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Long story short, I have been a full time student for the past 8 years while raising my child. During this time I have earned my AS in General Studies, BS in Economics, MBA in Management and Strategy, and will earn a BS in Accounting in December 2012. While I have not had paid employment for the past 8 years, I have been a volunteer for a non-profit, child's school, and various organizations on short term needs (volunteer for special events, etc). I have been looking for work since I earned my BS (2011) but have not had any offers. I landed a few interviews for unskilled, min. wage jobs but never heard back after I said I could not offer 24/7 availability. I don't feel like I should sign my life over just to have a job.
I would love to use my Accounting degree and MBA in some way. My background looks like this: 2004-Current (student and volunteer), 2002-2004 (seasonal employment with resorts and national parks), 1990-2002 (retail sales and management with multiple companies).
Resumes should be targeted and include the past 10 years of experience. So....not sure what to do. I don't really want to use all my experience because it looks like I'm a job hopper (mainly due to seasonal jobs and store closures). All my jobs were lateral moves (sales to sales, management to management).
I have tapped out all savings and cc's. I really need to get a job. My colleges do not offer much help except for offering to write your resume for $99.00. I am willing to relocate anywhere at any time.
If I put my BS in Accounting on my resume, do I include my BS in Economics? How would I list the multiple degrees (3 different colleges)?
Honestly for $99 I would have your college help you write your resume. Use this as a template to create a specific resume to where you are applying for.
If you have done a lot of volunteering I would suggest looking for a job in the non-profit world.
Sorry, not really much help what to do with your resume...
Seeking advice for what to include on resume Long story short...
Long story short is that you include EVERYTHING.
The question... is HOW you go about doing that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by veuvegirl
Honestly for $99 I would have your college help you write your resume.
Use this as a template to create a specific resume to where you are applying for.
I would tailor the resume for the job. Leave out the college degrees for low-wage entry level jobs. For entry level jobs at big companies that mostly require college degrees, list them there. I agree with the others here: asking your college to pay for a resume makeover is a good idea.
I think paying the $99 may be worth while. If you can't do that, maybe look at some friend's resumes for ideas. You can find examples online too.
Instead of listing jobs chronologically, maybe you could list all your non profit experience with the amount of time you spent, all your retail experience, and the amount of time, so it doesn't come across like job hopping, but comes across as 2 years of non profit, 4 years of retail experience, or whatever it is. Does that make sense?
First off, if you have the $99 to spare, I don't think you have anything to lose by having your college write your resume.
That said, when looking for work you can just explain to them, in a nice cover letter, that you were attending school. Many employers will understand if you took the time off to better your skill set. If they ask you why it took you eight years to complete your education, be perfectly honest and tell them you were earning 4 degrees to become a more well-rounded individual while taking care of a child at the same time.
Otherwise, If you held any jobs relevant to the ones you're applying for from 2002-now for 1 year or longer, list them (same for the jobs dating back to 1990), especially if you have references from them. Job hopping doesn't seem as bad if you're in school, and technically you were only volunteering for the most part. Furthermore, the fact that you had a more stable work history for 12 years before you began school shows that you are capable of holding down a job.
BTW, personally, I think you can try aiming for jobs that pay more than minimum wage (if you haven't tried already). If anything, with all of those degrees (BS in Accounting AND Economics and that Master's Degree in Management/Strategy), you're overqualified for even many professional jobs.
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