school applications and mind-reading

[cellio]

One of the things I have to submit with my application for the para-rabbinic program is a resume. Obviously I should insert a section for "religious experience" and drastically trim down the "professional experience" (like rabbis care about programming languages and software design?), but I'm not really sure what they're looking for and guidance has not been forthcoming so far. I should provide some description of each position (not just a list of job titles and dates, in other words), and there are aspects of my professional experience that (ought to) transcend domains, like team leadership and management and stuff like that. I wonder how much is appropriate. One short paragraph per job?

Should I mention activities at the Conservative synagogue where I've led services (and received an award from their president)? Does that show breadth, or insufficient commitment to the Reform movement?

My standard resume includes a "key qualifications" section at the top, where I draw together the common, important themes. I wonder if that's appropriate here too. I hope so; I think it would help.


The following is the assignment for the essay. It sounds challenging to cover those topics in that space when they use words like "detail":

Submit a brief essay (2-4 pages, double spaced) addressing the following:

a. An introduction of yourself (include your personal and professional history)
b. A description of any training or experience that you've had which will help you in your work with your synagogue. Please detail the successes and challenges you faced in that training or experience.
c. A description of your strengths and weaknesses.
d. What skills you hope to develop and information you hope to learn in your training.
e. How you hope to serve your congregation.

Some of this might plausibly go on the resume (b, in particular), so I guess I should do that and then just summarize/redirect in the essay.

I'll be ok; I'm sure I can produce a fine, perhaps even supurb, application. And I think I'm a pretty solid candidate and that it's likely I'll be accepted. But I want everything to be as close to perfect as I can make it. :-)

Comments

[cellio]

Good idea. And that is what was happening -- nothing nefarious or anything. I go there on weekdays, they noticed I could pronounce Hebrew correctly and carry a tune in a bucket, they were without a cantor, and they asked me to help out. (Along with half a dozen others, in rotation.) They hired a cantor this summer, at about the time that I became worship chair, and more opportunities have now opened up for me "at home", especially with Shabbat-morning torah reading. So everyone wins. :-)