CV for English teacher changing professions

1

I’ve been teaching English as a foreign language overseas (outside USA) for over 9 years. My recent position was Blended Learning Specialist in which I was responsible for ensuring the technology was properly implemented in the classroom.

I don’t have any formal computer science training.

should I include my experience as Blended learning specialist in my CV?

Do you have a link to a sample CV from someone changing careers?

Also, I’m looking for freelancing work but I’m getting feedback from people who say, “I don’t know what you do.” In other words, people are unclear about what I do and what I offer and how I can help them. How can I be more precise? I felt like I’ve listed my services clearly (web development including hosting, domain management, SEO [on-site and off-site], analytics, Facebook and PPC marketing. Is it my delivery?

Thanks for your support.

2

I think you should list every major job you’ve had in your adult life. Granted, things that aren’t relevant to coding should just be simple entries. And can even be combined.

For example on when I write a music resume, my entries as a jazz guitarist and music teacher are extensive. But on a coding resume, they get combined together and only cover a few lines. Someone hiring for a coding position doesn’t need to know all those details. But on the other hand, I do want to make it clear that I’ve been working all these years and not just smoking weed in my parents basement.

Could you provide your CV?

Also, I’m looking for freelancing work but I’m getting feedback from people who say, “I don’t know what you do.”

I would make sure to list every technology you work with: JavaScript, HTML, CSS, JQuery, Bootstrap, React, NodeJS, MongoJS, ExpressJS, Github, etc., etc., etc.

A phrase like “web development including hosting,” can mean a lot of things. Perhaps that’s what they mean. Are you hand coding sites or do you use WP? Frontend and/or backend? What backend languages? With which libraries/frameworks are you familiar? I think they want stuff like that. You list a few technical terms. (web development including hosting, domain management, SEO [on-site and off-site], analytics, Facebook and PPC marketing) Anyone that understand those words is going to want more details and anyone that doesn’t understand them isn’t going to understand them anyway and it is going to offputting.

That’s just my (semi-informed) opinion. But if we could see your CV/profile, that would be easier.

1 Like
3

Thanks for your response @ksjazzguitar

I appreciate the offer to look at my CV. I will post it soon. Thank you.

4

I think a lot of people will look it over if you post it. I find that (unless it is a very interesting topic) the more specific the question, the better the answer.

5

I noticed you said you are looking for freelance work… are you thinking along the lines of contract work, or to freelance for individuals / businesses? If for the latter, I would say the key isnt to be more technical, but actually to simplify things in laymens terms.

Either way, heres a sales technique that may help you. Think of your ideal client… and this may seem silly but…write it down and describe them… what industry are they in? What sort of services do they need? What is their budget? I break it down deep, down to their sense of humor, age rage, all that.

Now that this person exists right in front of you (even if on a piece of paper) imagine you are talking directly to them, and telling them what you can do to solve their problem. Speak to them in terms they will understand…not beneath their knowledge level, but not over their heads either…speak directly to them and be as concise as possible. What you come up with…that is how you explain what you do.

1 Like
6

Thank you. This is quite practical advice.

1 Like
7

Hello again. I know it’s been over 1 year but I have started free code camp again and I feel more confident than last year. I have created my CV and posting it here: https://share-inspiration.d.pr/gv9tKe

I am not having any luck landing a developer job. It seems like knowing Html Css and javascript is not as valuable as knowing how to build an app, for example. I am searching on Linkedin and other sites but still have not found a coding gig.

8

Finding work as a developer is fine. It took more than two years of study and more than two years of searching for me to get there. And even then it took a lot of work.

It seems like knowing Html Css and javascript is not as valuable as knowing how to build an app, for example.

To me, that would be like someone looking for work as a carpenter and saying, “It seems like knowing how to saw and nail and sand is not as valuable as building furniture.”

How are you going to build apps without html, css, and JS? Maybe I don’t understand what you mean by apps?

Yes, there is a lot more that you need to know than just html, css, and JS, but those are the building blocks. Really, you can’t know those well enough.

You need to just keep looking. There is an old joke:

Two guys are walking down a road. A beautiful girl approaches from the other direction. One of the guys says to her, “Hey, wanna have sex?” She slaps him. The guys keep walking. The second guy asks the first, “You say that to all the girls you meet?” First guy say, “Yup.” The second guy says, “Man, you must get slapped a lot.” First guy smiles and says, “Yes, I do. But every now and then …”

Really, it’s a numbers game. It doesn’t matter how many times you fail - you only have to succeed once. Every failed interview is a chance to learn something. I did hundreds of applications, and dozens of interviews. I only succeeded once - my last one. And I kept getting better at it.

Keep searching linkedin and all those. Connect with developers in person and on linkedin - a lot of jobs come from people you know.

Keep learning. Learn new things. Build things. Often the most important thing in interviews was what I learned and what I built. Really, build a lot of things. Build, build, build. Get it critiqued. Get some coding buddies and review each others code. Team up and work on projects. Learn git and do a little open source.

The other thing I’d say that is very important is in an interview, be friendly and outgoing. Sound like someone they’d like to work with.

Also, looking at your CV, it’s hard to tell exactly what you want to be. It should be 95% about web dev and only web dev. It took me a while to pare down my resume. Focus on web dev and skills directly related to that. Anything else is just a mere mention and combined as much as possible. Since you don’t have much experience, your CV can probably be one page. Don’t clog it up with a bunch of non-web dev stuff trying to fill it up. Do the opposite. And let your portfolio do the talking - that’s what they really care about. I also have some threads talking about my new job, here and here.

This is not easy. There are a lot of people telling us, “Oh, learn a little web dev and get a great job!” No, it’s not that easy. And if it were, this job would pay minimum wage. It doesn’t pay minimum wage - it pays well - because it’s hard and it requires a unique skill set and it takes a while to acquire it. Very few people get lucky and land a job in a few months. Most people, it will take 1-2 years. But if you work hard and learn, there are some great jobs out there. Just keep building and learning. And building. Eventually your skills, and the job market, and luck - they’ll intersect. It just takes once.

2 Likes
9

Just to clarify a little.

I’m telling you to get rid of the non-web dev stuff on your CV. Maybe just sum it up in one line in your employment section. Compress your education as much as possible.

I know you’re proud of what you’ve done and your publications, but when taking the 5 seconds to scan your resume to see if you are one of the 10 people that they want to talk to out of the 300 that applied, they want to see your web dev relevant stuff. Later, in the interview (or briefly in a cover letter) you can fill out that part of your life and make yourself sound like a more interesting and well rounded person. But in the CV you’re just hiding the stuff they really want to see.

1 Like
10

Thank you for the kind encouragement. I agree. I was thinking it will take me two years to complete the certifications in Free Code Camp. I am willing to give myself time and not rush it. Your advice is very good. I will read your posts mentioned.

11

I want to share my experience with a recruiter.

I managed to get the recruiter to call me one morning. Everything was going well. He seemed to think I was a good fit for his client. They needed a web developer with experience in HTML CSS and JS.

However, at the end of the conversation he said that, in all transparency, the company is looking for someone who will go out to have a drink after work. That the company ambience includes people who use foul language often. He asked if I was ok in such a surrounding and if I would be willing to go out to hang out to have a drink after work on occasion.

I told him I feel uncomfortable around those who choose to use foul language (in my opinion it’s a sign of disrespect) and that I do not drink. I told him I have a family to come home to and I do not have time to hang out at a bar after work.

I was not offered the position b/c I was not considered a good fit for the company culture.

What do you think?

12

What do I thinK? I think most recruiters are worthless. (read the posts I linked before) A necessary part of the game, but they often get your hopes up over nothing.

As to the drinks and bad language… For me it wouldn’t be a problem. But I think it is ridiculous that it is a “requirement” of the job. I don’t think I’d want to work at a place where it is required. It might even be illegal, I don’t know. But a lot of tech guys are spoiled brats that think the world revolves around them. Sometimes I feel like they’re living out there fanatasy of what work should be like when they were 16 - look at a lot of start ups - beer, ping pong, loud music, jacuzzi parties, Cards Against Humanity parties - it gets ridiculous sometimes… There is a very strong “bro” culture at a lot of places. If you can’t play that game, then it will limit your options a little. But if you keep looking, you will find situations in a more mature/professional environment, or ones that push the limits a little but will still try to respect your feelings. There are situations out there, you just have to find them.

13

Also, I’m looking for freelancing work but I’m getting feedback from people who say, “I don’t know what you do.” In other words, people are unclear about what I do and what I offer and how I can help them. How can I be more precise? I felt like I’ve listed my services clearly (web development including hosting, domain management, SEO [on-site and off-site], analytics, Facebook and PPC marketing. Is it my delivery?

If you are freelancing, people shouldn’t look for your CV to find out what you do. Your website should have a landing page with a condensed message on what problems you can solve and what skills you can offer. Google around for a few people on how to do self-marketing - a flood of information is often the last thing you want (ie. just handing out your entire CV) as it doesn’t help to create a clear image of your service and your professional identity.

When it comes to handing your CV as an application to HR, that’s an entirely different matter though. For LinkedIn and Xing, I’d recommend putting the full CV on as well.

14