...Qualification and Education, Work Experience, Work History, Short Courses, etc. These are all important in you getting to the next step – the interview. However, you can add to these with “extra” categories. The impression that you are trying to create with your whole Resume is: a person who is hard working and trustworthy, a good communicator and team player (etc). What a lot of employers seek in an ideal employee is someone who has more to their life than simply their workplace/ role. A manager wants people in her team who are “alive” and enthusiastic and are interesting. After all, they have to work with you for 40 hours a week!!

Make the most of your CV by adding in lots of details (especially if you are in the first few years of your career) and highlight any interests, skills and achievements that you have attained outside of the workplace. You might deem them to be “boring and uninteresting”, but will help to give a picture of who you are.

The hobby or community service may have stretched your skill development, or what some call “street wise” or general awareness. You may have achieved well in sport, a community service, or gained key traits such as leadership and communication. A great example of these are Mission Trips, Storm Co, Summer Camps and School Leadership opportunities (especially so in Christian Employers), plus travel, “difficult” hobbies, and experiences which have “grown” you. It will definitely give you something to talk about with the employer.

A word of warning: don’t use jargon/ lingo if the employer won’t know what the activity is that you have involved yourself with. Especially if it is in the “Mission Trip” category, you might want to include a small explanatory sentence.

With any information you use in your CV, make sure it is relevant to the particular position you are applying for.