Hey There,

Have you ever wondered how to present jobs that are not exactly what you would be doing for the rest of your life? We are almost too sure you have. We all have. This could range from working for your parents to working a summer job at a fast food restaurant to make some money. The experience might not be relevant to your career directly but you could find a way to put a positive spin and make it count.

You could gain a whole lot of experience from these jobs and you could consider listing them on your resume if you do not have tangible work experience yet. You want to find the balance between making the job count and over-selling it.

To find that balance, here are a few ways to focus on what’s really important—and impress any hiring manager.

#1 Emphasize On The Results

The best way to write compelling resume bullets is to focus on your results rather than your responsibilities. This is especially true if your job duties aren’t clearly relevant to your target position. In this case, your best bet at impressing a hiring manager is showing that you’re a high performer by outlining your achievements and showing your impact.

When crafting your bullet points, consider not just what you did, but also the results, outcomes, or benefits of your actions.

Example:

Ikoyi Country Club Youth Tennis Instructor

• Instructed eight 12-year-olds and developed their golfing skills while caring for their wellbeing by providing sunscreen, water, supervision, and golf instruction; ultimately facilitated a successful summer with 100% student retention and no injuries or complaints. 

Draw Parallels With Your Target Position

Another way to think about your additional experience is to emphasize the parallels between your part-time gig and your target position—think soft skills, work environment, or values.

Take a step back from the nitty-gritty details and consider the similarities at a higher level. Can you highlight your client-facing responsibilities, strong communication skills, or ability to work collaboratively? Or, perhaps you could underscore your capacity for multitasking in a high-stakes environment and how your previous role aligned with your personal belief in green business practices.

Example

Burgers To-Go Team Member

• Served 100+ people per day in a fast-paced environment and received cash management, assembly line teamwork, and food handling training.

Demonstrate Your Ability to Learn Quickly

Lastly, it never hurts to accentuate your knack for picking up new skills quickly. In the end, if some of your previous experience just plain isn’t relevant, you can at the very least use it as a way to showcase your ability to learn something new—fast.

Consider this an opportunity to give an example of how you were put into a novel situation and excelled. This is a universally desirable skill and can go a surprisingly long way, particularly with companies known for hiring for “potential” rather than related experience.

Example

MyCompuStore Cashier

• Communicated technology product details and provided exceptional customer service effectively to 50+ people per day leading to a promotion to Assistant Manager after only 4 months.

We’ve all worked odd jobs, jobs that eventually probably won’t be listed on our resumes. But until that time comes when you’ve piled on enough relevant experience, it doesn’t hurt to build up your resume with other gigs. In fact, it could be that extra bit that makes you unique and boosts you above other candidates.

Regards,

PushCV Content Team.