Jump to content

Menu
Giving You and Your Child a Road Map to the Best Possible Education
The Well-Trained Mind Community

Putting “homeschool parent” as job on a resume??

Garga

By Garga,
in The Chat Board

 Share

Recommended Posts

Garga

Garga

Posted
Posted

I’m about to apply for a job as a technical writer. I used to work with a lot of people at the company that is hiring. One of the people I used to work with is now the boss of the person hiring the technical writer. When she found out that I’m interested in the job, she said she was “thrilled” at the idea and wanted my resume asap. 

Normally, I wouldn’t say much about homeschooling on a resume or cover letter...but this is a job about technical writing. The materials I would be writing would be used to help the corporate trainers do their training. At my old job, I was the trainer who wrote her own materials. 

And honestly, writing training materials at work and then teaching from them feels a lot like writing a curriculum for my homeschooled kids. I didn’t create all my homeschool classes from scratch, but I did create a number of classes.  There are a lot of overlapping skillsets involved, like researching the material and understanding it for yourself first, and then breaking lessons down into digestible pieces. 

I don’t want to be cheesy. I read some article that stay-at-home parents could put stuff like, “Organized travel plans” on their resumes because they took their kids back and forth to soccer practice. Um...no. That’s cheesy. 

Has anyone ever found a way to include the skills of a homeschooler on a resume, without it being cheesy? Or anyone want to toss out some skills that homeschoolers have that would translate well into technical writing/training? (The job says the technical writer may backup the trainers from time to time.)

This has all happened super fast, and I only found out a couple of hours ago about the job and that they need a resume and I’m just now sitting down ready to craft this resume and cover letter. 

 

P.S. For those curious, my oldest is in college and my youngest is in cyber school, so I’m not giving up homeschooling for the job. I was ready to ease back in to the workforce pretty soon. This unexpected opportunity just accelerates it. 

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
catz

catz

Posted
Posted

I also wouldn't say homeschool parent or educator. Because plenty of homeschool parents do not create and use custom curriculum for their children.

I might say something like ...

Educational research and coordination - research, write and create custom curriculum for my children in a homeschool setting covering subjects X, Y and Z.  (further detail here)

I might even say "sample available upon request".  If you have some of your own work at the ready.  

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spy Car

Spy Car

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, FuzzyCatz said:

I also wouldn't say homeschool parent or educator. Because plenty of homeschool parents do not create and use custom curriculum for their children.

I might say something like ...

Educational research and coordination - research, write and create custom curriculum for my children in a homeschool setting covering subjects X, Y and Z.  (further detail here)

I might even say "sample available upon request".  If you have some of your own work at the ready.  

My concern is that "Educational research and coordination" could come off like "resume padding" when successfully educating multiple children and launching one into college is a significant accomplishment that stands on its own using less grandiose language. As a potential employer I'd be impressed with a person who took on that job and did it well.

That's just me.

Bill 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dmmetler

Dmmetler

Posted
Posted

Curriculum design and development. I've done that job professionally, and I would have NO qualms about listing some of my specific homeschool courses on my resume, because they truly were the same level of work as designing a curriculum unit. Particularly highlight materials designed for groups-it is far more common to have to somehow design or tweak a unit to fit a 10 year age span involving very diverse abilities in the homeschool world. Usually for such jobs, you bring/submit a portfolio of samples, too. 

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lori D.

Lori D.

Posted
Posted (edited)

Teacher, Administrator, and Curriculum Developer
Home educator of my two sons for twelve years, which covered grades 1-12.

As a teacher, my responsibilities for each school year included research of materials and assessing match-up with student learning style; weekly review of topics in order to be able to teach the material; creation of weekly lesson plans to break down curricula into "digestible pieces;" individual tutoring and developing alternative methods of training and instruction as needed; scoring of objective quizzes and tests; and subjective scoring and assessment of writing.

As the administrator of our home education, I was responsible for all administrative tasks, including tracking of hours and grades, creating transcripts and other official documentation, and interacting with teachers of outsourced courses, as well as admissions officers and other college administrators for the college application process. Additionally, as the guidance counselor for my students, I have spent many hours researching colleges and careers, and overseeing the career exploration and career testing of my students.

As a curriculum developer, I set goals for scope and sequence; researched and selected materials to fulfill course objectives; determined output and methods of assessing learning and synthesis of material; and developed lesson plans, discussion questions, lab work or activities, etc.


Then in your cover letter, draw detailed comparisons between specific tasks you did as a teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, and the skills and responsibilities needed for this specific job of technical writing / writing training material.

BTW - curriculum developers have a typical salary of $60,000-$75,000/year
The average base salary of a technical writer runs around $61,000/year.
So, you go girl! 😄 

Good luck Garga! Sounds like a great fit for you! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited by Lori D.
  • Like 14
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Plateau Mama

Plateau Mama

Posted
Posted

This what I put when I was applying for a job as an office manager for a private school:

 

Home Educator

9/2009-Present

Solely responsible for curriculum development, instruction, and administration of home education program for two children of varying grade levels, interests, and abilities using the Classical Model of education.

·       Researched homeschool programs for my children by reading: The Lost Tools of Learning, Sayers, Dorothy; The Well Trained Mind, Bauer, Susan Wise; 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, Duffy, Cathy.

·       Develop customized curriculum tailored for my children’s specific needs, consisting of several different programs including Saxon Math, Easy Grammar, Logic of English, IEW, Story of the World, Apologia Science and others.

·       Successfully prepared my oldest son for state required testing each year using the Stanford test.

·       Experimented and refined teaching techniques tailored to each child to produce the best results. 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
theelfqueen

theelfqueen

Posted
Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, FuzzyCatz said:

I also wouldn't say homeschool parent or educator. Because plenty of homeschool parents do not create and use custom curriculum for their children.

Most people have ZERO idea what any home educator does. And you're right it can be anything from facilitator of online classes composed, taught and graded by someone else... to creator and writer of all relevant curriculum of thier students to strewing materials and guiding child led learning to anything on that spectrum. 

I'd actually avoid the word homeschool as it has been further muddied during the pandemic with media outlets and individuals using it to mean some form of public virtual schooling. 

Luckily OP has a person at the company who will be able to back up her background.  

Edited by theelfqueen
  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites
LAS in LA

LAS in LA

Posted
Posted

I would (and did) put "Homeschool Tutor" on my resume. It's one of the things I've been doing for the last 12 years and I'm proud of that work. I also described the position (researching, organizing, and implementing curricula for three students). During the job interview, I had the uncanny feeling that everything I'd been doing at home was training for this job; the interviewers asked about multitasking (ha!), interacting with unhappy individuals, and keeping volunteers on task, as well as my familiarity with children's literature and what I'd do if I saw a 2-yr-old running towards the stairs. (It's a job at the library).

OP - I'd definitely draw the lines between what you've been doing with curricula at home and how that overlaps with the position. Best wishes!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hyacinth

Hyacinth

Posted
Posted

Great advice already in this thread.

I just want to point out that the main purpose of a resume is to get an interview, and it sounds like you've already got that nailed.

So a secondary purpose of a resume is to provide talking points for the interview. And, again, it sounds like you've got that nailed.

Go you! 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Garga

Garga

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Thank you to everyone! I’ve got the resume mostly written. I like to let things like that sit overnight and see it with fresh eyes the next day. I added a little consultant job on there that I did for a friend who owns a test prep company. I wrote materials teaching her customers how to write the test essay and then I’d give the customers detailed, tailored critique of their practice essays. 

Tonight is when I write the cover letter and I’ll be incorporating the homeschool information into that. I’m not putting the homeschool information on the resume, but will be certain to link the skills of a homeschooler to the skills of a technical writer/trainer in the letter.

My only snag is that the company is kinda far from my house and I’m just not sure I want to take on the commute (over an hour each way in traffic, so up to 3 hours of driving a day), so I have a lot to think about.  Otherwise, it’s a dream job with great pay and benefits. My friend made me think they’d be very open to working from home, at least a few days a week.

Edited by Garga
  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
Ike_Martin

Ike_Martin

Posted
Posted

I believe you’ve got your job and everything is great now. In the past I was always asking myself about what to put or not into my resume and how to structure it properly. But one day I’ve discovered one service on the internet that helped me to realize what is the best way to build up my resume. So, I’d like to share it with everyone. https://skillroads.com/free-online-resume-builder makes great resumes for free. It’s very simple to use this resume builder and I may say on my personal example that it will surely assist you to understand every aspect of creating a resume. Like what information is better to put and where or is it better not to add it to your resume. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lori D.

Lori D.

Posted
Posted

@Garga -- while a 1st-time poster who will probably never show up again (like the scads who have resurrected zombie threads, lol) revived your thread...

What happened? Did you get the job? Did you end up *wanting* the job? Is it still in process? Inquiring minds want to know... 😉

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Garga

Garga

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
On 5/26/2021 at 7:35 PM, Lori D. said:

@Garga -- while a 1st-time poster who will probably never show up again (like the scads who have resurrected zombie threads, lol) revived your thread...

What happened? Did you get the job? Did you end up *wanting* the job? Is it still in process? Inquiring minds want to know... 😉

I DID get the job!!!  

I started last Monday, the 17th. They’re paying me a ridiculous amount of money (in a good way), even though I only have a high school diploma and haven’t worked in 18 years. I just about fell off my chair when they told me the amount. I mean...anyone would just about fall off their chair. I told Quill the wondrously ridiculous amount they’re paying me, and she just about fell off her chair. So, I’m completely thrilled to be earning money again.

The drive is long (over an hour each way), but they are serious about everyone working from home as much as possible from here on out, even after covid. So, they’re asking me to come in once a week for a couple of months while I’m new, but mostly everyone works from home. 

The amount of information I need to learn is tremendous. I was getting a little panicky about it yesterday, until someone sat me down today and explained that I won’t really be fully trained for a solid year. So, that made me feel better, because it’s a good solid year’s worth of stuff I need to learn. I’m a technical writer who will write policies and procedures for the employees of the company, which means I have to know all the nitty-gritty details of how pretty much *everyone* does their jobs. It’s like I’m having to learn 7 different jobs, thoroughly, all at the same time.

I’m having a bit of a struggle figuring out how to balance work with the rest of life, but it’s only been two weeks, so I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually. It’s a little rockier in that area than I expected. My 10th grader still relies on me a lot to review his school work (he’s in a cyberschool), but school is done for the year in 2 weeks and he’s ready to fly solo next year. I’m finishing out this year double checking his writing and making sure he’s doing a few end-of-year projects properly.  That takes up more time than I thought it would. The next two weeks will be difficult because I’ll be helping him study for finals and that always takes a long time.  

But after that, I think I’ll be able to get us all on some sort of schedule to keep up with life. I’m going to  have to delegate a bit more than I thought I would, but overall everyone is happy. I can actually help the boys with their college costs now. Before the job, that wasn’t going to happen at all, so that’s a big weight off everyone’s shoulders. DH is glad not to be the only breadwinner after 18 years, so he’s happy, too. 🙂

Thanks for asking!  

 

Edited by Garga
  • Like 31
  • Thanks 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...