should I add my non-IT experience in the resume ?

[s ravi chandran]

Hi

I am a java developer, 2 years experience in core and advanced java. I am planning to hunt for a new job, so, I am creating a new updated resume. I had initially joined a KPO company for 6 months, it was a technical work to some level, but my profile there was non technical. After that I had joined a small startup company as a java trainee. But after 3-4 months, things did not work out well and I moved out from there to a big city to try my luck.

After some 6 months, I got job in my current company. Where I am working for almost 2 years now. So, now when I want to create the resume, I don't know if adding the KPO experience and the other IT experience of 4 months will be suitable or not..

It will definitely add experience to my overall work experience, and I have gained quite good knowledge from the KPO work. But will it look good in my profile, or will it look like a negative point?

Please advice, thanks..

[Koen Aerts]

I'm not sure if there's a straight-cut answer to this. However my impression is that in North-America, recruiters seem to be looking for the very specific requirements or skills for the job. So your resume should only include the things that are relevant to the job and leave out the rest. You don't want more than 2 pages and try to use a lot of white space and use bullets. You also want to make sure that the most relevant things appear at the top of your resume and not have it somewhere in the middle. You have to keep in mind that most recruiters are spending very little time looking at each resume and in many cases they might not even read the entire resume from top to bottom. If the top few lines don't mention anything about this specific job or skill, you're out. So basically you may have to tune or change your resume for each specific job you're after.

Edit: You might find the following article of interest. This site has a lot of good information about resumes and how recruiters work: http://www.higherbracket.ca/article_recruiters_ten_second_resume_read_br.php

[Jimmy Clark]

Your first run of the resume should only include the two years experience. After a few months, you should be able to see how the resume is working for you. I doubt adding the other experience will make any difference, but you could test it after a few months if you want.

If you create the resume with the other two brief positions, I already have questions about your personal behavior, psychology and ability to work with others. I'm also thinking about your abilities and wondering if poor skills and abilities is why you abruptly change jobs after only a few months. If these positions are not on your resume, then I will not be thinking about these things when I read your resume and will not question you about them in an interview if I call you in.

It will definitely add experience to my overall work experience,...

The time periods are so short, what is it really adding? Think about the questions it may stir. Good luck son.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

I wouldn't add them because it looks like job hoping. Or maybe just add the Java trainee one because you clearly moved. But I don't think either adds enough to be worth it. If these non IT experience accounted for a gap, I would include it though.

[s ravi chandran]

Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:I wouldn't add them because it looks like job hoping. Or maybe just add the Java trainee one because you clearly moved. But I don't think either adds enough to be worth it. If these non IT experience accounted for a gap, I would include it though.

That is exactly my fear. Already in few of the interviews I attended, I was asked about the huge gap between my graduation and my current job joining. This is one of the reason I was thinking of adding my previous jobs, so as to show the continuity, the way it happened. Already due to the recession, many things went the wrong way for me.. I do have reasons for each one.. The Non-IT job was a start when I was not getting any opportunities in IT. The second job was the first opportunity I got to get into mainstream software development. But it turned out to be not a good start for me, and hence the move out... and the current job..

Now it looks like the question of which is more worse; the gap or multiple job hopping in short span of time.

Thanks all for replying.. It is really enlightening.

[Jimmy Clark]

Already in few of the interviews I attended, I was asked about the huge gap between my graduation and my current job joining.

10 or 12 months is not a huge gap. 2 or 3 years would be a gap of interest and 5 to 7 years would be a "huge" gap. Maybe you didn't start looking for employment directly after graduation. Maybe you wanted to wait and see how the job market improves. Maybe you spent time with further study...surely you could craft a reply for such a trivial question. Maybe you had a few positions that you did not feel were significant enough to include on your resume. Every single detail of your life does not have to be placed on a resume.

[Henry Wong]

s ravi chandran wrote:
Now it looks like the question of which is more worse; the gap or multiple job hopping in short span of time.

IMO, I think the gap is worse -- but only because it is not true. I think that the resume should reflect the truth. And I would rather see the job hopping, and hear a plausible reason, than to see a gap, and hear a plausible (but fake) reason.

Henry

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

I wouldn't show the gap. If the year of your graduation is on the resume, by all means do put those jobs. Or omit the year of graduation entirely and start with your current job.