What Should You Include In Your CV?
Some job seekers wonder what they should include on their resumes. Should I discuss my work with stray dogs? Do employers want to hear about my trail running? In fact, employers do want to know about your unique interests and hobbies, especially if they demonstrate skill sets that could be useful in your next position. Did you organize events for the stray dog rescue? Did you run to fund raise for a non-profit?
In the “Additional Experience” section of the resume, you should include volunteering, community work, board service, licenses, certifications, and consulting or freelance experience.
Why are these sections important?
- Soft or hard skills required for a job could be listed in these sections.
- Additional experience makes job seekers more marketable.
- Past successes in these categories read, “If I did it before, I can do it again.”
Licenses and Certifications: If you hold a license or a certification that is critical for the position, list it below your summary statement. If these have expired, move them towards the end, but it’s perfectly acceptable to list expired certifications, provided you indicate that they are expired. Expired certifications show that you are capable of passing the exam and that, if required, you could regain certification. (Related: Transferring skills to a new industry)
Volunteer and Community Work: If you have developed soft/hard skills while volunteering, don’t disregard the experience simply because you were not paid. List all experiences and treat them as professional work. Include bulleted accomplishments.
Board Memberships: As a current or past not-for-profit board member, you could possess a broad range of responsibilities and successes. Typically, board members determine and implement the organization mission and vision, serve its constituents, define the role of the chief executive and support his/her work, help in the implementation of the NFP programs, assist in the financial plan and objectives, and support the organization’s public image. Within all these high-level objectives, board members do a lot of minor yet important tasks, so don’t be shy when listing your contributions. (Related: How to connect to your network)
Consulting/Freelance Work: If you have done contract work in the past, you could either list it as part of your professional experience (full-time position) or within the Additional Experience section. Make sure it shows a beginning and an end, as you may not be considered for a FT job if you are running a business on the side. The good work you did for your customers should be listed as bulleted accomplishments.
