How to reduce the impact of an unrelated job
Dear Sam:
I worked in the financial services field for a company that eventually shut down. I was in the middle of finishing my degree that was somewhat related to the financial industry. To be able to pay bills and support my family while in school, I took a job that was not related to my experience or education.
Early on, my resume still worked well, as it started with my related experience. Now, with five months into this position, I am forced to add it to the top of my professional experience section, which takes away from my other strong experience and causes employers to ask why I didn’t find a job doing something related to what I’d been doing. How do I minimize this period of time on my resume?
Dear Bob:
To minimize the impact of a segue from the industry you could approach your resume in two ways. First, you could use a combination format to present your experience. This format begins with a Qualifications Summary showcasing only related experience and education, not mentioning your brief hiatus from your chosen field.
Next, instead of starting the Professional Experience section, you would present a Selected Highlights section. Here you would explore past experience that positions you for what you want to do next. Organize these either by employer or by functional skill area. If the employers you worked for were notable, you could organize this section with selected employers’ names presented with highlights underneath.
If highlighting your experiences in key areas would be better, then present content underneath functional subheadings.
Next, present the Professional Experience section. Hopefully, your highlights section will fill the remainder of page one after the Qualifications Summary, strategically dropping your most recent, unrelated experience to the top of page two, minimizing its impact during the screening process.
The second approach would be to not include the most recent five-month role. Given your prior employment would end in 2018, it is not critical that you show employment “to present.” You can easily justify this omission in an interview by explaining that you were completing your degree when your employer shut down and, in order to continue to focus on your professional development, you engaged in a position that allowed for a more effective work-life-school balance. This is not all that uncommon, so it will not be seen as untoward.
If you present your current experience, translate the skills gained in this position to your career target, being sure you communicate why this experience is valuable regardless of whether it was related.
Dear Sam:
How much experience should I present on my resume? I have 22 years of experience, and I don’t know where to cut it. Is it misleading to do so?
— Ashley Dear Ashley:
Hiring managers expect 10 to 15 years of experience on a resume. Omitting earlier experience will not be seen as misleading as recent, relevant experience is most important.
This does not mean you can’t include earlier positions. You may want to consider bylining foundational roles without dates to avoid aging or over-qualifying your candidacy. This means breaking format and placing a note at the end of your professional experience with a mention that you possess foundational experience, yet not dating the role. Samantha Nolan is a certified professional resume writer and owner of Nolan Branding. Reach her at dearsam@nolanbranding. com, visit nolanbranding.com or call 614-570-3442 or 1-888-9523928. Meet her on Facebook, live on Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. EDT, for an extended discussion of this week’s Dear Sam topic.