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Hi there, so I have a question:

I have been out of college for a year and a half. I was working as a researcher immediately after graduation, but mostly I have been working as an actress and dancer. How would I put this on my resume? Should I or should I just concentrate on my more traditional work? Let me know. Thanks!

Your resume, unless they specify that it needs to be a complete work history, can "frame" you any way you want (while still being truthful). If you're a stripper, maybe leave off the dancing. But if it's some other, more socially-acceptable type of dancing, definitely put it on. Law schools love to brag about the diverse talents in their entering classes, even though it means squat once you get there.

The application will likely ask for work history, and there you can't "frame" yourself by omitting things. Gotta be complete.

rinkrat19 wrote:Your resume, unless they specify that it needs to be a complete work history, can "frame" you any way you want (while still being truthful). If you're a stripper, maybe leave off the dancing. But if it's some other, more socially-acceptable type of dancing, definitely put it on. Law schools love to brag about the diverse talents in their entering classes, even though it means squat once you get there.

The application will likely ask for work history, and there you can't "frame" yourself by omitting things. Gotta be complete.

Ok, great! Thanks. Yeah, I'm just trying to decide how to format it regarding individual films, television shows, and plays that I have been in.

cherrygalore wrote:

rinkrat19 wrote:Your resume, unless they specify that it needs to be a complete work history, can "frame" you any way you want (while still being truthful). If you're a stripper, maybe leave off the dancing. But if it's some other, more socially-acceptable type of dancing, definitely put it on. Law schools love to brag about the diverse talents in their entering classes, even though it means squat once you get there.

The application will likely ask for work history, and there you can't "frame" yourself by omitting things. Gotta be complete.

Ok, great! Thanks. Yeah, I'm just trying to decide how to format it regarding individual films, television shows, and plays that I have been in.

Ah. I'm not sure about that. I guess if there are more than a few, I'd lean towards listing each appearance as one line (with dates) under a header of "Acting & Dancing Experience" or something like that.

I'm assuming you have a separate acting resume. Just mention that you're an actor/dancer w/ various companies on the main resume and have a line indicating that your performance resume is available on request. Then just submit the performance resume with the application as well.

cavalier1138 wrote:I'm assuming you have a separate acting resume. Just mention that you're an actor/dancer w/ various companies on the main resume and have a line indicating that your performance resume is available on request. Then just submit the performance resume with the application as well.

Way too much. They won't care about every little thing you'd have on a performance resume. Compress it to single lines included in the regular resume.

rinkrat19 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:I'm assuming you have a separate acting resume. Just mention that you're an actor/dancer w/ various companies on the main resume and have a line indicating that your performance resume is available on request. Then just submit the performance resume with the application as well.

Way too much. They won't care about every little thing you'd have on a performance resume. Compress it to single lines included in the regular resume.

I promise it isn't too much, and from personal experience, it was a talking point. Most of the people working at a law school have never seen a professional artistic resume, so they actually enjoy looking over it and asking questions.

There's a reason that LSAC allows you to upload multiple resumes. People who work in specialized fields might have experience that doesn't belong on their main resume but is worth having available to the adcomms. And it has the added benefit of being a totally separate document, so if they don't care, they just don't look at it. There's absolutely no downside.

Edit: This would not be the case for a performer whose main performance credits were at their school. But it sounds like the OP has a professional-level resume.

cavalier1138 wrote:

rinkrat19 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:I'm assuming you have a separate acting resume. Just mention that you're an actor/dancer w/ various companies on the main resume and have a line indicating that your performance resume is available on request. Then just submit the performance resume with the application as well.

Way too much. They won't care about every little thing you'd have on a performance resume. Compress it to single lines included in the regular resume.

I promise it isn't too much, and from personal experience, it was a talking point. Most of the people working at a law school have never seen a professional artistic resume, so they actually enjoy looking over it and asking questions.

There's a reason that LSAC allows you to upload multiple resumes. People who work in specialized fields might have experience that doesn't belong on their main resume but is worth having available to the adcomms. And it has the added benefit of being a totally separate document, so if they don't care, they just don't look at it. There's absolutely no downside.

Edit: This would not be the case for a performer whose main performance credits were at their school. But it sounds like the OP has a professional-level resume.

Great! Thank you guys for your advice.