One method of helping students understand what to put on a resume is to pair students with dissimilar backgrounds and ask them to exchange resumes. Ask them to "interview" each other based on those resumes. Prompt them to ask questions about what certain job functions mean and about how successful completion of the interviewee's duties helped the company. This process forces the student to think carefully about her own background and to evaluate her contributions to former employers. Encourage students to take plenty of notes.
People can often look at the exact same document and come away with completely different impressions. Leading a classroom discussion can show students how important it is to design their resumes with the intent of leaving a specific impression. Use a projector to show an enlarged version of an ineffective resume. First, ask students to tell you their impressions of the resume's owner and his experience. Then, ask students to analyze why they feel as they do. Ask for suggestions about how the writer could improve the resume. Next, show an effective resume. Again ask students to give you their impressions of the resume's owner and his experience. Ask them to compare the two resumes and discuss the differences. To ensure honest feedback, do not use the resume of a student in class, even if you have changed the name.
Sometimes, seeing is believing. An instructor who is a decent actor can put on a short demonstration to help students understand how an overloaded human resources person looks at their resumes. Pretend you are the human resources manager and you are looking at a newly arrived resume. Feel free to be creative with staging: sit behind a desk piled high with papers if you like. Read a sample resume aloud and comment as you go. You might begin by saying "OK, here's another resume for that customer service job. Let's see, what's his name? Oh, there it is. John Doe." Then begin to read through the resume, pointing out flaws. For example, say "Ah, I see he worked as a customer service agent for Big Bucks Co. That's good. What did he do there? " Then switch to a tone that indicates you are reading and say "Answered phone calls from customers and assisted them with questions." Change back to your regular voice and say "Well, duh! That's what every customer service agent in the world does. That doesn't tell me anything." Continue in the same vein and point out common mistakes, such as listing duties instead of functions, failing to provide clear contact data and using an unprofessional email address. Over-act to make a point. Students will get the picture.