Yes! You Should Include your Burning Man Volunteer Experience on your Resume!

A few weeks ago, after perusing many resumes and profiles of executive candidates, I sent a tweet out that read something like: You probably shouldn't include your Burning Man volunteer experience on your resume when applying to Corporate America.

That tweet has now mysteriously disappeared from my profile. 

I've been mulling it over, and yes, you definitely should include your Burning Man volunteer experience on your resume. It indicates that you enjoy interacting with diverse groups of people and that you have the distinctive ability to stay sane when every one around you is acting like they're on drugs.

Lastly, if you volunteer at Burning Man every year, would you really want to work for a company that would view that as a bad thing?

So I suggest that you go ahead and start putting your unique experiences on your resume. After all, shouldn't your resume content be a reflection of you, instead of a reflection of who you think companies want you to be?

How to Change Careers and Find Happiness

“A tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he’s not careful.” This quote from Yann Martel, author of the book Life of Pi, exemplifies why it is important to be happy in your career. If you wake up every morning loathing your job or bored to death with your career track, it may be time to consider changing careers.

The first step to making a successful career change is to decide which new career will make you happy. After all, starting over is challenging, and you don’t want to have to do it more than once. Please, take the advice of someone who is already on her third career! The most important thing to consider when making this decision is: What are you passionate about? After all, if you do what makes you happy then you’ll never work a day in your life, right? Passion can come from many different places, and will be unique to each individual. 

The second step to making a successful career change is to identify your transferable skills and experiences. If you have tons of them then that’s great – you will just need to adjust your resume to highlight these transferable skills and experiences. If you do not have many transferable skills, then you should educate yourself on the industry and take classes that will help you develop the skills needed to be successful in your new career. Be sure to add this new education to your resume – even if it is ongoing. Also, make sure that your resume has industry key words in it. Many companies use an applicant tracking system that lets them enter in a keyword or Boolean phrase and pulls all resumes that contain the search word or phrase. You should also be sure to include a two to four sentence professional profile section at the top of your resume that explains why you are super awesome and will add value to the company.  

The third step to changing careers is to network and apply, apply, apply!  Have patience, and don’t get discouraged. When I was transitioning to a career in human resources, I applied to over 20 job openings before I landed my first interview, and to over 35 job openings before I got my first offer. I also suggest that you join networking groups in the field you want to get into and attend their events. Even though you may be uncomfortable and feel out of place, it will help you pick up industry jargon, and you may meet someone who will give you a great job lead!

The fourth step is to interview. You should go to every interview you are offered, even if you think that the role or the company isn’t perfect. It’s great practice for when you finally get to interview for your dream job at your dream company.  

The last step is to pat yourself on the back. Changing careers is hard work! If you haven’t already landed your dream job then it’s only a matter of time since you have followed all the necessary steps: you chose something you are passionate about, you educated yourself, updated your resume with your transferable skills and experiences, and have been networking and applying to job openings like your happiness depends on it. Keep asking good interview questions and following these steps and you will achieve your goal of successfully making a career change!

How to Write an Effective Professional Profile for your Resume or LinkedIn Summary

Why do you need a professional profile?
Because many potential employers will not read your cover letter, so they may not know how absolutely awesome you are (note: this does not mean that you shouldn't include a cover letter in your application!). If you have a similar experience level as other applicants, your professional profile may help set you apart.

What is a professional profile?
A professional profile is a resume section that introduces who you are. It should include any notable professional, volunteer, or academic experience and accomplishments.  

What isn't a professional profile?
A professional profile is not an objective statement. An objective statement states what the job seeker is looking for. A professional profile states what the job seeker can offer an employer.

Who should use a professional profile?
If you have experience in your field, or have transferable skills and experiences from another field, you should use a professional profile.

Who shouldn't use a professional profile?
Candidates who have never been employed, are applying for an internship, or have no transferable skills should not use a professional profile.

How long should a professional profile be?
Four sentences or less.

Template to write an effective professional profile
(Insert industry here) professional with extensive experience in (insert relevant skills here). Key accomplishments include (insert accomplishments here).

Example of a short professional profile
Human Resources Professional with extensive experience in talent acquisition operations. Key accomplishments include being recognized for outstanding contribution to TA Ops by EMC in 2014, developing and implementing a staffing plan for all BJ's new club openings on a national level in 2013, and growing GL Advisor's customer service department y 52% in two months in 2012.

Example of a long professional profile
Human Resources Professional with extensive knowledge in recruiting, talent acquisition operations, and working with senior executives across multiple business units and functions. Strong leader who understands that each human interaction is an inherently critical component of a broader strategy for continuous growth, which sets the stage for long-term success in creating higher profits, employee satisfaction, and customer loyalty. Key accomplishments include:
- Being recognized for outstanding contribution to TA Ops department by EMC in 2014
- Developing and implementing a staffing plan for all BJ's new club openings on a national level in 2013
- Growing Graduate Leverage's customer service department by 52% in two months in 2012


Do you use a professional profile on your resume? If so, do you structure it the same, or differently than I have recommended here?

Do you know someone who could benefit from including a professional profile on their resume? Why not share this post with them?

Have questions? Post them in the comments section and I will respond!


References
American InterContinental University's Career Services Department, 2014

How to Optimize your Resume and Attract the Attention of Recruiters

You're on the hunt for a new job. Maybe you're actively looking because your company just went through a round of layoffs. Perhaps you’re passively perusing to see what opportunities you're missing out on. You've uploaded your resume to CareerBuilder, Monster, and LinkedIn and applied to a few job openings at various companies (maybe even the one you’re at now), but the phone just isn't ringing. It’s time to revamp your resume, my friend.

Most companies use applicant tracking systems that allow them to search their database by keyword or by doing a Boolean search. Recruiters also use these techniques to search for candidates on LinkedIn, CareerBuilder, Monster, and other websites. It is critical that your resume be Search Engine Optimized (SEO). There are 6 easy steps that you can follow to optimize your resume and attract the attention of recruiters.

Keep the format simple

• Use Arial or Calibri for your font.  These are the fonts that are recognized by most applicant tracking systems.
• Avoid using headers, footers, or text boxes.
• Use black font.

Include a Professional Profile section

• Many recruiters will not read your cover letter (note: this does not mean that you should not include a cover letter!). 
• This is your opportunity to succinctly tell recruiters why you are awesome, explain how you add value to the company, and mention some of your accomplishments.
• Keep it under 4 sentences.
• Place this section towards the top of your resume.
• For an example, check on the Summary section on my LinkedIn profile.

Include a Skills section

• Your resume will now be more likely to appear if recruiters are searching for a specific skill-set.
• List 10 skills or less.
• Organize your skills alphabetically or by category.
• Make this the last section on your resume.

Use industry key words, phrases, acronyms, and abbreviations

• This will increase the odds of your resume appearing in recruiter searches.

Include an Education section

• Mention all of your education, even if it is incomplete, ongoing, or not for credit.

Don’t forget your contact information

• You would be surprised at how many strong candidates submit their resumes with no phone number or email address.
• Include your name, street address, preferred phone number, and email address.
• Some people don’t like to include their street address. It’s important to keep in mind that applicant tracking systems also let recruiters search by distance from the primary office location. If there is no street address on your resume then it will not show up in the search.

Do you know someone who is searching for a job but isn’t getting any calls from recruiters? Why not share this with them?

Image credit