I have a young relative who I have - in effect - parented for a significant part of her adult life.
Having done a PGCE she has now moved away from my home - to live with her businessman boyfriend -and is about to start her first teaching post. A couple of days back she asked me to connect with her on LinkedIn.
Last night I looked at the CV she uploaded. I know that young people are generally encouraged to big themselves up in some contexts, but I was surprised at the way she presented herself. For example:-
- A long-haul holiday of about six weeks that she took with her boyfriend when she was 19 is presented as 'having traveled extensively in Australia and South America.'
- A post-graduate placement in another country of which 5 weeks was spent working, is highlighted in the career summary and presented as if it wasa significant paid job.
- Three months which she spent largely living in my house, but during which she visited her boyfriend and helped him out a bit, is presented as full-time employment n his business.
- The job which she is about to start, after an interview which involved a half-hour class/session with the year group she is to teach is presented a existing rather than prospective employment.
Is this the sort of thing which current or future employers are likely to see and pick up on.? Her 'real' CV i.e. degree, work experience in schools, post-graduate course, strikes me as perfectly decent. In my shoes would you feel it important to talk to her about what she's done here?
(I feel that she's been influenced by her very entrepreneurial boyfriend, and might well take offence if my husband or I - husband has also been invited to connect via LinkedIn - were to indicate surprise. Nonetheless it might be the right thing to say something if this is not orthodox 'teacherly' behaviour. The young relative can be rather naive at times.)