Page 135 - Complete Idiot's Guide to The Perfect Resume

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Chapter 8 ➤ Step Three: Been There, Done That

There’s no need to elaborate on your “filler” job title, unless doing so will support your job
objective. For instance, if your Job Objective reads “Fundraiser,” you might say “Volunteer
(emphasis on fundraising)” in your Work History section.

Bonus Check

Employers must be very careful about what questions they ask in a job interview, because
they can be sued for asking questions that suggest illegal hiring practices. Therefore, an
employer might choose not to interview you rather than risk a lawsuit by asking about
unexplained employment gaps on your resume.

The Gapless Resume
Janet Bennett had a long period of recent unemployment. For that
reason, she chose to use the functional format and filled in her gap
with two job titles:

➤ Childcare Teacher (which was a volunteer position at her
church) Job-Hunt Hint
➤ Full-Time Parent (for her two children)
You may have two or three “job
titles” that could fill an employ-
These two titles not only demonstrate that she’s a stable citizen,
ment gap on your resume. If so,
they also qualify her for her job objective. Can you see how she
choose the title that is most rel-
used both experiences in the achievement statements in the body
evant to your Job Objective.
of the resume?
If you include unpaid experience in your Work History section as
Janet did, be sure that you call this section either Work History or
History, not Employment History, because the word employment
implies that you were paid.

Promoting Your Promotions

You can be especially proud of your work history if you’ve been promoted within a com-
pany. So go ahead, this is your chance to brag!
Potential employers will be impressed by your promotions because they indicate employ-
ment stability and high performance. Let’s look at ways to show off your promotions in
your Work History section.

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