How to Beef Up Your Work History

How to Beef Up Your Work HistoryHow to Beef Up Your Work HistoryMaybe you took some time off to raise your family. Or maybe youve held only a couple of jobs your entire career. Or maybe youve been job searching for a really long time without any luck. So now as youre writing and editing your resume, its, well, a little thin. Dont despair, job seekers There are ways to beef up your work history while staying honest Heres how.Heres how to beef up your work historyInclude skills. Sometimes the skills section of a resume doesnt get a whole lot of love, but it should, especially if other areas of your resume arent as strong. So if you dont have a whole lot of work history to include, youll need to look to other areas of your resume to help balance it all out. You can do this by adding extra skills to the work experience and skills sections of your resume, as they relate to the job youre trying to apply for. You dont have to make it into a laundry list of dutiesexclude those that are obvio us (i.e., addressing envelopes or knowing how to navigate the Internet)but be sure to include those that can help beef up your history.Incorporate experiences. A big mistake some job seekers make when revamping their resumes is to leave out experiences or volunteer work, simply because they didnt get a paycheck for it. These culled experiences can greatly help expand the work experiences segment of your resume with real-life scenarios that totally count It might be time spent fundraising for your childs school, getting your town to agree to a zoning issue, or starting your own blog, but all of these work skills used in the real world can be included in your resume.Add education. Depending on the format of your resume, you might have a small section thats dedicated to your education. Chances are, though, its probably just a listing of the schools youve graduated from, degrees earned, and dates of completion. But lets say that you went back to school for some certifications or to furt her your education. You can include this information in your work history, too, by putting it either at the top or bottom of your history, depending on your timeline. Not only does it show initiative on your part to further your education (which can be a plus in the eyes of a hiring manager), but it also helps to flesh out your work history. And if you dont have anything else to add here? Get some additional education There are tons of ways to learn new skills online, and as soon as you enroll in a course, you can add it to your resume.It can be discouraging when youre trying to job search but feel that your resume is subpar. It doesnt have to be, though. With some creativity, you can build a solid resume that will impress potential employers- and hopefully get you a job interview for a position that you really wantWant more job search advice? Head over to our Find a Job sectionand browse articles related to your job huntReaders, have you struggled to beef up your work history? Let us know in the comments