There are many reasons to take a part-time job.
You might want to explore a new field, or you might need a temporary stream of income till you lock in a full-time role.
Either way, it is a great way to gain some great skills.
You may be afraid to list your part-time positions on your resume, because you think that a potential employer would not look at that as seriously as a full-time job.
Furthermore, you may think that a history of part-time jobs portrays you as someone without strong work ethics and ambition.
Lucky for you, you are wrong about both these statements.
Even part-time jobs can show your potential employer some relative work experience and a stable work history.
If you are still not sure, we are going to convince you, showing you all the different aspects of listing your part-time job on your resume, like:
- When Should You Include Part-Time Work?
- When Should You Not Include Part-Time Work?
- How to Include Part-Time Work in Your Resume
There will be some great tips and tricks along the way, and we are going to leave things off with an example of everything we’ve shown you.
If you have some general wondering about structuring your resume in the best possible way, check out How to Make Your Resume Stand Out.
But if you are hard on learning how and when to include a part-time job on your resume, stick around.
When should you include a part-time job?
Figuring out when to include your part-time work is not that difficult of a task.
You just need to ask yourself, “Do I really need to list this part-time work?”
If the answer is yes, you need to ask yourself a couple of really simple, but also really important, follow-up questions.
Is part-time work the only work experience you have?
If the only work experience you have is in part-time jobs, it is crucial to list it on your resume.
Resumes’ main purpose is to show your experience and skillset, and if your experience is limited, you have to list everything you can.
This way, you increase your chances of catching the hiring manager’s eye.
Is the job you are applying for a part-time position
If the answer is yes, it is pretty obvious that you need to list it.
By showing your part-time work experience, you are telling the hiring manager that you have what is needed for that kind of job.
In such circumstances, your part-time work experience is a real asset and you should not miss out on using it.
Did your previous part-time jobs involve skills relevant to the job you are applying for?
Once again, the obvious choice would be to include your part-time job on your resume.
Not only will you show that you have the needed abilities, but also you can show work experience in the area.
Your potential employer wouldn’t care that your job was part-time, as long as you have what they are looking for.
Were you at your part-time position for a significant amount of time?
If yes, definitely list it on your resume.
That would show your potential employer that you are a loyal employee.
And employers care a great deal about loyalty.
If you don’t include your part-time position, would that create a significant gap in your work history?
Keep in mind that big unexplained gaps on resumes are badly perceived.
So even if your part-time job is not relevant, you need to consider including it, just so that you don’t impact your work history.
When should you not include part-time job?
Of course, there are also circumstances when you should leave your part-time job out of your resume.
In order to figure that out, you have to ask yourself a couple of more simple questions.
Do you have plenty of full-time job history?
Resumes have limited space you can use, so you need to keep it short and to the point.
So if you have plenty of full-time work experience, there is really no point in including your part-time jobs, unless you think they can really contribute.
Were any of your part-time jobs voluntary?
It is great to volunteer and do charity work.
But that’s not usually what the work experience section is for.
If you want to list them, consider making a separate section for just that kind of work.
Are the part-time jobs relevant to the position you are applying for?
If your part-time job is absolutely irrelevant to the job position you are applying for, you might want to leave it out.
If you kept your part-time job just to earn extra cash, that adds no value to your resume.
But again, keep in mind not to create big unexplained gaps in your work history.
Where to include part-time job on your resume
Figuring out whether to include your part-time job on your resume was the easier task.
Now you have to figure out where to put it on your resume.
We’ve got you covered, of course.
Do to that, there are two main options, and we are going to look at each.
Including Part-Time Job in Your Work Experience Section
When it comes to the placement of your part-time job on your resume, you have two options.
The first one is to include it in your Work Experience Section.
That would work well if your part-time work experience is relevant to the position you are applying for.
If these positions involve relevant skills, or they are necessary to demonstrate consistent work history, you should definitely list them in your work experience section.
However, if these positions are older, you should consider your work history in two separate sections, one for the newer job positions and one for the older ones.
Including Part-Time Job in Its Own Section
The other option for the placement of part-time positions on your resume is creating a separate section.
That is the right way to go if your part-time work experience is irrelevant to the job you are applying for.
If they are completely irrelevant, you might also want to consider leaving them out altogether, unless they create a big unexplained work history gap.
If you decide to include them after all, do so in a separate section, named “Additional Work Experience” and place all of them in that section.
How to include part-time job on your resume
When it comes to the how, it gets tricky, so pay close attention.
There are a few different aspects that we need to take a look at, and we are going to go through them one by one.
Focus on your core skills
If most of your experience is with part-time jobs, you might want to shift the focus to your skills.
You can use all part-time positions you have had and show what skills you have gained from them.
To do this the most effective way, you need to use a Functional Resume Format or Hybrid Resume Format.
Highlight notable projects you were involved in
Another aspect you can shift the focus to is the projects you worked on during your part-time jobs.
They would also be great proof of your capabilities and would work greatly in your favor.
Make sure you only highlight projects that are worth a mention on your resume.
Once you know which one you want to include, simply list them and explain your role.
Make a reverse chronological list
If you have sufficient part-time job experience, you might want to list them just like you would list full-time job experience.
To do so, you need to use the Reverse Chronological Resume Format.
Keep in mind that this method would serve in your favor only if the part-time positions complement your full-time ones.
Make sure you indicate which roles were part-time and which ones were full-time, so that the hiring manager would understand your experience with ease.
Make it relative to the Job Position
An important thing you need to do when listing your part-time job experience, is to make it relative to the position you are applying for.
Even if a position is not directly related to the job position you are applying for, you should consider including it if you gained any transferable skills
Think about anything in common.
It is usually soft skills, work environment or values.
Or anything else, just look for it, and you will find it.
Show your ability to Learn Quickly
Last but not least, it never hurts to emphasize on your ability to learn quickly.
If any of your previous part-time job experience is irrelevant to the job position you are applying for, you can always use it as a way to showcase your ability to quickly learn new things.
This skill is universally applicable and is greatly desired by potential employers, especially by those who search for “potential” rather than experience.
Template of part-time job on resume
[COMPANY NAME]
[JOB POSITION]
[START DATE] - [END DATE]
- SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS RELATIVE TO THE POSITION
- SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS RELATIVE TO THE POSITION
- SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS RELATIVE TO THE POSITION
- SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS RELATIVE TO THE POSITION
- SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS RELATIVE TO THE POSITION
You can use this template inside your Work Experience Section, as well as in a separate “Additional Work” Section.
Takeaways: part-time job on resume?
We are all done.
Now you know when and how to list your part-time jobs on your resume.
You are now ready to show yourself in the best possible light in front of the hiring manager.
Take your time and go carefully through the tips and tricks for listing your part-time job right.
Consider when to include your part-time job in your work experience section and when to list it in a separate one.
Keep our example words in mind and make your description perfect for the job you seek.
Make one that's truly you.
