Beyond the professional experience and education sections, all resumes should have an additional section that sheds some light on the personality, interests, and extra-curricular accomplishments of the owner of the resume.
What can go in an additional section? A lot. So much so that often the hardest thing to do is figure out what stays, and what goes. Let's start by listing some typical examples of additional section content, and then we'll focus on how to choose from amongst the resulting examples.
1) Involvement in sports
This is often a good choice, as such activity can show teamwork or leadership skill.
2) Music
Playing a musical instrument can be a good talking point in an interview, and this interest can also show creativity, or sometimes leadership or team skills as well.
3) Other Hobbies and Interests
Here it really depends on what you do, and the specific purpose of your resume. Colorful additional section contents can include taking flower arrangement or karate lessons, for instance.
4) Anything you are learning.
As shown above, interests can be shown effectively if you study them! Being a member of a music school or flower arrangement class makes for interesting additional section content, and it certainly helps the resume reader understand what you do with your free time. Language are okay, as long as they add value to the position you are applying for. So think carefully before just blindly adding in 4 languages of which you only know a few words.
5) Volunteer work
This can go from volunteering for an NPO to volunteer teaching ice skating to local kids. Volunteer work is considered by many to be strong on the resume because it demonstrates community engagement. Don't list examples of how you donate money though - examples of actual activities that you put effort into are always better.
6) Publications
Non-professional, non-academic publications can go here. As can, for that matter, presentations or patents you hold that don't fit neatly into either the professional experience or education section.
7) Memberships in Interesting Organizations
If you are a member of the Book-of-theMonth discussion club in your town, this can certainly be considered for inclusion. As can membership in an association that promotes entrepreneurship or
8) Awards you have won or recognition you have earned.
If, for any activity, you could win something or be recognized in a special way, then you may wish to consider including it in the resume.
9) Anything else that may be relevant to the person who will be reading your resume.
If they are looking for "international experience" then aim to highlight content relevant to that. If you started a business as a university student, put it in, especially if you are aiming to emphasize your initiative or entrepreneurial skill.
10) Other Skills
The key here is to be selective and strategic. The days where someone would be impressed to see that you can use Microsoft Word are long, long gone. So you should not include such basic skill in your resume. But you may consider noting if you have a certain academic qualification, or a professional designation that doesn't fit neatly into another section of your resume. Computer programming? Maybe - if it is relevant to the job you are applying for. Again: be selective and strategic.
Hopefully, after reviewing each of these categories (and possibly thinking up others) you have determined 7-8 solid bullet points for the additional section of your resume. That is good, but it is also of course too much! Depending on what you have done with the other sections, you should have 3-5 lines left over for the additional section. This means you have to be selective, and choose only the most interesting, attention-grabbing elements that say a lot about you. How to choose what makes it into this section and what doesn't? I'd recommend considering the following three simple criteria:
1) Does the activity demonstrate a significant time commitment?
In other words, have you done it for a long time or a long amount of time? If you played basketball once that would not be "resume-worthy" because it doesn't say anything about you. If on the other hand you established a golf competition that has been active for 5 years, or if you have been a member of the same community basketball teams for 1.5 years, and play every weekend, these would be activities worth keeping.
2) Is it recent?
Don't give examples from junior high school, because they don't really say much about who you are know (unless you are, in fact, a junior high school student). Instead, emphasize more recent activities in the additional section of the resume. Doing so will help the reader feel like they are getting to know who you are NOW.
3) Is it impressive?
This last criteria is at the same time the easiest and most difficult to assess.
Easy: is it memorable and interesting? 6 hours of volunteer work per weekend says a lot about who you are and what you are dedicated to - to me that would be memorable. I'd choose that over membership in a pickup hockey team, if space was an issue and you had to make the choice.
Hard: it may be difficult for you to be objective and assess your own activities. If so, fair enough - get someone to advise you!
John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment