Graduating College at 30I have been working in the customer service field for WAY to long (12 years) and will finally be completing my BS in marketing this spring. I became an active volunteer in one of the major political parties and have held a leadership position within the party-meaning I have gained experience in PR, project management, and strategic planning among many other things. Basically, most of the skills I want to transfer into a future career come from my volunteering. I guess I'm looking for advice on the kinds of jobs I should be applying for. Will my volunteer history allow me to be viewed as someone with experience-or will it be considered similar to an internship? It has been like a part time job for the past few years, and I am hoping that will pay off now that graduation is near.
I have no specific advice about what jobs to apply for but wanted to issue a word of caution about leaning too heavily on your political experience. Usually it's not a great idea to reveal one's political views, religion or sexual orientation during a job search. Unless you live in an area that is heavily blue or red and you volunteered for the majority party, be as vague as possible about which political party you worked for. You can certainly list it on your resume under "Volunteer Activities" but don't be too specific and if the subject comes up during an interview, be unequivocal in stating that you do not bring your political views into the workplace. Good luck and congrats on getting your degree. Yes, it will be viewed as experience, but yes, that experience will be akin to an internship since it was a) part-time and b) volunteer. So, in a nutshell, it is better than nothing but not as good as real experience in the field.
Tess | |
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