Today on "Ask A Career Coach", I answer a question - "What on Earth is an Experience-based Resume?"
Hi I'm Lana and I'm a Career Coach with Two Steps Forward Consulting. And today I want to tell you a little bit about experience-based resumes.
If you've never heard of this term before, an experience-based resume is an alternative to a traditional resume that only includes paid experiences.
If you have a lot of experience that comes from volunteering, involvement with professional organizations, hobbies, personal projects, creative ventures, event parenthood... Literally anything! Any experience where you feel that you've grown as a person and developed the skills that are relevant to the job you are going to be applying for, then this is for you.
Now, you may be thinking: "Lana! I don't know if I'm allowed to have an experience-based resume. I've never seen one before. No one uses them in my industry. And frankly, I don't know if this is the right thing to do. It seems kind of unprofessional."
So let's talk about that for a second. Normally, when you prepare a resume, you think of experiences you've gained in a professional environment. Should that be a limiting factor when you create a resume? Absolutely not!
What is professional about those experiences is your attitude. You've approached them in a professional way. So if you have elements of your life, skills gained through other experiences that need to be included in a resume, and you've used a professional attitude and a professional approach to get the job done; then they are professional experiences.
If you think this type of document is right for you but you've never made one before, please feel free to send me a direct message. I would love to advise on your unique situation.
Thank for watching! Until next time. Bye!