How do I list independent, for cash job on a resume? (employment, applying)

[Lizita]

I'm currently looking for work either in a general office position or as a veterinary assistant or similar as I have experience doing both. I'm listing jobs going back about ten years but I'm having trouble with how to list/present the work I was doing during a close to two year period where I did dog walking, pet sitting and minor in home vet care (I like giving meds, shots and giving fluids to cats and dogs). I did this on my own for cash. I was not incorporated, licensed or bonded. It was only supposed to be a thing on the side while looking for work but turned into a full time job as I got more clients. I never got around to becoming legit since it was always supposed to be a temporary thing until I found a decent job.

What would be the best way to list this job on a resume? Should I put it down as "self employed"? Or would that be misleading since I was working for cash and not technically "legit"? Any suggestion or advice would be greatly appreciated.


Also - another unrelated question - I have quite a bit of relevant experience from volunteer positions. Would it be a good idea to list that in the skills section or otherwise towards the top of the page or should it be listed as volunteer positions at the bottom of the page? What's the best way to handle this?

[Parnassia]

How you treat those skills/experience or whether you include it at all may depend on the position you're applying for. Those seem like pretty different careers. Maybe prepare one version of your resume tailored toward office positions and another tailored toward veterinary positions. A one-size-fits-all approach to a resume may not work very well.

If you're applying for a general office job how relevant would the veterinary/petcare skills be? If for the vet assistant job, they make more sense...describe them. For that 2 year period, maybe it doesn't matter whether your "self employment" business was ever formalized or not. You still did the work, right? Hopefully you didn't operate without required licensing. That wouldn't reflect on you very well. If you had to manage your business in terms of bookkeeping, budgeting, purchasing and sales, that sort of speaks more toward the office job, so emphasize those aspects for that time period.

Remember, a resume isn't a full listing of everything you've ever done. Some of that information can come out in an interview. A resume is a summary of skills and experience most pertinent to the position you are applying for.

[HB2HSV]

List it as "Owner, Lizita's Pet Care"

This does 3 things:
1). It's related to the position you're looking for (Vet assistant), and
2). Shows your initiative to go out and get your own business.
3). It shows you're capable managing all the office administrative work that comes with owning a business, including billings, scheduling, bookkeeping, advertising, customer relationships, etc.

Make sure you Include in the job description on your resume, especially #3. Even a Vet Office wants to hire you for your office administrative skills.

Starting a business does not need to incorporate or form a LLC. In your case, you're a sole proprietor.

By the way, did you know you can deduct legitimate business expenses for starting your own business on your income tax? Expenses such as the clothes you wear while working, leashes, shampoo, even computer you use for your business. If you use a portion of your apartment only for your business then a portion of your rent can be deducted as home office. [Disclaimer: I am not your CPA so consult either the IRS guide or your Accountant]

The US government wants you to start your own business so they give you these tax write-offs.