Today’s guest was Nan Quinlan,

consultant and the former Training and Development Manager at TACO Inc, a multi-million dollar, international company in Cranston, Rhode Island.  Nan is an expert on resume writing and job interviewing skills.   Nan visits the Hope Life Skills class multiple times each year.   Nan previously visited our class on December 9, 2o16 for a presentation on job interviewing skills and techniques.

There was no class host today

since Nan is a previous Hope Life Skills guest.  What was

refreshing to observe was the number of students who greeted Nan, unprompted, as they entered the classroom.

Yael Torres welcomes Nan back to the Hope Life Skills class prior to the beginning of today’s class.

Aimon Foreman welcomes Nan back to Hope Life Skills

Gerardo Castenada welcomes Nan back to Hope Life Skills prior to the beginning of class as Kyara Ferreras reviews the resume sample Nan gave her moments before.

Sara Jackson greets Nan as Delsairey Almonte waits to do the same.

Nan’s visit focused on the construction and the benefits of a great resume.

“Job resumes tell a potential employer your story.  It informs an employer the value you will bring to their company. 

There is a format to follow. 

Nan begins to describe the proper format for a job resume.

First part of the resume is a summary of your skills and qualities.”   

Nan offered to collaborate with Sara Jackson on writing her resume summary.  Sara will soon be interviewing for a paid summer internship at a popular bookstore in the Wayland Square section of  Providence called “Books On The Square“.   Nan did the same with Imani Turner who will be interviewing for a paid summer internship at the corporate offices of CVS Health in Woonsocket, RI.  CVS is a $150 billion, international company.

Nan specifically speaks about the summary statement on each resume.

“The next part of your resume lists your accomplishments”

Nan explained.  “If you volunteered at a non-profit,  if you were on an athletic team, theatre, choir, if you had sibling responsibilities, if you have a job or belong to an organization like Junior ROTC or a club, list them.  If you have special skills like your ability to write computer code or if you’ve had a leadership position in a sport, in a school club, at your church or at a job, list the position.   If you speak multiple languages, list them too.  Bi-lingual abilities are valuable.  And, if you’ve received special awards, list them as well.”

Nan highlights skills and qualities for Sara and Imani’s resume summaries. Nan also cited a valuable web site to research information about the company or organization you are applying to – www.glassdoor.com.

Nan advised students to list skills which correspond to the skills a company is looking for in the job or internship they seek.

“Start by checking out the web site of the company you are applying to. 

If the company has a diverse customer base, list the fact you are bi-lingual.  If the potential job requires computer skills, list the computer software applications you are familiar with.  Sara, if you want an internship in a bookstore, let them know the books you’ve recently read.  You want them to know you love reading!”

Nan finished the class by

inviting students to send Mr Cronin a draft of their resume if they wished her to review it.

“Mr Cronin will forward your resume to me and I will return it with my comments to him and he will send it back to you”.

Nan then networked with students at the conclusion of the class.

Juan Carona networks at the end of today’s class and shares with her where he is applying to college;  an impressive list of schools. Juan had a paid internship in computer programming at the CVS corporate offices last summer.

Ingris Izaguirre Maradiaga networks with Nan at the end of today’s class.