Dressing for the Job

There's an old saying that we should dress for the job that we want. How many articles have I read that instructs us to wear our way up in the world?

(Strangely do you think that is what most of the world is doing with our never ceasing drive of consumption. But I digress.)

So my friend and I were discussing what our resumes say about us. Here was her question "what do we do when the standard format for a resume does not pay justice to the work that we have done?" For example both her and I have had a substantial number of Administrative jobs at varying levels. WE took these jobs because at one time we were both under the impression that ANY job in the organization/field you want is a good one. Now we are both realizing that this may not be entirely true. Do we really think that the secretary is given the chance to lead or manage a project? Yes, but so rarely.

So we both took the same root, seeking leadership opportunities in the volunteer fields. Both learning and refining our management ability.

Now back to the resume, both of us now have substantial volunteer experience however, some employers don't even look at the volunteer experience. Some only care what you do when you are getting paid, as if this determines our character. Our problem is that resumes are geared towards the "standard" tract. School, work, more work and all with increasing responsibilities. But for many of us our desire to volunteer more substantially has interrupted our work seniority, taking us around the country and around the world.

My question is how do we dress our resume for our perspective jobs? How do we show that our drive for a cause has lead us up ever increasing responsibilities and ever deepening commitment?

You might ask why we don't work for the organizations we volunteered with. Well, for the most part they are small nonprofits, barely able to pay their current employees and both of us do have substantial debt from school and living.