MA LGBTQ+ Job Week Webinar: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop

*Extended Q&A from webinar included below* MA LGBTQ+ Job Week Webinar: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop Hosted by the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce Featured presenter: Chelsea Dunham --- Extended Q&A: Q: If you have been out of school for a few years should education go on top? A: If you have been out of college for 5+ years, education can go at the top or the bottom of your resume. It is your choice based on what you would like the recruiter to see first and what you feel is more relevant for the job description. Q: I transferred schools, then stopped attending shortly before the end. I have plans to finish in the future. A: You can still include your education on your resume even if you have not finished yet. You can say “Working Towards a Bachelor's…” Q: What are your thoughts about including an executive summary at the top of the resume? A: If you are a recent graduate then an executive summary is not needed. If you have been in the workforce 5+ years you can include an executive summary at the top of the resume but keep it short (2-3 sentences) to save space for your experiences. Q: If you went to a women’s college as a Trans man is it best to put your college on the resume? In my experience, this outs my husband. A: There can be a couple of different ways to navigate this and it is 100% a personal decision. On your resume you could leave off the name of the institution and use the below format: A New England Liberal Arts College Bachelor of Arts Degree Major: Management I also encourage anyone to reach out to their Alma Mater’s Career Center as there may be other alums navigating through this as well and they could offer more specific advice. Q: Should you still include extracurricular activities if you graduated 10+ years ago? A: If your extracurricular activities are relevant to the job you are applying for, you can include them. Q: If you are out of college, is this a good place for volunteer experience? A: Yes, volunteer opportunities are a great thing to include on your resume. You can either put them towards the top of your resume or the bottom. If you are applying to a field in Human Services or Non-Profits, including a volunteer section is highly encouraged. Q: I have a lot of experience that doesn't necessarily reflect my degree and the field I'm applying to. Is it better to put the current job at the top and then the relevant jobs even if the dates are not current? A: Yes, put your current job first under the employment section. Then make a relevant experience section for the most relevant jobs. Still make sure those relevant experiences are in descending order. By having the two sections the recruiter will be able to make the leap to know you have more experiences but wanted to showcase the relevant ones. Q: If you're transitioning, there's a period of time where you may be going by one name and your legal name is different. What names should be used in resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn? Are there spots for aliases? A: A resume is not a legal document so you can use a chosen name or the name that feels most comfortable to you. You can use this name on all of your documents and LinkedIn. If you are offered a position and are still in the process of a legal name change, you will most likely have to present forms of identification to process employment and tax documents. It is important to note that you can have these conversations privately with a Human Resources Manager and, because of confidentiality, they cannot tell your supervisor or colleagues. Q: If you went to college as an adult years after high school, should you include graduation year on your resume? A: You don’t need to list your high school graduation year. If you want an employer to know that you were an adult learner that is something you could talk about in your cover letter. You could talk about the skills you gained from going to college later in life. Q: Any recommendations of where to start looking for jobs? A: The MA LGBT Chamber Job Board, LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, Zip Recruiter, and Idealist. Q: All job applications have a question that asks for your gender and generally has a dropdown with male or female. If you are non-binary how should you answer this question? A: A lot of application tracking systems are becoming more inclusive. If you are seeing that their hiring practice is not very inclusive, then this could be a sign that this employer might not be a truly diverse and inclusive environment. If you choose to push through this initial application, you can bring up the issue in your interview to help advocate for your identity and gauge the sincerity with which recruiters respond. That being said, it does come down to an individual’s comfort level and willingness to potentially educate folks on the other side of the interview. Learn more: malgbtcc.org

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