☰ Year plan · English (Connect)

Unit 6 Job Hunting: reading a CV, writing my CV and story themes

Week 14 · Unit 6 Job Hunting (B) and Chapter 6 of the novel: a sample resume (reference only), analysis / coordinator / promotional, the parts of a CV, action verbs, writing a first CV, Chapter 6 of the novel (reference only) · 3 lessons
1

Reading a one-page resume: facts and meaning

English Secondary 1 Term 1, Unit 6 Lesson 4: pp. 88–89
GoalRead a one-page CV of an invented fifteen-year-old for facts and meaning, and ask what makes a CV effective.
New words
CV · a short document that lists your education, activities and skillspersonal statement · two or three sentences that introduce youqualification · a certificate or result that shows what you have learnedachievement · something good that you have donecollaborate · to work together with other peoplereferences · people who can say good things about you
Explanation

A CV (or resume) is a fact page. It is usually one page long, and it is easy to scan. To read it for facts, ask: Who is the person? Where does the person study? What has the person done and for how long? Which skills and languages are listed? To read it for meaning, ask what the facts suggest: A person who has helped at a library every Saturday for a year is probably reliable. An effective CV is clear and short, uses headings, gives facts and numbers, begins each activity with an action verb in the past (organised, helped, led, created, collaborated, assisted) and has no spelling mistakes. A CV for a fifteen-year-old does not need an address, a phone number or an email in a practice document. Your book has a sample resume on pages 88 and 89. Read it after this lesson and ask the same questions.

SectionWhat it tells us
Personal statementWho I am and what I look for
EducationWhere I study and my best subjects
ActivitiesWhat I did, with action verbs and numbers
Skills and languagesWhat I can do and which languages I speak
Worked examples
SectionFarida Nasser, 15, Garden Hills
Personal statementI am a responsible student who enjoys helping younger children. I am looking for a summer helper job in a library or at a school event.
EducationGarden Hills Secondary School, Secondary 1; good results in English and science.
ActivitiesLibrary helper (every Saturday for one year): organised returned books and helped small children to choose stories. Class garden project: led a team of four students and sold forty plants with them.
Skills and languagesTeamwork, careful organising, speaking clearly to a group. Arabic (first language), English (good), French (beginner).
Read this invented CV of a fifteen-year-old.
Facts: Farida is fifteen and studies at Garden Hills Secondary School. She has helped at a library every Saturday for one year. She led a team of four students in a class garden project, and they sold forty plants.
Meaning: the Saturday work for a year suggests that she is reliable; leading a team of four shows leadership; the languages show she can communicate.
What makes it effective? It is short, it has headings, it begins activities with action verbs (organised, helped, led) and it gives numbers (four students, forty plants).
Class activity

CV detective. Look at the CV above again. Find three action verbs, two numbers and one skill. Then write two sentences that begin “I can see that Farida …” and give a reason from the CV.

Practice
1
How long has Farida helped at the library, and when?
2
What did she do in the class garden project?
3
Which languages does she speak, and how well?
4
What does her Saturday library work suggest about her?
5
Name two things that make this CV effective.