by Ella Shorthouse, career guide

Does your resume list all your most notable credentials?

Writing a resume is surprisingly similar to searching for treasure in your past experiences, and a career guide like Career Health Workshop can help provide a map to exactly what your next employer needs to know about you to call you for an interview.

Here are three credentials we recently found for clients that they didn’t know they had before talking to us:

• A college degree

We spoke with a client who attended college for several years seeking a specific degree, but due to circumstances beyond their control, left school before they were able to complete it. After speaking with this client in more depth about their college experience, Ella realized they were likely qualified for a degree, just not the one they originally set out to obtain. We equipped the client with everything they needed to request that they be conferred the degree they had earned, and even watched them graduate in May.

• A promotion

We spoke with a client who began the conversation about a particular job in their work history by saying, “I’m not sure if this is even worth including – it was a few years ago, and it isn’t in the field I want to work in now.” Ella decided it would still be worthwhile to discuss the position, and learned that the client at one point experienced a change in title and responsibilities, accompanied by an increase in hours and pay. Because the client’s employer had never called this a promotion, and they hadn’t been promoted before, they never realized that’s what happened! In the end, we decided along with the client to highlight the job and the promotion on the resume, showing all the transferable skills they gained there.

• Relevant volunteer experience

We spoke with a client who told us she was worried about applying for a job she wanted because it was unlike anything she had done at work before. However, as the conversation continued, we learned she had been volunteering for some time doing work that was directly related to the job she wanted to apply for. Experience doesn’t have to be paid to be relevant! This experience showed that she was a better fit for the job she was interested in and made her more likely to be selected for an interview than just her transferable skills from paid employment.

Does your resume currently show all the skills, accomplishments, and achievements that you can leverage for your next role? If you aren’t sure, consider booking a consultation with Career Health Workshop to set yourself up for success. Or, you can subscribe below to always get our free insights: