Should I list my most recent employment on my resume if... Forum

[anniefremont]

... it was working minimum wage as a coffee barista? I'm currently a 1L and tweaking my resume. I have several paid internships at "real" workplaces to list, but those were 2/3 years ago. Last year my only employment/activity was at a coffee shop (I had a gap year between undergrad graduation and entering law school). Not a bad job, but not really the most impressive thing to put on a resume. Everything else on my resume (clubs, volunteer work, awards) are listed in chronological order, from most recent to within the past four years. So everything goes up to the year "2009", and it looks as if I haven't done anything at all in "2010."

Are employers going to wonder what happened to that "lost year" and would prefer I put "coffee barista" on my resume, or are they going to let it slide and focus on everything else?

Thanks in advance. I know it's an inane question, but I appreciate your help.

[MCRemix]

Are employers going to wonder what happened to that "lost year" and would prefer I put "coffee barista" on my resume, or are they going to let it slide and focus on everything else?

I cant say what an adcomm a hiring manager will think of a coffee barista position, but I can say that if I were in their shoes I would wonder where the lost year went if you don't mention it. A blank space where education or work should be makes people wonder what you did that you dont want to talk about and could get them imagining the worst. Coffee barista isn't stellar, but it's better than what they might think if you leave it blank.

EDIT: Reading fail corrected, time to put down the TLS.

[MrPapagiorgio]

I'm currently a 1L.

Are employers going to wonder what happened

I cant say what an adcomm will think

Reading accurately is your friend . Seriously though, if I was a hiring manager, I would rather see "coffee barista" than nothing. At the very least, it shows that you were willing to work and didn't just take a year off doing nothing. It's not great, but it's better than nothing.

[glewz]

Do not put your coffee job on your resume if you have enough relevant experience to show them your ability to excel @ their firm. If there's a bunch of white space, then obv fill it in.

But you are likely still at a point in which prioritizing experiences (as opposed to chronological) is tolerated.

[MCRemix]

I cant say what an adcomm will think

Reading accurately is your friend .

:facepalm:

Damnit, reading fail. Point stands, just ignore the adcomm part. Don't make them wonder what you did for a year, especially since its recent.

[glewz]

adcomm & employer --> huge difference

[MCRemix]

adcomm & employer --> huge difference

True, but both want to see your potential and neither should be left with blanks spaces where it looks like you either slacked or are embarassed by what you did....

Additionally, employers arguably have more interest in that blank year than adcomms because it shows work ethic. Adcomms might understand you taking a year off before law school or not including a irrelevant job reference, but hiring managers are looking for work ethic and consistency. Blank years give room for minds to wander, not a good thing for OP.

[firemed]

Include it, don't make a big deal out of it.

[Upton Sinclair]

Do not put your coffee job on your resume if you have enough relevant experience to show them your ability to excel @ their firm. If there's a bunch of white space, then obv fill it in.

Huh?

But you are likely still at a point in which prioritizing experiences (as opposed to chronological) is tolerated.

No.

[fundamentallybroken]

Speaking only as someone in charge of hiring professional level staff for the last ten years or so:

Unfortunately, it totally depends on who is looking at your resume. Some want to see every job you've had, others want only relevant experience. I've known managers who get pissed at too many time gaps and ignore resumes because of them. Personally, I'd rather see only your substantive experience, and couldn't care less about your time spent working at Starbucks or the used bookstore. Your coffee making skills don't help, but your actual work experience in an office full of adults (or, "adults" as has been my experience) will tell me I don't need to stay on you to get work done. You can always explain the gaps during an interview or on a cover letter (i.e. "I was in school" or "I was searching for a job in a down economy".)

[MCRemix]

Speaking only as someone in charge of hiring professional level staff for the last ten years or so:

Unfortunately, it totally depends on who is looking at your resume. Some want to see every job you've had, others want only relevant experience. I've known managers who get pissed at too many time gaps and ignore resumes because of them. Personally, I'd rather see only your substantive experience, and couldn't care less about your time spent working at Starbucks or the used bookstore. Your coffee making skills don't help, but your actual work experience in an office full of adults (or, "adults" as has been my experience) will tell me I don't need to stay on you to get work done. You can always explain the gaps during an interview or on a cover letter (i.e. "I was in school" or "I was searching for a job in a down economy".)

Your experience is probably the most valid ITT, so what if you had the resume of a fresh out of undergrad student that had a one year gap without explanation? Obviously if you're interviewing someone with 10 years experience in engineering you dont care about a 1 year stint as a barista, but for someone fresh out of school, what does a lost year look like?

[SMA22]

As a legal recruiter, I say put it down, especially if you have nothing between 2009 and now. Missing work for an entire year does raise a red flag--you don't have to elaborate on what working for Starbucks entails, but showing that you were doing something keeps a firm from wondering, "Was there a reason nobody would hire this person for the past two years?" It also says that you aren't a trust fund who doesn't need to work and will quit the moment the going gets tough. We understand, the economy stinks, and not everybody can land a whopper starter position, so don't feel embarrassed. Just my two cents.

[Kiersten1985]

Regardless of whether you put it in your resume, they WILL ask you what you did for a whole year. You'll then have to tell them anyway and it will just look silly that you didn't put it down in the first place.

Not everyone is saving cholera babies in Africa before law school. You'll be fine.

[fundamentallybroken]

As a legal recruiter, I say put it down, especially if you have nothing between 2009 and now. Missing work for an entire year does raise a red flag--you don't have to elaborate on what working for Starbucks entails, but showing that you were doing something keeps a firm from wondering, "Was there a reason nobody would hire this person for the past two years?" It also says that you aren't a trust fund who doesn't need to work and will quit the moment the going gets tough. We understand, the economy stinks, and not everybody can land a whopper starter position, so don't feel embarrassed. Just my two cents.

I would listen to SMA before me in this regard - the positions I've hired for have always been professional, and required relevant work experience. For entry level, just out of school, I defer to those that hire for those positions!

(and agree with SMA, just out of school you might want to be putting down the barista position)

[anniefremont]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Again, I appreciate it very much. I will be putting the barista job on my resume-- it makes sense that employers would prefer a coffee shop job on a resume rather than the seeming absence of any activity for an entire year. Knowing I can sell coffee in a cup has to be better than wondering if I was just channel surfing in my undies every day in 2010 instead.