Americanize my CV! (long)

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hello, gang! As previously mentioned, I’m planning an intercontinental move in the name of love. So I’m looking for a job in Silicon Valley, hopefully one that is happy to sponsor my visa - as mentioned in that other thread, I’m eligible for the E3 visa, which looks to offer a pretty good deal to both me and potential employers.

My field is informal science education; I’m currently the manager of a small science centre (I mean, CENTER) in a regional town. I’m looking for a similar sort of role, in progams, education, or management of an informal education venue. But I’m also willing to consider other jobs in the field.

So far, my search strategy has been quite fruitful, in that I’ve come across half a dozen jobs I’d be qualified for, and probably quite enjoy. I’ve applied for these, and made a fair few other enquiries to venues I’d be interested in working for. My results have been mixed - one or two blanket NOs, in that the company wouldn’t consider hiring an alien like me; several completely ignored, as is all too often the norm, I think; two quite positive responses inviting me to formally apply for positions.

So, I’m a bit worried about my resume. Is it a complete train-wreck? Can anyone offer me any tips? (MaxTheVool has already recommended one change, from Referees to References. Apparently only sportspeople need referees :slight_smile: ) I know resumes styles go in and out of fashion - this has been a fairly successful format for me lately, but only for Australian employers, so any American input is especially welcome. (Oh, the formatting is a bit nicer in my Word document, but you get the idea!)

Thanks in advance!
Profile
A dedicated and enthusiastic science communicator, I am committed to improving the dialogue between scientific organizations and the community. I am experienced in developing and delivering informal education programs including shows, activities, exhibitions and events.

Professional Experience
Manager, Nameless Science & Technology Center, My Town Jul 2006-current

As manager of a small regional science center, my role is highly varied: staff and volunteer recruitment, management and training, forward planning and direction, program and exhibition development, etc. I advise the Nameless Board during monthly meetings, and coordinate networks with various stakeholders in industry and academia. I am also responsible for day-to-day center management, project management of grant-funded programs and building works, and development and delivery of programs and science shows to varied audiences.

Visitor Programs Officer, Scienceworks Museum, Melbourne Feb 2004- Jul 2006

As a member of the small Visitor Programs team, I was responsible for the development, delivery and day-to-day management of weekend and holiday programs for Scienceworks visitors. Up to 3000 visitors daily enter the Scienceworks museum site; Visitor Programs additional activities, including science shows and ‘make and take’ activities, enhance the education and entertainment experience of the visit, and also acted as the conduit between staff and the museum’s large volunteer corps. A major aspect of this role was the production of the daily What’s On program, ensuring its information was correct and easily accessible to all visitors.

Youth Activities Counselor, MS Disney Wonder, Port Canaveral, FL May 2005- Nov 2005

While on secondment from Scienceworks, I was employed by the Disney Corporation as a specialist science program presenter for 8-9 year-olds on board the MV Disney Wonder, cruising the western Caribbean. During my six-month contract, I was promoted to the position of Navigator Editor, and made responsible for updating and proofing the four activity programs which were published twice weekly.

Shell Questacon Science Circus Scholar, Canberra Jan 2003 – Dec 2003

The Shell Questacon Science Circus is the major outreach program of Questacon – The National Science and Technology Center. Staffing the Circus is the fieldwork component of the Graduate Diploma in Scientific Communication course. As one of 16 Scholars, I was responsible for writing and performing science shows and workshops for a wide range of audiences, from school groups to Rotary Clubs, throughout rural and regional Australia. I also worked temporarily in administration, taking bookings for the Circus’ 2004 tours.

Education
Course: Graduate Diploma in Scientific Communication
Institution: Australian National University
Date completed: 2003

Course: Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education
Methods: Science and Languages (Indonesian)
Institution: Northern Territory University
Date completed: 2002

Course: Bachelor of Science
Major: General Science
Institution: Northern Territory University
Date completed: 2001

Interests
Travel, writing, bird-watching, bike riding, playing the piano and autoharp, reading modern fiction, and movies.

References
Available on request.

2

I work in an industry where I see a lot of CVs from both Americans and people from other places, and I can pick out an American CV without reading a word.

Just a couple of quick tips:

Take out the interests bit; it is not as common in American CVs;
You’re probably better off calling it a resume:
Take out “References Available on Request,” of course they are, there is no need to say this.
Do not include a photo of yourself on the document (common in some other countries, weird to people from US)

Personally, I like bullet points in resumes/CVs. I might be scanning literally dozens of documents and I want to be able to quickly grasp a person’s skills.

You also might clarify what your diploma is the equivalent to in the US system (does graduate diploma = master’s degree?)

Good luck!

3

It should be in bullet, not paragraph, form. In general, a short phrase started with a verb is preferable. For example:

Should be something like:

Manager, Nameless Science & Technology Center, My Town Jul 2006-current

[ul]
[li]Recruited (X Amount) of staff and volunteers[/li][li]Developed exhibitions for _____________[/li][li]Managed grant-funded programs and building works[/li][/ul]

There probably should be a couple more bullets.

Specific actions and responsibilities are great to include. Say how many people you managed, how big of a grant program you oversaw, something important that you developed, etc. This is important because I don’t know if you recruited 2 or 200 staff with a budget of 50 bucks or 50 thousand.

I’d wager at this point that if your resume came across someone’s desk it would go right into the trash. Hiring managers do their first cull of resumes in 10 seconds or so. You’re resume needs to be able to convey the necessary information in that amount of time.

I don’t know what a secondment or graduate diploma is either.

4

Everybody knows that a secondment is twice as good as a firstment.

5

I was thinking about your CV at lunch. You should realize that the first question people are going to have about your application are the visa issues. You should address that in your cover letter, telling people what you are doing to secure it, when you will be in the US, etc. For people unfamiliar with hiring someone not already in the US, it will likely sound like a huge inconvenience for them to hire you; you’ll need to take some of that concern away in your application (I realize you probably do this, but just thought I’d pass it along if not).

6

Do you need to put the months in?

7

As someone who does a fair bit of hiring here in the US, I’ll suggest you try the Functional resume format seen in this template. Address your visa issues first, and highlight your qualifications. List your skills, where you got them and why someone should employ you.

8

One thing you might consider is highlighting that you have been employed in the US before. Right now that fact is somewhat buried due to the pure chronological format. One way to addrees this is to have subheads

U.S. Experience

blah blah

International Experience
blah
blah
blah

Also, as to “graduate diploma” is it equivalent to, say a Master’s? In order to put it into terms the employer can understand, while not misstating the name of the degree you recieved, add an explanatory parenthetical: (equivalent to Master of Arts [or Sciences, whichever applies])

Also, “Course” as a descriptor is not used; if you want to keep the format the same, use “Degree” instead. As used in the US a “course” is like a single class. Its pretty obvious what it means from context but why rely on context? In my opinion, though, the way its broken out stikes me as space wasting (a US resume should rarely be over 1 page)

Education
Graduate Diploma in Scientific Communication (equivalent to Master of Science), Australian National University, [location*] 2003.

*Not as obvious as it seems. There are places all over the world known as the “American University of…”

As already stated, take out interests (considered fluff in the US unless it contains relevant achievments)

Something to be added would be any awards or commendations if applicable.

9

Are you actually going to spell everything American-style? They know you’re from Australia; would it make that much of a difference?

10

As others have hinted, you should probably explicitly state that a “graduate diploma” is not a degree. However, I would suggest that the better course is to submit your credentials to an organization like the W.E.S. and include their assessment of the U.S. equivalency of your two graduate diplomas (it might add up to a master’s degree). Or, if your bachelor’s degree program was a three-year program (as opposed to the four-year bachelor’s degrees in the United States), W.E.S. might put one of your graduate diplomas together with your bachelor’s degree to create the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree.

Also, I would suggest completely leaving out the stuff about “secondment.” It doesn’t make any sense to an American and is probably unnecessary information. Just treat it as a separate job experience.