by Scully 5 Replies latest jw friends
For anyone who spent months or even years pioneering, at Bethel or as missionaries:
How do you account for those "lost years" on your resumé if you are looking for work?
Love, Scully
I never thought about that scully,...
Interesting question..
I bet alot of them didn't put on there resume's.....
probably put, janitor, window cleaner.. as many pioneers did part time work for dubs.
After all they never earned any income from pioneering.
I'll keep a watch on this topic to see if anyone steps forward with how they handled it.
sincerely
Special K
I know several that do WT construction "missionary" work spending months & years at a time overseas. Combination of leave blank, skills used, charity work or a "creative employer reference" from family/friends that have a business. All that I know stay in the same line of work: construction, housekeeping, cook, receptionist. The missionaries I've known get jobs, to begin with, that don't require much of a resume.
About watching them deal with gaps in employment. One couple after years overseas came back, found employment and right away bought a car with a loan. The dealer did not finish all the background checks until after they drove away with signed papers. The next day the dealership called about all the years of no employment/credit gap and we want the car back. They told him "Sorry too late now". They made their payments and kept the car in the end.
I was never a pioneer but I do have experience in resume writing. I would put down the time you spent pioneering as "volunteering for your church." I would try to put as little down as possible about religion. If you feel the skills acquired as a pioneer will help you fulfill your job duties, than add that as well. Don't put it down as missionary work because there are many people out there, me included, who feel missionaries to be meddling. Don't put down anything negative about the JW's either. Other than the fact that the hiring personnel could be one, it's not a good idea to "bad mouth" anything or anyone. Incidentally, it's illegal for any interviewer to ask questions about your religion so don't volunteer it.
I hope this helps,
Devon
I went for a three hour tour on the SS Minnow.....nuff said
A good friend left a great job for the International construction work and when he came back I helped get him a job.
He put on his resume that he had devoted two years in a christian missionary work helping to build facilities in other countries. Sounded like it was in third world countries...it was actually in Hawai!
Since pioneering paid nothing I always had part time jobs that I could have listed on my resume. The skills I learned in Bethel I also put down on my resume (forklift operations, shipping and receiving, inventory control, etc)
