The mission: a gap on the resume
One of the better experiences of my service as missionary was the opportunity to serve in the Church Employment Resource Center in Colorado Springs. While there, I worked with the director to get my resume together for my entering the real world again (I had only a few weeks left before going home.)
As I was putting my resume together, both the director and I decided that placing “missionary” on my resume probably wasn’t the best route to go, but since I had prior experience before the mission I should find a way to fill the gap of time. We came up with “Teacher and Service Worker”. Lame, but it served it’s purpose.
The other day, I was in a meeting with the director of athletics for Virginia Wesleyan College discussing a partnership between athletic teams and the students at my elementary school, and she asked me what I did before what I’m doing now. I answered that I was a missionary out in Colorado and Kansas. I got the same kind of look I usually get when I say that, but I knew it was futile to try to explain the whole situation.
So, as I was reworking my resume last night, I knew I needed a change. I realized that what I did as a missionary was little more than marketing for the church, very similar to what I did for a local contractor prior to serving as a missionary. So, my resume officially says, “Field Marketing Representative: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
…now when I’m asked what I did prior to what I’m doing now, I can say I was into marketing for a multi-national non-profit…or something like that.
Anyone run into the resume/employment record dilemma? How did you handle it? Thoughts otherwise?
One response so far
“Field Marketing Representative: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Awesome!! That makes so much sense!
As a current field marketing representative, I find that there’s just something missing from the title, maybe I can jazz it up a bit with the truth. What do you think of this?
Field Marketing Representative for Jesus the Christ, the only true and living carpenter, and for his church that is also alive.
Well? I think it’s got a nice zing to it.