Should these be added to my resume?
January 10, 2018 11:13 AM Subscribe
A lot of what I think demonstrates my leadership abilities, communication skills, etc., and even some of my 'work experience', is connected to my political activism.
We all know how emotionally charged and controversial politics can be. If a recruiter/HR manager Googles my name, they won't find anything involving drugs, partying, alcohol, etc., but they will find a lot of articles written by or about me, photos of me campaigning for election, etc.
When I add these things to my resume I like to think that they demonstrate leadership qualities, public speaking skills, etc.
Similarly, I have spent the better part of the 2017 working on writing a book, which, to me, looks better than simply having a huge gap of employment on my resume.
And, finally, I am a managing director of a nonprofit organization actively involved in social issues.
All of these things I feel could be interpreted either really bad, neither bad nor good, or really awesome, depending on the individual. In my experience so far, hiring managers haven't responded well to the occupation "Writer" being on my resume (usually they laugh or make fun of me, sometimes insult me).
Am I right to add these on my resume or are they simply too controversial?
We all know how emotionally charged and controversial politics can be. If a recruiter/HR manager Googles my name, they won't find anything involving drugs, partying, alcohol, etc., but they will find a lot of articles written by or about me, photos of me campaigning for election, etc.
When I add these things to my resume I like to think that they demonstrate leadership qualities, public speaking skills, etc.
Similarly, I have spent the better part of the 2017 working on writing a book, which, to me, looks better than simply having a huge gap of employment on my resume.
And, finally, I am a managing director of a nonprofit organization actively involved in social issues.
All of these things I feel could be interpreted either really bad, neither bad nor good, or really awesome, depending on the individual. In my experience so far, hiring managers haven't responded well to the occupation "Writer" being on my resume (usually they laugh or make fun of me, sometimes insult me).
Am I right to add these on my resume or are they simply too controversial?
I’m of the opinion that if someone looking at your resume is actively turned off by a line on it because they disagree so much with it, then you wouldn’t want to work for/with them, anyway. Be yourself and you’ll work with people who appreciate you.
THAT SAID, depends on how badly you need a job. Maybe try to get some more neutral articles published so you can include them.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 11:36 AM on January 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
THAT SAID, depends on how badly you need a job. Maybe try to get some more neutral articles published so you can include them.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 11:36 AM on January 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Just note that if your resume is almost nothing but activism /advocacy, it will in some cases limit how many non-advocacy organisations will consider hiring you. It can end up being a bit of prison, but this does depend on how old you are, how much total experience you have etc.
posted by smoke at 11:56 AM on January 10, 2018
posted by smoke at 11:56 AM on January 10, 2018
Don't put "writer" on your resume. To me this is sort of in the same category as if you took a year away from work in order to be a stay-at-home-parent or wrap up a deceased relative's estate or something - you've been working hard, but (absent tangible output in the form of published clips or a book), you don't have anything to show for it that's relevant to your job application. (Even a published book might not be particularly helpful or relevant, depending on the job and the employer and, I suppose, the book.) You can explain that you've taken the last year to work on your book briefly in your cover letter or if you're asked about your gap in employment. But it's just an explanation, not a qualification.
People who insult you for putting "writer" on your resume are being really shitty though, regardless!
As for other activist stuff, if you have tangible accomplishments (like, "organized petition drive that collected over 10,000 signatures") that can be useful on your resume, but again, you have to think about what's actually relevant to the job you're applying for.
Without knowing the political climate where you are and what kind of groups you've been involved in, I have no idea whether the actual activism itself would help or hurt you. But if it's not relevant to the jobs you're applying for, it can definitely hurt even if people are in agreement with the causes you support.
posted by mskyle at 1:53 PM on January 10, 2018
People who insult you for putting "writer" on your resume are being really shitty though, regardless!
As for other activist stuff, if you have tangible accomplishments (like, "organized petition drive that collected over 10,000 signatures") that can be useful on your resume, but again, you have to think about what's actually relevant to the job you're applying for.
Without knowing the political climate where you are and what kind of groups you've been involved in, I have no idea whether the actual activism itself would help or hurt you. But if it's not relevant to the jobs you're applying for, it can definitely hurt even if people are in agreement with the causes you support.
posted by mskyle at 1:53 PM on January 10, 2018
I'm going to suggest approaching this from a slightly different direction, with the caveat that I don't know what you are applying for and what the descriptors for the jobs state.
Finally, I wonder if you might do well by applying for jobs where these skills might be an asset. I don't know your entire history (academic, job, etc), so those things would apply - but you might look at things like "think tank" or "advocacy groups" and see if you match up skill wise and interest wise with those organization in your area. Another possibility is - provided you are interested in something like this - why not check out jobs in your area that have communications or writer listed in the title. Read the job ads. If you see quite a few of these jobs and they also state something like (I have no idea what, but let's pretend "use of excel" or "familiarity with Photoshop" is listed) - see if your area has a library that provides free access to Lynda.com. You could take a course or two to get familiarity with the programs, and then tailor your your cover letter + resume to these jobs and mention it in the interview.
Good luck.
posted by Wolfster at 6:27 PM on January 10, 2018
- What job skills are listed in the job ads? Tailor your resumes to types of jobs based on the job skills needed for a particular job. So for example, if "writer" is listed in the job title or "writing"as a job skill, then in these cases, I include a special section with "Available Writing Samples" and a list of 10 or so pieces, including where they are published (and a hyperlink to the piece if available online). Think carefully about what type of job you are applying to - so, for example, if you have "neutral pieces" like a guide to insect care or whatever, include it - but I would be careful if the suggest a strong political political affiliation or direction, unless it is related to the job? Conversely, if this is not remotely listed in the job ad, don't include this as a section.
- Don't include these under jobs unless they were paid ongoing positions (maybe they were - I can't figure that out from reading this. But if you were paid to contribute editorials every month, by all means, mention it and have a bullet making it apparent what you were doing.
- Consider including a *brief* outside hobbies section or something along those lines. This means a sentence max--I do think your writing published material is a skill that is worth listing, along with your...didn't you take insect photographs or something? This might be useful for the write job/or interesting conversation during the interview.
- Consider having a small volunteer positions section, if that applies to the managing director position- if that is a paid job, list it under previous jobs, then.
- Consider talking to people who have the jobs you want and having them review your resume. To me, it has paid off to sometimes have a person who does the job right now and/or have someone who hires for that type of position review my resume and make suggestions - as to what to highlight, remove, emphasize, etc. Not a generic resume review from the whole universe, but people in the field right now.
Finally, I wonder if you might do well by applying for jobs where these skills might be an asset. I don't know your entire history (academic, job, etc), so those things would apply - but you might look at things like "think tank" or "advocacy groups" and see if you match up skill wise and interest wise with those organization in your area. Another possibility is - provided you are interested in something like this - why not check out jobs in your area that have communications or writer listed in the title. Read the job ads. If you see quite a few of these jobs and they also state something like (I have no idea what, but let's pretend "use of excel" or "familiarity with Photoshop" is listed) - see if your area has a library that provides free access to Lynda.com. You could take a course or two to get familiarity with the programs, and then tailor your your cover letter + resume to these jobs and mention it in the interview.
Good luck.
posted by Wolfster at 6:27 PM on January 10, 2018
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I do think you should put the managing director of the nonprofit (unless it's something notably very controversial, in which case you might adjust your resume to your audience), and I think you can put some level of your political activities in your resume, but not necessarily in the employment section.
posted by vunder at 11:23 AM on January 10, 2018 [2 favorites]