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I've been unemployed for over a year and haven't had a single interview.
All the responses I have received on my resume submissions have generally been that I don't have the background for the job. I was a graphic designer for the last 6 years. However, I can't find work in my area in that field since I'm not familiar with website design or computer programming, so I've decided to apply for any and all administrative/secretarial/clerical jobs I see.
As part of my employment history as a designer I did a lot of work that would also fall into the admin/assistant/secretarial/clerical fields, even though my job title was graphic designer.
Can I just leave off my job title of "graphic designer" and list out the job responsibilities by employer? Or is this going to create more confusion when someone reviews my resume?
Location: from houstoner to bostoner to new yorker to new jerseyite ;)
4,084 posts, read 12,679,286 times
Reputation: 1974
I suppose you could, but I don't see the point. Seems like it would leave whoever's in charge of hiring you scratching their heads at exactly what you did and how much responsibility you had at previous jobs. Instead, talk up pertinent clerical skills and experience in the job duties listed on your resume and in your cover letter.
I've been doing that. I even tweak the resumes I'm submitting to use wording directly from the job post. Still no response, or occasionally polite rejections stating that I don't have an appropriate background.
Don't leave the job title off. Perhaps you could list your title as a Administrative Assistant/Graphic Designer or something and mention in your responsibilities that you completed some graphic design work, but most of the responsibilities dealt with administrative work. I'm not sure how ethical it is to skew the responsibilities like that, but it's worth a shot, and if you know what you're doing then they'll have no reason to doubt you.
I do think it's silly that people expect such a strong background and decades of experience to be a receptionist or administrative assistant. I'm not knocking the profession, in fact I really would love to transition to being one myself, but if a person clearly has the ability to perform the job well, why mandate such strict experience/education standards? I can understand an employer wanting the best person for the job, but it just seems silly to me.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,640 posts, read 11,930,296 times
Reputation: 9885
I've been leaving off job titles and simply listing the division to which I'm currently assigned. I then list all the duties I've performed that are relevant to the position I'm applying for. I've survived numerous corporation takeovers and am trying to survive the latest round of layoffs. During this mess, my "official" job title doesn't begin to describe the duties I've been doing.
I've been unemployed for over a year and haven't had a single interview.
All the responses I have received on my resume submissions have generally been that I don't have the background for the job. I was a graphic designer for the last 6 years. However, I can't find work in my area in that field since I'm not familiar with website design or computer programming, so I've decided to apply for any and all administrative/secretarial/clerical jobs I see.
As part of my employment history as a designer I did a lot of work that would also fall into the admin/assistant/secretarial/clerical fields, even though my job title was graphic designer.
Can I just leave off my job title of "graphic designer" and list out the job responsibilities by employer? Or is this going to create more confusion when someone reviews my resume?
Yes, leave it off, or call yourself something different.
People are shying away from you because they figure you are just applying for clerical jobs out of desperation, and that you'll leave in six months if a job in graphic design comes your way. Which is probably true.
Have you thought of taking a continuing ed class in website design? It really isn't hard to learn the technical aspects. It's your creativity that brings value to that job.
I've been leaving off job titles and simply listing the division to which I'm currently assigned. I then list all the duties I've performed that are relevant to the position I'm applying for. I've survived numerous corporation takeovers and am trying to survive the latest round of layoffs. During this mess, my "official" job title doesn't begin to describe the duties I've been doing.
I think that's what I'm going to start doing. I've been leaving off anything which references any design work I did anywhere and I've just been putting in duties which I've completed that would be relevant to the job applied for, but leaving my design job title. I think I may also start leaving my BS degree off my resume unless the posting requires one.
I wish there were a way to explain to employers that I know I won't be making the $45k a year I used to make as a designer working as an admin, and that I don't care about making less money, without making it seem like I'm desperate for a job and will leave once I find something in my field.
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