Including Unrelated Jobs on Your Resume

STOP underestimating your "unrelated" skills and experience when you're looking for a new job. When I was in college, I had a bunch of odd jobs including working at UCLA’s Campus Call Center. My main objective was to jump on cold calls and convince high schoolers who got accepted to UCLA to come to the school. I knew I really wanted to work in sports, media and entertainment. And this job at the time didn't make any sense to my career growth, but I had to make some money one way or another to pay the bills because my financial aid only got me so far. But with this job, I didn’t see any route or direction that would lead me to my goals. Up to that point, my only "real" jobs were working at Forever 21 as a summer retail associate, YMCA as a referee, and as an afterschool assistant for an elementary school. So each day I’d dial 100+ of calls for work. Then I’d get home and apply for 100s of jobs for me. And it'd lead to rejection after rejection. I couldn’t figure out what I needed to say or do differently to get noticed by organizations. It wasn’t until I realized my current job wasn't just about me making calls. It was about me using skills like: - Relationship management  - Persuasive communication - Marketing strategies By reframing my experience, I transformed my “unrelated” job into a stepping stone for my career. This mindset shift was what helped me finally land a job at UCLA Athletics in student-athlete recruiting where I was now convincing high school athletes recruited by UCLA to commit to our programs. So keep in mind that every experience you’ve had, no matter how small, may already be the game changer you’ve been looking for. The key is identifying those transferable skills that align with your dream opportunities. Questions to ask yourself: - What skills am I truly developing? - How can I articulate these skills to potential employers? - Where else could these abilities be valuable?   What are “unrelated” skills / past experiences that have helped you in other roles? #CareerAdvice #SportsBiz #Media #Entertainment 

PSA: If you’re applying for jobs outside your degree or aiming for a career change, read this! Career transitions don’t just 'happen' because you apply for enough jobs - they happen because you’ve deliberately built and communicated the bridge between your past and your target role. If you’ve sent 100+ applications in your target field and still haven’t secured an interview, this is the most likely reason: 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐕 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. This applies to both junior and senior professionals. Too often, there’s 𝐧𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭. Example: You studied Marketing at university. After graduation, you started your career in Sales at an SME. Three years later, you’re sick of sales and are now aiming for a Communications role at an MNC. It’s not impossible to make that jump, but hiring managers think in terms of credibility and risk. When they read your CV, they'll think this: “Why should I choose someone who hasn’t spent most of their career in this field over someone who has?” So in order to position yourself as a credible candidate, you need to close that gap. Ask yourself these 3 questions when revising your CV: 1️⃣ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞? → Review multiple job descriptions and spot repeated skills. These are industry requirements. 2️⃣ 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞? → Frame these specific skills upfront and expand on them, with measurable results - the more detailed it is, the better you position yourself for the role. You can remove irrelevant experiences, they just add fluff and distract the recruiter. 3️⃣ 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬? → If you’re changing fields, share your motivation in your summary and draw a clear line between your past and target role. The connection have to be so clear you can spot it from space. I’ve applied this strategy successfully several times - I transitioned from a Law degree → Corporate Comms → Programme Management → Recruitment - all in 7 years. If your CV doesn’t show a clear, deliberate path to your next role, you’ll keep being seen as a risk no matter how capable you are! You need to write a CV that builds trust, not one that raises doubts. Right now, which one is yours doing? If you need support in doing this, I provide CV review services here > bit.ly/CVReviewbyYasmin _________ Let's connect - I share career tips & opportunities > Sharifah Hani Yasmin Kindly repost ♻️ for your networks!

The biggest resume mistake I see people make? Lacking a clear target. Too many resumes look like a career history dump. They list everything someone has ever done, relevant or not. Recently, I reviewed a resume from a career switcher. They were looking to transition to a software engineering role. Along with software-related experience, it also contained: • Business analyst experience • Grocery store cashier experience • Personal interests like traveling and sports These may be great talking points during an interview. But they don't belong on a software resume. If they hadn't told me, I wouldn't know they were looking for a software role. Your resume should contain only relevant experience and skills. Everything else distracts from your main message. Your resume is not a biography. It's a marketing document. It should make it painfully obvious why you're the right fit. Stop making hiring managers read between the lines. Sometimes refining your resume means taking information out. Not adding more in. P.S. Does your resume make your target job obvious?

Your "unrelated" job experience might be your biggest asset in data analytics. Let me explain. Tracking inventory discrepancies in a warehouse → data validation Spotting workflow inefficiencies in a service role → process analysis Managing schedules, budgets, or stock levels → operational analytics Documenting patterns and outcomes in healthcare → exactly what analysts do Data analytics is not a field reserved for people who started in tech. It belongs to anyone who has ever asked "why is this happening?" and cared enough to find out. If you're coming from another field and wondering whether your experience counts, it does... More than you think. The question isn't whether your background translates. It's whether you're willing to make the case for it.

Before I became a tech recruiter, I cleaned toilets at Wendy’s and served food in restaurants. I’d left my home country mid-degree to explore opportunities here. While my friends back home were starting professional careers, I was scrubbing floors and smelling like grease. I was embarrassed to tell anyone what I did. Terrified they’d say: “You moved to America for that?” For years, I thought my story was a liability. But over time, I realized that “messy” background was my biggest advantage. The truth? Nobody’s path is actually that clean. Through my years in recruiting, I’ve seen it all: ↳Career switchers. ↳Parents returning after breaks. ↳People who started late or worked “irrelevant” jobs before finding their lane. We all have parts of our story we want to skip. The mistake isn’t having them, it’s not knowing how to make them matter. How to reframe what feels “off-track” Worked non-tech jobs? ❌ “I was a server for three years.” ✅ “Managed customers under pressure while teaching myself to code at night.” Changed careers multiple times? ❌ “I’ve had five different jobs.” ✅ “Tested different environments until I found where my skills had the most impact.” Started late? ❌ “Didn’t start until I was 35.” ✅ “Brought 10 years of domain expertise into engineering, I understand the problems better than most starting out.” Don’t apologize. Translate. Your unconventional path taught you things the traditional one can’t. It’s okay if your journey looks different. What matters is how you connect the dots between where you’ve been and where you’re going. As long as you can show how each step built your skills and perspective, you’ll stand out for all the right reasons.

"I work in retail. All my applications say I lack relevant experience in data analysis. Last week, I shared a tactic to overcome this issue with a client. She also shared: "I have nothing relevant to show from my retail job." We took a closer look at her resume. Most tasks she listed were: - Assisting customers - Operating the cash register - Stocking shelves Sure, these are the obvious tasks she did daily. But then, during my coaching sessions, I shared a list of transferable skills related to her target job roles. We identified KPIs related to: 🔷Customer insights 🔷Sales reporting 🔷Handling stock levels She paused and realised, "Yes, there's plenty!" One example she gave was a sales report she created that highlighted best-selling items, which helped increase the store's revenue. Was this on her resume? No. Why is this important? Every company shares universal goals, like: - Reducing costs - Improving profits - Enhancing operational efficiency You might think your part-time job doesn't contribute to these goals. But it does in some way. Remember, your contributions matter more than you think. #JobSearch #ResumeWriting #Graduates #CareerAdvice #Careercoach P.S. What is your part-time job and target job? Share below and I will show a way to showcase transferable skills.

Ensure your resume speaks to the job posting you are applying for, not your overall experience. Remember, skills are skills, regardless of industry, so you want to focus your resume to attract the roles you want, not necessarily the job you currently have. This is key for any pivot, including: ✅ Industry transitions. ✅ Taking the next step in your career into a promotion. ✅ Focusing on People Management, either into a role as a people manager or away from managing towards an Individual Contributor role. ✅ Combining your previous “unrelated” experience with your new, advanced education into an experienced role in your new field, not having to start as entry-level. You want to control the narrative and highlight your relevance, highlighting the right information in the bullet points for each role, including contextual evidence. Tell the reader, “I did what you’re looking for, and I did it well.” Good luck!

"Help -- my career looks scattered!" Sound familiar? As a resume writer, I hear this all the time. For those of us (🙋) who have held roles that on the surface seem unrelated, have worked across industries or whose job titles are misleading or confusing, writing a cohesive resume and LinkedIn profile can be daunting. Some strategies I use to connect the dots: WHEN ROLES SEEM UNRELATED: Identify skills you used to succeed that align with the role you're targeting. For instance, even when I worked as a social worker, I wrote newsletters and training scripts. I made to sure to highlight this in my resume -- and omited the case management successes that weren't relevant. WHEN TITLES SEEM UNRELATED: Titles differ from company to company and sometimes don’t immediately explain what you do. Where possible, tweak or enhance the title for clarity on your resume. On LinkedIn, be sure to select yours from the options given (Market Value Titles). WHEN INDUSTRIES SEEM UNRELATED: Some worry a history of industry jumping will be misinterpreted as a lack of industry expertise. I say turn it to your advantage, listing the industries and highlighting your diverse wins in your summary/about section. More samples in blog: https://lnkd.in/eH6Fnn3N #VFR #resumes #jobsearch

Are you putting content on your resume because YOU want it there, or are you writing your resume with the intended reader in mind? There's a difference. The first approach is to share content in your resume that you like or prefer. There is no strategy. The second approach is where you strategically put the target employer's needs first. You aim to address their pain points and provide proof of your related ability. Details or content not supportive of the target job are minimized or removed. Guess which approach works better? Yes, the second. If details in your resume do not matter to the reader, they can be distracting and weaken the impact. The resume may be all about you, but it isn't MEANT for you. Before adding content to your resume, ask and answer: 1. Does this detail align with the job? For example, if you have completed multiple finance-specific courses but are targeting a job outside of finance, these courses are likely not of interest to the reader. 2. Are all examples relevant to the role? You may have several proud moments, but if an example doesn't support the target job's requirements – remove it or replace it with a more aligned mention. 3. Are you spotlighting related work history or providing a career chronology? Older work positions do not always need mentioning (the general rule of thumb is past 10-15 years of work history), and non-related work positions should not be heavily detailed. Some exceptions may apply; be strategic. 4. Are language and keywords appropriate? Keep content industry-appropriate. If you spent many years working in the health care industry and now want a job in high-tech, you need to soften healthcare lingo, references, keywords, and specifics. Write the resume for the reader, not yourself. #resume #resumetips #executiveresume

I used to think adding more to my resume would make it stronger. But the real game-changer? Removing the things that weren’t helping me stand out. Once I cut out the fluff and focused on what really mattered, the interview calls started rolling in. Here’s what I changed: 1️⃣ Objective Statement ❌ Removed: Generic fluff like “Seeking a challenging role where I can utilize my skills.” ✅ Instead: I got straight to the point: "Data Scientist with 7+ years of experience building scalable ML models for finance and e-commerce. Improved fraud detection accuracy by 30% at [Company Name]." 2️⃣ Soft Skills Section ❌ Removed: Overused buzzwords like “Hardworking, Team Player, Good Communication Skills.” ✅ Instead: I proved my skills with impact: "Led a cross-functional team of 5 to implement a credit scoring model, reducing loan default rates by 15%." 3️⃣ Unrelated Work Experience ❌ Removed: Old jobs that had nothing to do with my field. ✅ Instead: Highlighted transferable skills: "Customer Service Associate (2016-2018) – Developed strong analytical skills by managing customer feedback data, leading to a 20% improvement in service efficiency." 4️⃣ Long Paragraphs ❌ Removed: Dense blocks of text that made my resume hard to skim. ✅ Instead: I made it easy to read with bullet points: Optimized ML models, improving fraud detection accuracy by 30%. Automated reporting in Python, reducing manual effort by 50%. 5️⃣ “References Available Upon Request” ❌ Removed: This unnecessary line taking up space. ✅ Instead: Used it to highlight a key achievement: "Awarded ‘Employee of the Month’ for leading a high-impact fraud detection project." 6️⃣ Fancy Designs & Graphics ❌ Removed: Infographics, charts, and multi-column layouts that confuse ATS systems. ✅ Instead: Kept it clean and ATS-friendly with clear sections. After making these changes, my resume was sharper, clearer, and got real results more interviews, faster. 🚀 #LIPostingChallengeIndia #Resume #Resumebuilding #ATSFreindlyResume #JobSearch #CareerCoach #ResumeWriting