or Qualifications
-Recent Photograph (choose wisely - this is a part of your first impression)
Beyond the basics, you should include (at minimum) information about your education and work history. Some English-speaking countries tend to differ on how they approach writing these sections, but in general you are expected to write the most recent activity first, and continue in reverse order.
Regarding education, you’d be surprised at how many people neglect to say what kind of degree they received, or even what school they went to. Please don’t be shy - we want to know what degree you received, what you studied, where you attended school, and when you graduated. Do not feel obliged to write information about your high school.
For work history, most people get it right, but you may be surprised to know that you don’t have to write paragraphs of information describing every single duty you ever performed. You should include the period of time (start and end, both months and years) spent at each place of employment, the company/school name, your job title, and a list of key responsibilities or important items that describe your experience.
Especially in the case of teachers, employers want to know several important things: What did you teach? Was it English conversation, or business English? Was it ESL or returnee classes? Did you plan the curriculum yourself? Were you team-teaching or were you alone? These are just a few of the questions that you should think about when writing your resume.
Education and work history are the main elements of any resume, but beyond that you should feel free to include any personal information you wish to share. References are always beneficial, and you should include any other skills or information relevant to the job you want to apply for.
You don’t have to include every job you ever worked at - employers usually don’t care if you worked at a fast food restaurant during high school or college - but you should include every relevant job that gave you the experience you needed to move forward.
Keep in mind it looks very suspicious if you have many gaps in your resume, and lying is absolutely unacceptable. Falsifying your resume and documents can result in not only losing your job, but depending on the degree it can also be a punishable crime. Make notes on those gaps to save the interviewer asking about every single one, or mention something about them in your cover letter, which brings us to...
Separate from your resume - but often just as important - is your cover letter. You should write a professional, business-like cover letter that is neither too short nor too long. Be sure that it is tailored to the particular position you are applying for. Many times have I seen candidates just copy and pasting, not bothering to change any detail at all, even to the extent of addressing the wrong company name and/or job details.
If you are not a native speaker of English, this is often the section that can prove your claim of native-level fluency (or negate it). Otherwise, this is the place where you should prove that you have a sense of professionalism and general ability to write well in English. If you’re looking for a job teaching English, you shouldn’t be too surprised to be judged on how well you can use it - even if you’re a native speaker. Your application will be automatically dismissed if the cover letter is a wall of text with spelling and grammar errors, which also brings us to...
Please do make an effort to think about design. A well-designed resume and cover letter is easier to read and leaves a better impression than a simple document that looks like it was thrown together with very little effort or thought. You don’t have to be so creative that you redesign what it means to write a resume, but remember that standing out of the crowd is never a bad thing when it comes to a job application. It's also always a better idea to have a second pair of eyes go over your documents before sending in an application.
Finally, a note about the ideal length of your resume and cover letter. General rule of thumb, no more than 2 pages for the resume, and no more than 1 page for the cover letter. On a bad day, anything over will be given the 'tldr' memo, and left for later in the day, or even later in the week.
The goal of the first step is getting the interview, so get out there and start renovating your resume!
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