To minimize gaps in employment, use years only, omit unrelated roles
Dear Sam: I actually have two questions for you.
First: Since relocating a couple of years ago from California, where I served many years as a Department of Defense contractor, I have held three low-paying positions.
Must I include these jobs on my resume? I ask because I assume most places want to see 10 uninterrupted years of employment.
Second: I have passed beyond the twoyear mark with an inactive governmentissued security clearance. Can it be reactivated, or will I be required to start the process all over again if a job presents itself? — B.H.
Dear B.H.: To answer your first question, I doubt you need to include all three of your recent roles on your resume if they do not align with your professional candidacy. You should only present years on a resume, so assuming you moved from California in 2016, you just need to make sure the roles you present reflect 2017 and 2018. If you held one unrelated short-term job in 2016 but you also had your last related job in California at some point during that year, don’t include the short-term role. If you present both months and years of experience, the gaps will be evident, but by including only years, you can strategically omit unrelated roles or short-term jobs.
Extending my advice beyond your initial question, I might also recommend using a combination resume format if your most recent roles are not your most relevant. In a combination-style resume, you would present your qualifications summary, followed by a “career highlights” section. In the highlights section, you can bring forward the most relevant aspects of your professional career — essentially moving your most recent jobs to the back burner by placing them lower on the page. This strategy will help hiring managers understand who you are as a professional and allow them to evaluate your candidacy based on how you want to be seen.
To answer your second question, if your security clearance is inactive, you will indeed have to go through the process again to secure an active clearance. On the other hand, if it is still active, you will simply regain those privileges once your employer reinstates access in the Joint Personnel Adjudication System (JPAS). Even if your clearance is currently inactive, you can still list it on your resume with the word “clearable” and the expiration date of your last clearance. This will tell an employer or recruiter that you have already been cleared and that you can be cleared a second time. Additionally, the second time around on the clearance process should not take as long as the first time.
I hope you are able to secure something more fulfilling in the near future and get back to a career you really enjoy.
Dear Sam: How many soft skills should I list on my resumes (I have more than 10 versions)? Is there a limit as to how many someone should list? — Anonymous
Dear Anonymous: There is no steadfast number regarding this, but I would caution you about focusing on soft skills at all.
Soft skills tend to be traits that everyone claims they possess, so the skills are not as differentiating as one would expect. Sprinkle a few soft skills into your resume, but focus on “hard” skills that are experience-based. These are the ones that will differentiate you, as they stem from the uniqueness of your personal experience.
I’m not saying you can’t highlight soft skills — maybe you communicate well, can multitask and are organized — but when more than 90 percent of your competitors claim those same strengths, they become very diluted and non-differentiating. Functional skills — those “hard” skills you have acquired based on your experience — are validated through your work history and are, therefore, much more impactful.
— Samantha Nolan is a certified professional resume writer and the owner of Nolan Branding, a full-service resumewriting firm. Email resume or job-search questions to dearsam@nolanbranding.com. To find out more about Nolan and her services, visit www.nolanbranding.com, or call 614-570-3442.