By Kihei Staruch-Paikai, English Major & ACH Clear Pathways/Community Writing Center Intern
The past couple of weeks have been full of ups and downs. The unpredictability of it all has sure been throwing me for a loop. Regardless, clouds still come with a silver lining!
Because of my affected schedule, I’ve recently been assigned to lead our upcoming Community Resume Workshop! I’m very excited to take this on. However, I’m also a bit nervous. As a writing center consultant, I’ve reviewed resumes in the past. But I never fully understood what a “good” resume was. There’s SO much variability in resume building. For me, I have always relied on the resume templates in Word…
No shame here.
Anyways, I have been doing quite a bit of research about resume construction, the different types of resumes, and what kind of information should be accounted for in resumes. This workshop is unique in that it’s geared toward serving individuals in the Pittsburgh community. Now I don’t mean to generalize, but it’s relatively simple for us college students to describe our school and work experiences to others. We attend class. We maintain jobs throughout the school year and either take off over breaks or pick up another job while back home. We might hold a position in a club and enjoy partaking in some type of hobby. We make connections and might even receive an award or two for academic achievement. My point here is that our school and work lives are rather predictable.
This isn’t necessarily the case for others outside a college setting. Some people have to take long periods away from work in order to care for a loved one. Others had to serve time in correctional facilities. Perhaps someone was out of work for medical reasons. This is all to say that this workshop has to account for diversity and variation in work histories and backgrounds. Our neighbors in the greater Pittsburgh community have life experiences that differ greatly from our own. Resume building can be quite a stressful process. I want to make sure that I’m educated enough to provide helpful feedback in the hope of alleviating at least some of that stress.
I want to make sure that the workshop is as respectful as it is informative. I also want it to be a rewarding experience for those who choose to join. Regardless of their work/school background, any individual deserves a clean, polished resume to provide employers with. I hope to make this happen! I’ve been working pretty hard, yet there’s still work to be done. I’m looking forward to this experience and can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Building Bridges 