Use combination resume to downplay sidetracked career
Dear Sam: I worked in the financial-services field with a company that ended up closing. At the time, I was in the middle of finishing my degree in a course of study that was somewhat related to the industry in which I’d been working. To be able to pay bills and support my family while I went to school, however, I took a job that was not related to my experience or education.
Early on, my resume for my desired career field still worked well, as it started with my related experience. Now, after several months in this position, I am forced to add it to the top of my professional-experience section, which not only takes away from the other strong experience I have, but also causes employers to ask why I didn’t pick up something that was related to what I’d been doing. How do I minimize this period of time on my resume? — Bob
Dear Bob: To minimize the impact of a segue from your chosen industry, use a combination resume format to present your experience.
Begin your resume with a qualifications summary that showcases your related experience and education — of course not making any mention of your brief hiatus from your chosen field.
Next, instead of starting your professional-experience section, present a “selected highlights” section. In this section, explore your past related experience that positions you for what you want to do next in your career.
You can organize the bullet points in this section either by employer or by skill. If the employers you worked for were notable, you might want to organize this section by employer, meaning you would have select employers’ names presented with highlights underneath each. If you decide it would be better to highlight your experiences in key skill areas, simply present your content underneath functional subheadings that are related to the career you had and want.
Next, present the professional-experience section.
Hopefully, your highlights section will fill the remainder of Page 1 of your resume, after the qualifications summary. This will strategically drop your most recent, unrelated experience to the top of Page 2 and, most importantly, minimize its impact during the screening process. Try to translate the skills gained in this position to your current career target, being sure you communicate why this experience is valuable, regardless of whether it was related or not.
I also want to make sure you are not presenting months of employment on your resume. If your last related position ended earlier this year, there really isn’t a rush to include your nonrelated experience just yet because your related experience, when presented, would cover through the beginning of this year.
Some job seekers prefer to include all positions on their resumes because they fear that a hiring manager might feel misled. But remember, the hiring community does not expect a resume to include everything you have ever done. Rather, a resume should present a strategic image of what you have done that qualifies you for what you now want to do.
It would be rare to find a candidate these days who has not experienced some sort of career segue, and your hiatus will not be out of the ordinary.
Additionally, hiring managers will appreciate your self-motivation to do something to support your family while navigating changes around you. Your actions speak to your character and how you handle unplanned events. I am confident that you can paint a great picture and that your few months out of the industry will be a non-issue in your job search.