Resume

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

... why would you not include on your resume' something that most people cannot do and would not admittedly have the balls to do in the first place ... the officiating is what the interviewer wanted to talk about and talk about mostly even with similar background in another field.

High School Basketball Official is listed under Employment on my resume. When I interviewed for my present position, as an Environmental Chemical Analyst, the president of the company spent more time discussing my role as a basketball official than discussing my background as a science educator. He was a former high school basketball player, and a big time collegiate basketball fan. I got the job.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Avocation: Noun:
1. a subordinate occupation pursued in addition to one's vocation especially for enjoyment
2. something a person does in addition to a principal occupation, especially for pleasure;
3. an activity that you pursue when you're not at work

I know what the word means. I have never heard anyone suggest you only put your primary jobs on a resume'. You put all your jobs. Some people have multiple jobs at one time. That is not an unusual situation for many people in this country.

Peace

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I know what the word means. I have never heard anyone suggest you only put your primary jobs on a resume'. You put all your jobs. Some people have multiple jobs at one time. That is not an unusual situation for many people in this country.

Peace

That is not what resume experts recommend. A potential employer is going to stop reading and move to the next resume if you include a lot of stuff unrelated to the specific job being filled. I'm not saying you shouldn't include the officiating info, but it may or may not be something that will help you get the job. If not, it should probably be left out so unless your job history is pretty weak or don't really have anything else to put on it.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

That is not what resume experts recommend. A potential employer is going to stop reading and move to the next resume if you include a lot of stuff unrelated to the specific job being filled. I'm not saying you shouldn't include the officiating info, but it may or may not be something that will help you get the job. If not, it should probably be left out so unless your job history is pretty weak or don't really have anything else to put on it.

For the vast majority of people, officiating is not what pays the mortgage. I know it doesn't pay mine.

There is a risk here -- people who put officiating stuff on a resume run the risk of having someone read it who thinks "he's going to want to leave work early" or "he won't be available to be 'on call' in the evenings" or "he won't want to travel for the job and miss games." Or they could be amongst those idiots who think all referees are turds.

In my limited experience, I've had to answer more questions like this than have fascinating discussions on the positive aspects of my officiating. The last time I interviewed for a job (and this was 11 years ago), I talked openly about my officiating. They offered me a job, but told me that they had a strict policy about working a second job and that officiating was in a gray area that many in the company would not appreciate. I had another job at the time, didn't like the vibes of this, and stayed where I am -- and have been there now for another 12 years.

I hire people. If I was your manager or interviewer, it would be a big plus for me. I know what many officials bring to the table. Many don't. Choose carefully.

(My LinkedIn page includes officiating, BTW. People will look there even if I don't have it on my resume.)

[Hugh Refner]

Maybe a good compromise here would be to list officiating as an "avocation" on your resume rather than a "job".

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by jpgc99

Not sure why you are so adamant about it not going in a hobby line. .

I think Jeff's point is that if it is a "Hobby" to the IRS, then you pay taxes on the income, but can't deduct the expenses.

I am not sure that where it's listed on your resume has any effect on how the IRS will treat it.

To the OP -- I think it depends on your age / experience and the type of position for which you are applying.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

That is not what resume experts recommend. A potential employer is going to stop reading and move to the next resume if you include a lot of stuff unrelated to the specific job being filled. I'm not saying you shouldn't include the officiating info, but it may or may not be something that will help you get the job. If not, it should probably be left out so unless your job history is pretty weak or don't really have anything else to put on it.

The skill we do as officials and preach are things most jobs would want. Unless you work in a hole and never deal with anyone, you are doing something as an official that can and will help you in any position. We talk about professionalism, conflict management or resolution, schedule setting, working with other people, being on time, being in leadership positions and in my case working with the larger state association extensively, I want anyone I might work with to know that.

And when our economy crashed in this country and we had people being laid off left and right, it was officiating that helped people bridge the gap. I would rather have something there that said I was working and making money than maybe 2 years without a job might be a good idea to mention I was not unemployed so to speak. Just like you working as an official can undermine your employment checks if you are taking income of some kind if you do not report the income. Then I am not going to tell the people that are potentially hiring me and I have not been sitting on my behind? To each his own I guess.

Peace

[Bad Zebra]

Originally Posted by Rich

For the vast majority of people, officiating is not what pays the mortgage. I know it doesn't pay mine.

There is a risk here -- people who put officiating stuff on a resume run the risk of having someone read it who thinks "he's going to want to leave work early" or "he won't be available to be 'on call' in the evenings" or "he won't want to travel for the job and miss games." Or they could be amongst those idiots who think all referees are turds...(My LinkedIn page includes officiating, BTW. People will look there even if I don't have it on my resume.)

Exactly the same for me. I've been in sales all my working life and I've been in position to hire people. With a stack of resumes to sift through, a manager is looking for reasons to weed some out. Any avocation requiring multiple nights a week on the fringe of the workday just make it an easy reason to push them aside for the reasons you list. I've never included it on my career resume, but I have a separate officiating resume. Also listed as "Skill" on on my LinkedIn page.

[Welpe]

When I was first starting out in my professional career being able to point to my officiating experience was a positive thing. Now I don't honestly have the room for it on a resume and I have enough professional experience that I don't need it.

I used to maintain a list of my officiating achievements on my LinkedIn page until I had a couple of people that I consider mentors tell me I might want to consider taking them off because "nobody cares". Outside of a hiring manager that might be an official also, I think that is generally true. I will probably add officiating back as an activity on LinkedIn.

I don't think there's anything wrong with maintaining officiating on a resume if it does truly help you. It doesn't for me anymore so I don't.

Curling, back to your original question, I like what you have there but I'd personally not include this line:

"Maintain a demanding schedule with paperwork, travel, and availability while successfully balancing a full time job"

Like others have said, this would lead me to wonder if what you doing is so intensive that it detracts from your work. Now being an official, I know that's not necessarily true but I think it hurts more than it helps.

[Rich1]

Originally Posted by curlingrocks

I'm updating my professional resume and thinking about adding a section about officiating. What other things can/should be included?

• Work in high pressure situations making quick, decisive, and accurate decisions and while resolving conflict
• Communicate effectively with coaches, players, officials, and game day personnel to ensure success
• Maintain a demanding schedule with paperwork, travel, and availability while successfully balancing a full time job
• Enforce rules, policies, procedures, and protocols in accordance to NCAA or NFHS rules
• Lead crewmembers in pregame and postgame meetings and evaluations

None of this tells me anything pertinent to skill level or experience related to a specific job you would be applying for. It sounds more like resume BS. When I review resumes I am looking for statements like "increased sales by 20% over previous year by doing XYZ" or "reorganized supply acquisitions process resulting in a $380,000 savings annually for my division" and similar action statements detailing results, not generalities. The skills you have listed -- working under pressure, making decisions, communicating effectively, maintaining a schedule, doing paperwork, following rules and procedures, and leading others -- are qualities I would expect any qualified applicant to have if they have made it to the interview stage.

I agree with the others who say that unless you are applying for an officiating related job then I would leave this off. I do not include any "second" jobs on my resume unless they directly relate to the field I am applying in. I think it makes you look less dedicated and clutters up the resume which may be all someone needs to put it in the NO pile. Stick to the important stuff and keep it simple.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Rich1

None of this tells me anything pertinent to skill level or experience related to a specific job you would be applying for. It sounds more like resume BS. When I review resumes I am looking for statements like "increased sales by 20% over previous year by doing XYZ" or "reorganized supply acquisitions process resulting in a $380,000 savings annually for my division" and similar action statements detailing results, not generalities. The skills you have listed -- working under pressure, making decisions, communicating effectively, maintaining a schedule, doing paperwork, following rules and procedures, and leading others -- are qualities I would expect any qualified applicant to have if they have made it to the interview stage.

Wouldn't you ask those kinds of questions in the interview or need to know after you have them face to face?

And I can tell you as someone in sales, I do not care what actual sales you do if my company has a different product or has different customer service goals. I am going to train you anyway and want to know if you are mostly teachable and have appropriate goals.

[Rich1]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Wouldn't you ask those kinds of questions in the interview or need to know after you have them face to face?

And I can tell you as someone in sales, I do not care what actual sales you do if my company has a different product or has different customer service goals. I am going to train you anyway and want to know if you are mostly teachable and have appropriate goals.

I was just using those as examples. I would hope that there would be enough "proof" of successful experience in the resume that I would not need to ask. I prefer to have I candidate expand upon what they have done. For me, there is a difference between 10 years of management experience and 10 years progressively increasing profitability as a manager. I want to see accomplishments on a resume, not general skills or time spent in a position.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Rich1

I was just using those as examples. I would hope that there would be enough "proof" of successful experience in the resume that I would not need to ask. I prefer to have I candidate expand upon what they have done. For me, there is a difference between 10 years of management experience and 10 years progressively increasing profitability as a manager. I want to see accomplishments on a resume, not general skills or time spent in a position.

As I said before, this must be really job specific. I have never been asked that deep about a previous job. Usually all I have been asked is to confirm if I worked at a particular place or asked if I had that background. I usually get asked about my officiating and asked if I ever worked their high school or the school their kids go to. It usually takes over the conversation or interview.

Peace