Should I Add this to My CV/Resume?

[wildstriker]

I currently work at a job that's not video-related (for a few months now) and have been thinking about adding this job to my Videographer CV (or resume as you call it in USA) for a little while now mainly because I wanted to show potential employers that I wasn't doing nothing. That's one pro.

But then a con is, ironically, it'd make potential employers think that I haven't been doing video-related work since then (and therefore dismiss an application because of it).

I'd like to get some opinions.

Should I add my current job to my Videographer CV just to show I've been actively working or leave it out because it's too remote from video work?

Thank you.

 

[NorBro]

Only if the job wows on paper...big position, big company. If not but you held it for 4-5 years then it's maybe worth noting because of that (but it's been months so that's irrelevant in your case).

Who'd know if you were or were not freelancing video work for the past few months?

 

[DLD]

You'd want to keep your video resume up to date. If it's quality, you can bring up "other jobs".

But you'd want something with the latest gear to show off, even if it's only in your particular niche.

The rest depends on the actual job.

 

[Run&Gun]

I currently work at a job that's not video-related (for a few months now) and have been thinking about adding this job to my Videographer CV (or resume as you call it in USA) for a little while now mainly because I wanted to show potential employers that I wasn't doing nothing. That's one pro.

But then a con is, ironically, it'd make potential employers think that I haven't been doing video-related work since then (and therefore dismiss an application because of it).

I'd like to get some opinions.

Should I add my current job to my Videographer CV just to show I've been actively working or leave it out because it's too remote from video work?

Thank you.

Only if the job wows on paper...big position, big company. If not but you held it for 4-5 years then it's maybe worth noting because of that (but it's been months so that's irrelevant in your case).

Who'd know if you were or were not freelancing video work for the past few months?

Exactly. One of my audio guys did some on-demand app delivery jobs early on after the pandemic shut everything down. Why would he put that or anything else not production related(unless it was before) on a resume(unless it was just something insanely cool/high-profile/WOW, like NorBro said)? Who in the production world cares? Just by the very nature of doing this, at least in the freelance world, we can go through large time periods of doing nothing. When I used to spend the majority of a calendar year traveling covering a certain sport, when I wrapped for the season, there were years where I wouldn't work for two months straight, afterwards, or only a handful of days.

 

[paulears]

College teachers hat on. CVs need to be relevant to purpose. It might mean having multiple ones. A video CV should not have working for McDonald’s on it. In future years we will have a covid break in most peoples CVs. It won’t matter.

 

[Razz16mm]

College teachers hat on. CVs need to be relevant to purpose. It might mean having multiple ones. A video CV should not have working for McDonald’s on it. In future years we will have a covid break in most peoples CVs. It won’t matter.

This. CV's mostly aren't read in detail. Any work not relevant to the job you are applying for shouldn't be on it.

 

[NorBro]

This. CV's mostly aren't read in detail. Any work not relevant to the job you are applying for shouldn't be on it.

As mentioned above, it really depends on the company/position and the situation.

Yes, you can leave McDonald's off the CV when you're applying for your next DP position, but if you worked at Google or Apple as an engineer for a few years and are now applying for a corporate job in a completely different field, it's worth noting as many may be interested in you joining their team, company.

They won't hire an engineer as a doctor or a lawyer, or many technical jobs in which you clearly require a lot of training, but provided the transitional circumstances are conceivable than it doesn't hurt your candidacy.

Nevertheless I imagine this conversation is more about adding minor work.

 

[DLD]

But you can't forget that you are a self-driven team player with good communications skills and strong attention to detail.

 

[wildstriker]

Appreciate the responses.

But if I leave out my current job from my Videographer CV would that just give an impression that I'm not actively working (in video or otherwise) or have no job?

What about tailoring my job duties to the video job I'm applying for like mentioning transferable skills and/or experiences common in both fields (like good communication, thinking outside the box, team player, having own initiative, etc) and specify in a cover letter about doing personal video projects to keep video skills up to date outside of my non-video job (to mitigate the remoteness of the job I have)?

 

[NorBro]

Anything you do isn't going to work for everyone.

Some will love what you have written. Some will hate it. Some will barely read your CV until you come in for an interview. Others already have their decisions made based on a number of criteria before they even see you.

And in general, 99% lie, or at least stretch the truth anyway.

At the end of the day, it's almost always going to come down to the person doing the hiring and what exactly his or her brain is gearing up while they are looking and listening to you. Overtime you'll learn what worked best and what didn't for yourself.

 

[NorBro]

And DLD was making a joke above because everyone has "good communication skills" or "attention to detail" which is ironically and amusingly the exact opposite as less than 1% actually really, truly do.

Many people think they do until they meet someone who's on another level than they are, especially with their overall work ethic.

 

[DLD]

And DLD was making a joke above because everyone has "good communication skills" or "attention to detail"...

I recently found an ex-paramour Linked-in profile describing her as a "self-starter", "team player" and so on. And then I remembered how I used to tell her to avoid these types of cliches. And, before making the post, I just searched online for them. First page hits.