Job Preparation and Readiness in English Course Proposal

CLASS TITLE: Job Preparation and Readiness for the English Speaking Market

GENERAL CLASS DETAILS

Ideal Class Size
Maximum 10 students
Required Level of English
Based on the Common European Framework, the students level should be at least B2. This class will be
challenging academically in the areas of English reading, writing, conversation, and comprehension.

Length of Class Class Length
3-6 months (optional to shorten or extend 1.5/class (1-2 times/week)
time)

CLASS OBJECTIVE
This class is extremely participatory and hands-on. It will cover all facets of job preparation and
readiness for working in an English speaking country and/or marketplace. Students will produce
cover letters and resumes based on real world opportunities that are closely related to their
career objectives, while also matching their current skill set.

The class will inform and prepare students about professional cover letter and resume writing in
English. Preparing them to think critically about what to put into and how to best present
relevant information in their resume / curriculum vitae. As well as, emphasizing the organization
and the visual presentation of the information. It will also cover interviewing preparedness and
skills plus concerns and pit falls. We will review methods of making your resume/curriculum
vitae stand out of a crowd and look at examples. Through videos and readings we will study best
practices and recommendations for getting hired in a crowded job market. Finally, the class will
also address some modern day job searching methods, such as doing informal interviews, using
social media sites, and networking.

The Role of English Conversation
Discussion and conversations will all occur in English. Student’s incorrect use of grammar and
any poor pronunciation will be constantly corrected in every class. The class will also focus on
improving the student’s English writing skills. Each class the students will be given a writing
assignment on job preparation and readiness for homework. The writing assignments will help
the students improve their English writing skills, gain personal clarity regarding their futures, it
will give them some material that can be used to write cover letters, in job interviews, and/or to
get a better understanding of who he/she is and what he/she wants to do professionally. Some
topics might include: where do you want to be in five years, what have you accomplished in
your life that would make you a good candidate for your dream job, what skills do you have to
offer, what skills do you need to be competitive in your job market, etc.?

1
Elizabeth E. Brait, MSS
Barrio del la Pila, 134,
Lloreda de Cayon 39694 España
eebrait@gmail.com | 659.946.710

COURSE OUTLINE

The class is divided into 5 sections throughout the semester.

Section 1 Brainstorming: What do you want to do, where do you want to be, and what skills do
you need to get there?
Section 2 Demystifying Cover Letters and Resumes/Curriculum Vitae (CV) for the English
Speaking Job Markets and What Makes a Good Reference
Section 3 Making your Resume / Curriculum Vitae Stand Out
Section 4 Interview Preparedness, and Skills, What to do after the interview (Thank you/Follow
up letters), and Getting Hired in a Crowded Job Market
Section 5 Job Searching (Informal interviews, social media, and networking)
Section 6 Cultural Differences and Different Expectations to Be Aware of Regarding
Employment in English Speaking Countries
Optional Collaboration Among Professors

I. Brainstorming: What do you want to do, where do you want to be, and what skills do
you need to get there?

The material in this class would extend over multiple class hours. The point of this class is to
help the students to brainstorm about their future. Brainstorming exercises will help the
student gain a better understanding of what he/she may want to pursue, and to increase their
clarity and focus in order to help them make better decisions. Students will need to answer a
series of questions in discussion and in writing assignments; as well as, make lists in order to
clarify what steps they should take towards their future. These assignments will be used as
references for each student when they are starting to develop their profession curriculum
vitae and material for cover letters, and in preparation for job interviews. The students
should be prepared to write a lot.

Some examples of brainstorming exercises will include:

• What is your dream job?
• Where do you want to work and why?
• What skills do you think you need to get there?
• What skills you really need? – The students will be asked to research this by
looking at job descriptions on the internet from multiple companies
• List your certifications and degrees
• List of your volunteer, work experience, and personal projects
• What skills do I currently have to offer?
• Make a list of my accomplishments (projects, published articles, presentations)
• Make a list of keywords that describe what you have done/accomplished (for
example, responsible, managed, sold, started, created, increased, etc) – This will
help the students to start thinking in terms of action words to describe their
successes.
• Make a list of technical and language skills

2

II. Demystifying Cover Letters and Resumes/Curriculum Vitae (CV) for the English
Speaking Job Markets and What Makes a Good Reference

a. Cover Letters
The students will be provided with examples of different cover letters in English. The
components of a cover letter will be discusses in detail. Format guidelines and
common Do’s and Don’ts will also be covered. The students will be asked to find job
opportunities online that they are interested in and that they have some or all of the
qualifications of the job advertised. Then they will be asked to practice writing cover
letters for these different job opportunities.

b. Resumes
Each student will develop a resume and/or curriculum vitae that they will be able to
use when searching for employment. The students will be provided with examples of
different resumes and curriculum vitae in English. Videos from youtube.com (i.e.
http://jetresumes.blogspot.com.es, videos on business and marketing oriented
resumes, etc) about resumes will be used as teaching material and in discussion. The
class will cover the differences between them and which country uses which format.
The components of a resume/curriculum vitae will be discusses in detail. Format
guidelines and common Do’s and Don’ts will also be covered. In addition to the
information that goes into a resume (CV), I will also cover resume/CV readability
(for example, what to make bold, italic, underline, font type and size, etc).

As described in the earlier part of the class, the students should have all the
information at this point to be able to create a resume / curriculum vitae.

c. References
This section of the course will mostly be a combination of presented information and
discussion.

It will cover the following:

• Who should be a reference?
• What should they say?
• What is a good reference vs. a satisfactory reference?
• Why is this important?
• How to write a reference (the components of a reference)

III. Making your Resume / Curriculum Vitae Stand Out
This class will involve a lot of reading and discussion about making the resume (CV) stand
out. The class will cover tips, do’s and don’ts, advice, how resumes are evaluated by people
and machines. For example, using of key words found in the job announcement and adapting
your CV for specific job announcements.

We will also watch some videos via youtube.com on this subject. The class will also provide
examples of ways different people have made their resume stand out, such as the resume of
Christopher J. Spurlock’s. His resume went viral on the web
3

(http://cjspurlock.squarespace.com/resume-cv/) and the advice he offers others about how
they can stand out (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-kanalley/how-to-make-your-
resume-g_b_828559.html). Additional examples showing other creative presentations (i.e.
http://iidastudents.wordpress.com/category/trends, http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=e0qbgCmHdrY) will be provided and students will also be asked to find examples that
they think are useful. All of the collected material will be shared with the entire class.

The students should leave this section understanding how to write resume that catches the
reviewers attention and what are the pit falls to avoid. By the end of the class students should
have a resume that they are ready to present to perspective employees.

IV. Interview Preparedness, and Skills, What to do after the interview (Thank you notes /
Follow up letters), and Getting Hired in a Crowded Job Market

a. Interview Preparedness and Skills
We often forget that job interviews are a two-way street. This class will cover the
entire street.

This section will cover:

• What makes a good interview?
• Selling yourself without sounding arrogant
• How to prepare for an interview?
• Knowing the company
• Question to expect and what questions to ask
• How to answer the “dreaded” salary question?
• How to answer questions that might be uncomfortable (for example, about
gaps in your CV, why you left a previous job or only worked there for a short
period of time)
• How to ask questions that you wouldn’t ask in your country?

Mock Interviews: Students will be paired up. One person will be the interviewer and
the other the interviewee. The students will give their partner some information about
the company that they have chosen to “submit a resume (CV)” to and the partner will
create a list of interview questions that relate to that company, using the job
description the student is responding to, and the general material provided in the
class. The person who is the being interviewed will also make a list of questions
about the job and the company to ask the person who is interviewing them.

b. What to do after the interview (Thank you/Follow up letters)
In this class, students will learn about the components and the importance of thank
you/follow up letters. Why it matters and the role it can play. Examples will be
provided and the students will have practice writing sample letters to the companies
that they choose to write a cover letter to and have an interview with throughout the
class.

4

V. Job Searching (Informal interviews, social media, and networking)

This section will cover the following:

• What is an informal interview and how does it work?
• How to use social media to find work?
(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203750404577173031991814896.html?
mod=wsj_share_in_bot)
• What is networking and how do I do it?
• Targeting markets and jobs
• Top 10 job sites
• Jobs that are advertised on more specialized sites (finding through keyword
searches, university links/resource pages, associations, etc) - We will create a
resource list for all of the students.

VI. Cultural Differences and Different Expectations to Be Aware of Regarding Employment
in English Speaking Countries

This class will look at an overview regarding cultural differences and expectations in the
workplace. Readings will be provided to the students and students will be expected to
participate in class discussion on the different themes.

This section will cover at least the following subjects:

• Different expectations in different cultures
• Adapting to different works hours and expectations. What is normal vs. acceptable?
• Working through lunch (No siestas) and unpaid overtime to meet deadlines,
different work compensation options
• Different modes of communication and presentation
• Differences regarding policies

OPTIONAL: Collaboration Among Professors
This class could also collaborate with other professors at CESINE who teach or have knowledge
of/experience in graphic/web design and video creation. By adding a dynamic component to this
course, in that, students would also create a video resumes/CV that they can post online, send to
companies, and also could be put on the CESINE website similar to what other business
universities have done in the United States.

Some examples include:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLBye5Z1ViM&feature=related ,
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7piXWfcZ54,
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fCSSBA0dGg,
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHCcbC5bdEo,
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuKbrHD0aVg&feature=related ,
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAS0_LS0knQ&feature=related,
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRHFEDyHIsc

5

6

Teacher: Elizabeth E. Brait

Summary of my qualifications
I am a native English speaker from the United States.

Degrees
Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology (University of California, Santa Cruz)
Master in Social Services (Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work & Social
Research)

Experience
• Working in the US job market in different fields since age 13
• Since 2006, teaching English in Santander, Spain
• Experience working in public health, social work, graphic/web design
• Taught job preparation and readiness, and created career development projects
• Work experience with project development, coordination, and creation, report
and proposal writing, editing, and research (including internet research)
• Experience with a lot of different computer programs and platforms
• In active development, I have some social media experience (already, enough to
understand it’s importance)
• Hired as a reviewer of program and project proposals for funding
• Working independently and in collaborations

For full work experience details, please review my CV

7

Job Preparation and Readiness in English Course Proposal

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Featured

Featured (20)

Job Preparation and Readiness in English Course Proposal