Your resume is the first impression a principal will have of you. It is a one-page collection of your experiences as they relate to your knowledge of art and education. Your resume is that one thing that will get you an interview; therefore, it must be impressive enough to stand out from the rest of the applications.

If you began working on this resume at the same time you started attending university, then you will be ahead of the game. Upon entering college, you'll soon realize that your high school accomplishments will be irrelevant - that it is time to begin anew and strive for professional experiences to build your resume. Immediately begin to:

Gain volunteer or paid experience as a teacher/tutor.

Enter art shows.

Attend conferences - specifically try to attend the annual National Art Education Association convention.

Remember: A resume is a "working document." Keep an electronic file of your experiences on your desktop and update it regularly. By not documenting things as you go, you will forget the details. Also, remember that any volunteer work you do (even if it was just for a day) is worthy of note - especially when combined with several such experiences. Once you begin to compile the information into a formal resume, it should be:

Error free (have at least 3 people proof-read it!).

Easy to skim and understand.

Formatted to look professional -- yet a little zing is allowed to show of your art/design skills. Avoid cute papers and hard to read fonts.

Information in the resume should be:

Stated from the newest experience to the oldest experience.

Engaging! Use action words: achieved, built, coordinated, created, headed, implemented, etc.

Be time specific. Use "ed" for past jobs and experiences, and "ing" for present ones.

I suggest that the following information should be included in a winning resume:

Educational history. List as: University Name, city or town it is located in, state, exact name of degree, graduation date, major, GPA (if over 3.5), major scholarships or offices held. For example: Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV. Bachelor of Science in k-Adult Art Education. Concentration: Painting/Drawing. GPA: 3.65. Graduation Pending: 2014.

Teaching-related experiences. This may include observations of classrooms and student teaching assignments.

Leadership and volunteer activities.

State teacher certification codes and date of pending license.

Proficiencies: languages, art skills, computer skills, talents.

Art shows. List every place you showed your work, or who owns your art and where you've donated pieces to. State if a show was juried, group or solo. If the juror is well-known, then be sure to list who the juror was.

Jodi Patterson has nearly 20 years of teaching at the high school and university levels. She is the author of the recently released art education text book titled, "Brave Art & Teens: A Primer for the New High School Art Teacher." To learn more, visit http://www.braveart.info