Learn how to turn experiences into skills that can lead to your dream job
You may be staring at a gap in your resume thinking, “I don’t have anything to put here” — but that’s likely not true.
Serving a mission, raising children, or volunteering in your community may not have job titles, but they taught you valuable skills employers want. You're not lacking experience; you just need to translate it into language employers can appreciate.
So while professional job experience is one of the best ways to increase your marketability, here are a few tips to help you market yourself to employers when you’re just starting a career or returning after some time away.
1. Start by listing experiences, not jobs
Pray and ask God to help you remember formative experiences from your life. Then, start brainstorming!
Don’t worry about using resume language just yet. The first step is often recording your ideas. Maybe you’ve homeschooled your children, managed a budget, coached a sports team, or participated in BYU-Pathway Worldwide courses and gatherings.
2. Focus on skills, not titles
You can now take these experiences and extract skills you’ve learned from them. Employers often care about the skills you’ve developed, not just the job they came from. Asking yourself these three questions could help you identify those skills. Here’s an example using managing a budget. Look for the action words/skills in your answers.
What skills did I use?
I organized our expenses and savings in an Excel spreadsheet, calculated balances using formulas, problem-solved when unexpected expenses came up, and strategically prioritized what to spend and what to save.
What did I learn?
I learned how to communicate effectively with contributors to the budget about changes and ideas and to pay attention to each detail like where money is being spent.
What results came from my efforts?
I came in under-budget and was able to allocate the exact amount each committee needed to fulfill their responsibilities.
As you identify your skills, you'll likely find a mix of hard and soft skills.
3. Quantify what you can
It’s important to then take those experiences and skills and quantify them. Numbers will help employers understand the scope of what you’ve accomplished.
Focus on the experiences that relate closest to the job you want. A good place to start is the job description, which often contains keywords employers are looking for that you can use in your resume!
See your value
This process isn’t just about improving your resume — it’s also about recognizing your own growth and potential.
Your unique life experiences are meaningful, and God has promised that “all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.”Explore BYU-Pathway Career Services for resources to build a resume, identify your strengths, and prepare for your next career opportunity.