A friend and I were chatting about the hell of doing up a C.V. (resume) when one’s a freelance when we discovered something interesting. For us, anyway.
She was surprised to learn I don’t list my unpaid jobs while I was surprised that she does list hers.
She’s pointed out that a C.V. ought to be a showcase of experiences, knowledge and skills. I had always thought the C.V. was basically a record of paid employment. She’s insisted I should have listed all to show a full range of my skills and experiences. I thought that was insane. My C.V. would be at least five pages long if I really did go with that.
For example, should I list all books I voluntarily critiqued, beta-read or fact-checked? That I appeared in a couple of music videos and TV commercial (only as an extra!) years ago in HK? A bibliography of essays, reviews, notes and articles for random blogs, magazines and DVD booklets? Or that I assisted my dad on his dull-as-hell academic military history books? That I designed a couple of web sites and created blogs for reader friends? Did a couple of book covers, too? I don’t think so, but she thinks I should.
I think it would make sense if I were to customise a C.V. to fit the requirements of a job. For example, if I want work in magazine publishing again, I’d probably list a couple of those. Otherwise, just stick with paid employment.
She however disagreed as she strongly believes that listing all jobs, paid or not, in a C.V. should be standard for freelancers. My instincts disagree.
Who’s right?
—
For those who’re celebrating today: Happy Christmas and Good Luck on Surviving the Evening!
For those who’re celebrating tomorrow: Happy Christmas and Good Luck on Surviving the Day!
For those who don’t celebrate it at all: Happy Resting Day!
For those who don’t give a sod: Happy Sod-all Day!
Recent Comments