WWW.USVETERANSMAGAZINE.COM U.S. VETERANS MAGAZINE 99
The Volunteer:
I reviewed a resume recently for a friend, and she had not included any volunteer work at all. Contrast that with my resume that is 50 percent philanthropic work. I know not every resume reviewer and prospective employer will agree with me on this, but experience is experience. Including philanthropic work not only shows that you give back to your community, but it also shows that you dont just work for a paycheck - you do a job because you genuinely care about the cause. List current and relevant volunteer experience - period.
The Haiku:
We all started somewhere. Im pretty sure I included my high school job of ice cream scooper on my resume for my first real job post-college just for the sake of reaching the end of the page. And thats OK. When you need to demonstrate that you possess certain skills for a job, include whatever you need to from your career thus far (paid or unpaid) to show you're qualified. Did that job as an ice cream scooper in a tourist hot spot during the summer prepare me for my first job? You better believe it. Communication skills, performing under pressure (that post-dinner rush that had a line out the door was no joke), customer service, money management and so much more.
The Novel:
To be clear, I no longer list my job from 20 years ago as an ice cream scooper on my resume. In fact, Ive worked long enough in the content management, public affairs and legislative affairs lanes that I no longer even list my former middle school teaching jobs - not because they werent challenging, but because I have more targeted and recent experience to say what I need to say on paper. When you have more experience, be more selective.
The Hodgepodge:
Ever look at your resume and wonder what youre trying to accomplish? Like the theme is that there is no theme? That is OK, my friends. Its OK because the job title and the employer are just two parts of what youre going to include about the job. You are also going to list what your responsibilities were, what skills you used and any accomplishments. In the same way the short resume is temporary, the little bit of everything resume is temporary too. Eventually, youre going to see a trend, and in the meantime, pull out the key components that will connect you to the job youre seeking.
The Point:
The absolute most important rule of resume writing is tailoring it for the job you want. You do this by reading the job description of the job youre applying for. Print it out. Highlight the job expectations and required skills. Then, think back in your professional past (to be clear this is education, philanthropic and paid experience). Match what you've done to what the employer is looking for. Make sure the experience you list clearly demonstrates that you check those boxes. If you can do that, your qualifications will speak for themselves - which is the whole point of the resume after all. Focus on what you've done and drop that undue stress of your military spouse status. If the reviewer can piece it together because youve only worked in small base towns no one has ever heard of, good for them. If you get passed over for an interview simply because they suspect youre a military spouse, you dont want to work there anyway. And, if you get offered a job, it will be - and should be - because of your own qualifications, not your marital status.
Source: Blog Brigade
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