VMock
What is it and how does it work?
VMock is a tool designed to help students revise their resumes via instant personalized resume feedback in an online platform that uses sophisticated algorithms and data science along with machine learning and artificial intelligence. As such, VMock can help students make informed decisions about how to revise resume presentation and format so it is more coherent for readers. It is intended for students to use as they are drafting and revising their resume, so that when educators see the final submission, students have already addressed the feedback received from VMock.
NOTE: VMock is intended to to function as a communication skill development resource, helping to provide students with a solid resume draft. It is not intended to help students to identify personal strengths, possible career paths, or otherwise account for unique situations (e.g., enrollment gaps, GPA considerations, etc.). Students should schedule an appointment with their Career Consultant at the Career & Professional Development Center (CPDC) to learn more about available resources related to career planning and exploration.
Which skill(s) are targeted?
- Prepare coherent and clearly organized oral, written, and visual products based on purpose, genre, context, and audience.
- Develop independent processes for setting communication goals, seeking and incorporating feedback, and revising to improve effectiveness.
Who else has used it?
- Career-Launch online learning modules for all Pittsburgh-based undergraduate students offered by the Career & Professional Development Center (CPDC)
- 39-699: Career & Professional Development for Engineering Masters Students
Educator time commitment
The educator time commitment is approximately 15 minutes. This includes time becoming familiar with the tool and what it produces – to understand how it may be best leveraged to support students’ writing – and then ensuring that students receive the relevant instructions. For educators who are using Canvas, the final submission may be set up as a Canvas assignment. Additionally, educators can email the CPDC at career@andrew.cmu.edu to set up an administrator account that would enable them to see their students' activity and download a report on students' progress.
Student time commitment
Students will take additional time to review the feedback from VMock and revise their first draft accordingly. This will depend on the coherence of their first draft, but the idea is this is time well spent.
Contact eberly-assist@andrew.cmu.edu for help with incorporating this resource.
Educator how-to steps
- Review the VMock introductory video at
- Optional: Email career@andrew.cmu.edu to set up an administrator account
- For the resume development assignment/activity, establish a timeline that includes (a) when students should submit their preliminary draft to receive feedback from VMock and then (b) when students should submit their final draft, after addressing the feedback from VMock. (When instructors use VMock for writing assignments in their courses, the preliminary draft stage is required but not graded; only the final draft submission is graded by the instructor.)
- If using Canvas, set up the assignments in Canvas according to your decisions in step 3 with the access information provided in Step 5.
- Provide students with the instructions for accessing VMock:
- Log into
- Upload PDF of resume
- Review feedback provided by VMock
- Make appropriate edits based on feedback.
- Grade and provide feedback on students’ final submissions according to your regular practices.
See these related resources…
Docuscope Write & Audit
A text analysis/visualization tool that helps students see how writing and organizational strategies are used in their drafts.