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I had a great time delivering a full day of mini-workshops for job seekers at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) annual convention here in Philadelphia this past weekend!  I met with lots of very passionate and dedicated language teachers and administrators who were excited to learn some new job search techniques, resume and CV tips, and interview strategies.  There's nothing quite like being in a giant building full of people who are enthusiastic about their careers!

With an attendance of about 7,000, and more than 600 educational sessions, the Philadelphia Convention Center was buzzing with activity (plus the streets outside were packed in preparation for the marathon).  In the exhibit hall, there were over 250 booths set up by language companies, universities and schools, non-profits, and other organizations there to spread awareness and hand out free pens.

ACTFL brought me on board to host sessions on The Resume and the CV, How to Conduct an Effective and Efficient Job Search, and Interviewing - each workshop wound up standing room only.  In between workshops, I met with convention attendees one-on-one and in small groups to discuss their resumes and personal questions.  I was really impressed with the diversity of the convention attendees - so many languages, interesting programs and courses people developed, varied educational backgrounds, and ideas.  If you were at the convention, drop me a line and let me know how it was for you!

 
 
This is a great article appearing on cbsnews.com -  "Stop Spamming People With Your Resume" offers a really useful breakdown for a prospective job seeker on why her approach is so, so wrong, and what she ought to be doing instead.  There's nothing wrong with sending out unsolicited resumes - it just needs to be done the right way!
 
 
I'm really looking forward to this year's American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) convention, which will be held at the Philadelphia Convention Center November 16 - 18.  I'll be hosting a full day of mini-workshops and one-on-one Q & A on Saturday, November 17th.    We'll talk about resume writing, job searching, interviewing, and more, with a focus on challenges and opportunities unique to teaching languages.  It shaping up to be an exciting event!  If you're interested in registering or finding out more you can check out the ACTFL website.  
 
 
This is a really neat visual on how recruiters scan over applicant resumes... in 6 seconds!  The study also  "found that, using a Likert-like scale** ranking of 1 to 7, recruiters gave professionally re-written resumes an average rating of 6.2 for “usability.” This was a 60% improvement compared with a 3.9 rating before the re-write. This finding supports participating recruiters’ comments that the re-written resumes were 'easier to read.'"