To get a summer job, students should use an adult method, such as preparing a resumŽ.
A video of your part in the school play, a snapshot of your action with the basketball team or the financial report you prepared for the student council are all items that could fit into a young person’s skills portfolio.
The evidence in the portfolio should show personal maturity, teamwork and initiative. High school teachers in Manitoba’s Interlake district are encouraging their students to develop this junior version of a resumŽ.
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Wanda Sparkes of Arborg, Man., told a session at the fourth national congress on rural education that she encourages her students to be selective about what they put into their portfolios.
Instead of six pages of honor roll certificates to leaf through, she said suggested putting certificates in one plastic sleeve.
“You don’t want thousands of pages to take to a job interview.”
Look professional
Students are also discouraged from etching “Joe loves Susie” on their portfolio binder. It should be kept clean and be creatively done so it stands out from the 60 other resumŽs that all go to the gas bar for the one job, said Sparkes.
She said students are asked to determine what their skills are and then prove them with documents such as photographs, diplomas, licences or certificates. These important documents should be photocopied to avoid loss of the originals.
If the students have no courses or previous jobs, they can illustrate their skills by writing a story about moving a piece of farm machinery for their father or solving a problem in 4-H.
They should also update their resumŽs. In Grade 9 a student might list the babysitting course she took, but by Grade 12 this may be replaced by a recommendation letter from the day-care centre where she worked last summer.
Sparkes said students should show their portfolios to parents, teachers or trusted friends and heed feedback before sending to a prospective employer. Spelling mistakes and poor grammar are problems that could put an application into the reject pile.
