Prioritizing content
D
ear Sam: How should I develop a resume when I have limited experience and a large employment gap? I worked in administration from 1990 to 1995, then started a family. During this time, I did run the financial and marketing aspects of my husband’s small business. I also held several temporary holiday retail positions.
However, for nearly 15 years, I was raising my children. Three years ago, I started my own small business alongside a part-time marketing position. Then two years ago I began a full-time degree program, which I have just completed. How do I pull it all together? — Alice
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ear Alice: I am sure that this is an exciting time — and one also filled with trepidation.
The key to presenting one’s candidacy on paper is to paint a competitive picture. Given that you only had five years of work experience prior to staying at home, at this juncture in your career, you will likely be seen as a more junior level candidate.
Because of this, you can focus your resume on the past few years of your experience, including managing the administrative functions of your husband’s and your own businesses, in addition to your part-time marketing position.
You can also do something called “bylining” your early administrative experience. To do this, include your recent work history in your professionalexperience section. At the end of the section, make a note (without dates) referring to your early experience. I suggest something like, “Foundational experience in the administrative and office-management arena as an executive assistant with ABC Co.” After this note, you might want to list select aspects of that role that support your current career targets. The point of this approach is to allow you to include relevant experience, but without the context of when it occurred in order to avoid unnecessarily aging your candidacy.
When you do this and focus on your most recent experience and education, you will emerge as a competitive junior-level candidate.
— Samantha Nolan is a certified professional resume writer and the owner of Ladybug Design, a full-service resumewriting firm. Email resume or job-search questions to dearsam@arkansasonline.
com. To find out more about Nolan, visit www.ladybug-design.com.