Post HE - preparing for a job, self-ed & resume

[Joan in GE]

To all those who have finished home educating and have or are preparing for getting a job....

 

I've been trying to do self-assessments of my skills or lack there of that I'll need for the working world.....

 

When I look at the different branches of experience, certainly the biggest after 24 years of home educating is actually 'administration' :-) besides preparing for different courses but they are so diverse that I'd say I'm a master of none....

 

I'm thinking I'll need to learn MS Word inside and out, and probably some other kind of computer skills....

 

Does anyone have any recommendations of what you think foundational to apply for administration type positions?

 

Or are there other jobs that you found fit well with a home education experience - and if so, what kind of continuing ed did you do to get up to speed?

 

Also, if you did apply, how did you describe your past experience? On my resume, I want to tailor it to my real experience - after all 'homeschool mother" doesn't tell people much over here as there are very few of us, so the general public is very uneducated.

 

Do you have any advice about this process?

 

Thank you!

Joan

 

PS Not sure if this is the right forum for this but besides the bilingual one, it's the only one I spent enough time on to know people...

 

[Lilaclady]

I am of no help but want to give this a bump. I

think the question has been asked a few times. I am on my phone and can't link but Jenny and Lauracolin have posted about their experiences.

[Joan in GE]

I am of no help but want to give this a bump. I

think the question has been asked a few times. I am on my phone and can't link but Jenny and Lauracolin have posted about their experiences.

 

Thank you!

 

I did search in several ways but couldn't find anything. I'll try now with their names.

 

Joan

[Joan in GE]

I am of no help but want to give this a bump. I

think the question has been asked a few times. I am on my phone and can't link but Jenny and Lauracolin have posted about their experiences.

 

I'm guessing you meant Laura Corin as there's no Lauracolin and have written her....but which Jenny did you mean?

 

Thanks!

[Laura Corin]

I did this. I did a Microsoft Office course - not just Word - and wrote a resume stressing experience gained. So I set up my home education years as though they were a real job, then detailed the skills: administration, research, organisation and leadership (organising Spelling Bees, etc). For each skill I detailed examples.

 

I took the first possible job then moved every three years. I am now working in my desired organisation and am looking at how to advance.

 

A tip: don't just have one resume. When you apply for a job, look at the requirements and tailor your resume using their key words. If they say they want a self starter who is cool under pressure, use those words in your resume and give examples.

 

Good luck.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Laura Corin

[mumto2]

I think she means Jenny in Florida but not positive.

 

As I remember Laura went back to work with a first job at a post office. A real life friend did that route also. She has gone on to do her book keeping exams and is working in that field now. This friend was not a home ed mom but had not ever been employed outside the home).

 

My other back to work home ed friend has part time job at a school where her youngest is attending.

 

Eta...obviously I was posting at the same time as Laura. :)

Edited January 16, 2016 by mumto2

[Lilaclady]

Thanks. Sorry I meant lauraCorin and Jenny in Florida

[quark]

This is exactly where I am now. I have been applying for administrative positions too just because this was the bulk of my home educating experience but a friend I spoke to recently asked me to think beyond that and now I am considering education consultancy. Not so much college consultancy because I haven't fully btdt yet but more along the lines of helping parents make the transition into homeschooling and especially gifted homeschooling just because of my experience already mentoring families in that area.

 

I agree with the advice to not limit yourself to one resume. Try different formats and ways of expressing what you have accomplished. For me, I continued to use MS Office extensively throughout our homeschooling but I am just lost with accounting/ book-keeping so I am looking into self ed courses on that.

 

This is what I use to explain my decade of homeschooling, all of it very, very true! I have to keep it short because I want my resume on one page but I take time to explain more in person when called for interviews (if I am asked to).

 

Facilitating independent learning. Researching and compiling curriculum databases. Researching and interviewing tutors, organizing workshops, and researching high school graduation, and community college and university admission requirements. Mentoring newbie homeschooling parents with special support in alternative education methods for precocious learners. Founder/ co-founder and moderator of three homeschool support groups (which number 100 - 1000+ members).

 

Basically, I want to show that I can understand and compile databases, coordinate scheduling, make cold calls when necessary, organize events if needed and show consistent leadership/ reliability despite being out of the workforce.

Edited January 16, 2016 by quark

[quark]

In terms of skills, I look very carefully at job postings and only apply if I am a close match or think I can learn something very quickly on the job.

 

Employers like to see a tech-loving personality but this depends on where you live. I happen to live in a very high-tech area.

 

They like to see that you can write, edit and proofread and juggle scheduling as effortlessly as possible. I am often asked about customer service experience because depending on the admin job you are often the first impression someone gets when they call or visit the office.

 

Ads might ask for people who are social media savvy. I don't like that but I try to keep up. If the admin work also involves keeping some of the web info updated, some basic html or blogging experience might be helpful. These are all things that can be learned quite quickly, at least at an intro level proficiency, and especially by someone already very used to keeping up with the challenges of homeschooling (multiple) children. :)

[Loesje22000]

I think in this country coaching students to the exit exams would be an option.

Parents who work both fulltime would likely pay for someone with experience helping their child with the exam prep.

 

For a job in the administrationsector Excel would required here besides word.

Not just for making tables but also using the formulas.

[Joan in GE]

Thank you everyone who posted.

 

I shouldn't have started the thread when I did because I got so busy it was impossible to continue thoughtfully. I was thinking of putting this on the College Board and even doing a poll. But one thing that happened in the meantime is that I've signed up for a "Bilan de competences" which is something like an assessment of your skills....

 

We work in a group and look at all our past activities and put them into different categories to see where we would fit best...

 

To be continued!