Ryan Parks

Hi Dana,

What type of Career Services department to you work in?  I work for a for-profit university, so helping potential graduates with their career goals and helping them find positions in their degree field is important. 

I'm a new Career Services professional, so what resources have you found helpful to share with students when you meet with them to go over their resume?  I look foward to hearing from you. 

Regards,

Ryan N. Parks

Stephen Gillmore

Hi Ryan, 

I also work for a for-profit and have been a Career Services Professional for a little over 12 years so welcome to the field. We utilize a resume worksheet that we created to get the basic information about the individual, course they are attending, employment history, volunteer work, certifications and skills so that we can build a resume for a starting point. We then have the individual come in and review and fine tune their resume. I have found this allows the individual to think about what they want on the resume first before having to sit for an extended period of time just to wait on me to type it up. 

Also if you have the option to take a a course I highly recommend getting your Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) Certification. It is available through the Professinoal Association of Resume Writers (PARW)

Hope this helps!

Stephen Gillmore

Ryan Parks

Hi Stephen,

Thank you for sharing this information!  Appreciate the warm Career Services welcome. Would you happen to have a copy of that resume building worksheet you use?  That sounds like something i would like to incorporate, so when I meet with students, we will already have a foundation to work with. Especially, for students who are new to resume writing.

What do you enjoy about the industry?  It's definitely a rewarding career field, when we can help so many students with their career goals and career development in life.  That's one of the reasons I enjoy what I do.  

How did you go about getting your CPRW?  Was it a hard process or was it befitting to your work already, so it was fairly easy to obtain?  

Regards,

Ryan N. Parks

Stephen Gillmore

Ryan, give me your email address and I will send a copy to you. You would have to change some of it to fit your needs but the framework would be there. 

To answer the question about what I enjoy about the industry, it would be the interaction with the students and graduates. Seeing the light come on, hearing the joy in their voices when they get offered the job and being someone they want to tell about their successes. I have graduates from several years ago who still report their successes to me as the climb the career ladder.

The CPRW was basically a review over what you know about resumes. At the time I took it, I received a guide that advised how resumes and cover letters were utilized and then had to take a multiple choice test online. After that was complete I had to write a Resume, Cover Letter and Justification page explaining why I used the format I chose etc... At that point you send off your copies of everything and it is reviewed to pass for your certification.

Hope this helps you,

Stephen Gillmore, CPRW

Sara Gehr

Mr. Gillmore,

Could I have a copy as well?  I am a Student Services Coordinator for a non-profit trade school.

Stephen Gillmore

Sure can, what is the best way to get it to you?