Resource Library

Completing this course allows you to request a written review of your resume by a career advisor. To request a review, complete the Resume Self-Review document found on the “Additional Resume Resources” page in the final module of the tutorial and email your resume and completed self-review form to careers@wgu.edu. Students who request a review without completing the tutorial will be directed back to the tutorial.  

This course is appropriate for job seekers of all levels as it covers fundamental resume best practices as well as how to take your resume to the next level by customizing it for the role you are seeking.  

In the course, you will learn about the following topics: 

• What a resume is and how it’s used by job seekers and employers during the hiring process
• Basic components of an effective resume and best practices for each component
• Resume formatting and design guidelines for creating a polished, recruiter-friendly document
• Customizing your resume for specific industries and job opportunities 

Supplemental Resources

Use this resource and resume templates below to create a draft or further develop your resume:

• Resume Writing Guide

To attend an upcoming workshop, check out our Events page. If you're not able to attend a live event, you can register for an upcoming session to receive a recording, or you can view a past recording.

Supplemental Resources

Use these supplemental resources to further refine your resume:

• How to Build a Strong Professional Profile
• Resume Action Verbs
• Accomplishment Statements

Note: You must be logged into your WGU Student Portal to access the links above. 

Summary

Most employers use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) for their hiring. Applicant Tracking Systems scan resumes for keywords and skills from the job description and assign each resume a match rate. Recruiters use this match rate to determine which resumes to review. It is critical that you customize your resume for each role that you apply to.

Once you have refined your resume and practiced customizing a resume in a Resume Lab, use the resources below to tailor your own resume for the role you are seeking. It can mean the difference between a recruiter offering you an interview or not reading your resume at all.

Supplemental Resources

• O*Net-SOC AutoCoder - Instantly provides a high-quality occupational classification based on your resume or job description, identifies key words critical to include on your resume, and confirms that your resume is targeted toward your career goal/s.
• TagCrowd - Use your resume and a job description to create your own word clouds to visualize word frequency and ensure your resume aligns with the job description.

CONGRATULATIONS! You will soon be completing  your teaching degree and your next career opportunity is just around the corner. Please view the video below for a quick overview of the services available and utilize the following resources to ensure a successful job search as you embark on your new career.  

Resume Resources

Teacher Resume Guidelines - Review the detailed guidelines to get started on creating an impactful teacher resume.

Teacher Resume Sample - Download the template in Word to use as a foundation to  create your own resume.

Professional Profile Samples - Consider this list of sample profiles for inspiration in creating your own.

Resume Action Verbs - To avoid using the same verbs repeatedly in your resume, read through this comprehensive list of action verbs

Accomplishment Statements - Craft bullets that highlight your successes and help you stand out from the pack.

Teacher Portfolios - Use these best practices to build an effective professional portfolio.

After utilizing the resume guidelines, sample resume and additional resources provided to update your resume, a career advisor would be happy to provide a final review.  You can submit your resume for review to careers@wgu.edu. 

Cover Letter Resources

3 Simple Tips to Help Your Teaching Cover Letter Make the Grade - A blog about how to make a positive first impression and catch the attention of your next employer with a well crafted cover letter. 

Portfolio Resources

Portfolio Content - Review the list of potential content to include in your portfolio. Your portfolio should be a compilation of your best work as a student and professional.

Interview Resources

Big Interview - WGU Career & Professional Development is pleased to offer WGU students and alumni access to Big Interview, a free and comprehensive interview preparation and practice system. 

• Visit the link: https://wgu.biginterview.com/
• Select the GREEN “Register” button in the upper right hand corner 
• Enter your WGU email address, First Name, Last Name and Password of your choice
• Select the GREEN “Create My Account” button

The resume you are about to create is intended to assist you in securing your pre-clinical placement. Many school districts request a resume to determine if they will accept a teacher candidate in their school. Follow the steps below to create a professional resume. Please note that you must be logged in to WGU to access the links below. 

1. View the Clinical Experience Sample Resumes: CE Sample, New to Teaching AND CE Sample, Extensive Experience. 
2. Download the Clinical Experience Resume Template in Word to create your own resume. (NOTE: You must download this document prior to editing.)

Writing an Effective Clinical Experience Resume Webinar. Review this webinar recording to learn about the process of writing a compelling resume that will attract the attention of school districts. You can also view upcoming career events to attend one of our upcoming live events! 

The Career & Professional Development department offers personalized resume reviews upon request. Please email a Word version of your resume to careers@wgu.edu after thoroughly reviewing the resources listed above. You will be referred back to these resources if your resume does not reflect the best practices outlined in the guide and resume template.

Please Note: Once you complete your pre-clinical and student teaching experiences, you will need to update your resume to showcase your achievements.

Getting Started

Transferable skills can be particularly helpful to professionals who are in the process of a career change. By definition, a transferable skill is a learned skill or ability that is considered “portable” - meaning you can take it into just about any situation.  For example if you were the President of a Home Owners Association, PTO President, Supervisor, or Volunteer Coordinator at an organization, you have evidence of leadership experience, and this experience can translate across different contexts and environments.

Most people have hundreds of different skills that would be considered transferable but it is important to narrow down the specific transferable skills that will be valuable to employers. 

Not sure which transferable skills apply to the field of HIM? Here are some resources that you can research:

• Review this list of industry specific transferable skills associated with Health Information Management. Highlight the skills with which you have experience.
• Review HIM job postings and employer websites.
• Review associated HIM websites like American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and others to generate a list of relevant transferable skills.

Putting It All Together

Now that you understand how to identify your relevant transferable skills, you can build an effective resume and cover letter targeted for the HIM field.

• Resume Resources - Utilize the resume resources that include a resume webinar, sample resumes, and resume builders for creating a resume that gets results.
• Cover Letter Resources - Review the cover letter resources that include a cover letter webinar, cover letter guidelines, and sample cover letters to help you write your letter.

Information is power and provides insights when used as a part of an organization’s decision-making. The more data you have—and the better you are at analyzing that data—the more you can improve the health of individuals and populations. 

Nursing informatics is a specialized role that requires a combination of clinical knowledge and information systems. Below are some resources that will help you prepare to showcase your most relevant skills as you begin your journey as a Nursing Informatics professional.

Core Skills

You have likely amassed hundreds of transferable skills throughout your career. It is important to identify and narrow in on the specific transferable skills that will be most valuable within Nursing Informatics.

Core Skills in Nursing Informatics: Nursing informatics requires a unique set of skills that represents a mix of technology, compliance, interpersonal and clinical skills. To help identify which of your skills match the requirements, review this list of core skills and select those that you have. This list is not all-inclusive  but will help you to highlight skills that will be most valuable to hiring managers. 

Review Nursing Informatics job postings and employer websites.

Review associated NI websites to generate a list of relevant transferable skills:

• American Nurses Infornatics Association
• American Health Information Managment Association
• Healthcare Information Managment Systems Society

Resume Resources

This step-by-step resume tutorial walks you through the entire process of building a resume that is visually appealing, accomplishment rich and appealing to hiring managers.

• Resume Tutorial

Download the resume sample in Word to use as a foundation to create your own resume.

• Nursing Informatics Resume Sample
  

After utilizing the resume tutorial and sample, a career advisor would be happy to provide a final review.  You can submit your resume for review to careers@wgu.edu. 

• Email Us

Cover Letter Guidelines

Review these guidelines and use the template to create a strong cover letter.

• Cover Letter Guidelines and Template

View a 6 minute webinar which walks you through the process of creating a customized cover letter.

• Stand Out with a Cover Letter

Networking Tips

Networking is an essential skill for professionals looking to break into a new field. if you would like a career specialist to review your networking strategy, feel free to email us at careers@wgu.edu to schedule an appointment.

• Step-by-Step Networking Guide
• LinkedIn User Guide & Social Media

Interview Preparation

Big Interview - WGU Career & Professional Development is pleased to offer WGU students and alumni access to Big Interview, a free and comprehensive interview preparation and practice system.

Custom Nursing Informatics Interview Questions. Here are some specific questions provided from real-world interviews to help you prepare for your next interview.

After utilizing the Nursing Informatics interview tools, feel free to schedule a live practice interview with a career advisor by emailing careers@wgu.edu.

Getting Started

1. Go to: https://wgu.biginterview.com/

2. Login with your WGU Credentials

3. Once logged in, you will be directed to the main dashboard. Here, you have several options for exploring interview resources.

o To get a quick overview and practice of interviews, click on the "Fast Track" option. This section provides a broad understanding of interviews, various interview types, and allows for quick practice sessions.

o Alternatively, if you prefer a more comprehensive approach, choose the "Mastery Track." This section offers a detailed overview of interviews, different types of interviews, and provides in-depth practice opportunities to enhance your skills.

o To access industry-specific questions and a variety of interview sets, click on "Interviews" next to "My Dashboard" in the top left corner. This will allow you to select from a range of industry questions and tailored interview sets.

Need extra assistance? Use this helpful Student Guide to gain deeper understanding of how to best utilize and maximize the Big Interview Tool

Once you are signed up, check out some of these helpful links:

Dress For Success
Wondering how to dress for your next interview or career event? This resource provides great, concise recommendations to help you look the part. 

AssessmentDay.com
Review free up-to-date advice, tips, tutorial videos, and practice tests to help you prepare for the psychometric tests that may be a part of the application process. 

How to Prepare for a Career Event
Job and career events are a great way to network with employers and learn about different companies. This is also a great way to learn about different hiring opportunities, and potentially interview for a position. 

Interviewing 101 Workshop
For many of us, interviewing can be a challenge. Fortunately, like many other things in life, interviewing is a skill that you can get better at over time with practice. In this webinar, we cover what to do before, during, and after the interview to make a great impression and help you get the job! We also discuss strategies for different types of interviews, such as phone interviews, video interviews, and recorded video interviews (like HireVue). Finally, we walk through the Big Interview practice platform and demonstrate how to use it to prepare for an interview.

Be sure to practice your interview skills and get constructive feedback from a knowledgeable expert before your next interview. 

Share Your Practice Interview 
Once you record your practice interview in Big Interview, email it to careers@wgu.edu and one of WGU’s career advisors will review your recording and share feedback with you.

Request a Mock Interview
In addition to recording a practice interview, schedule a mock interview with your career advisor for additional feedback and tips on interview best practices. You can email careers@wgu.edu or request a mock interview.