Feeling Stuck in a Part-Time Role: Can I Include My Current Job on My CV Despite Lower Pay?

Dear Seniors, I have around 16 years of work experience in different industries, working as an EA with HR, Admin, and Purchase experience. I left an MNC 2 years ago since they changed their location. Immediately after, I joined this present startup software company, taking charge of the operations and working part-time. I am looking for another job with my previous experience since the present company has not secured any projects in the past 2 years. I feel my experience is going futile and I am getting demotivated. Kindly guide me on whether I can add my present work experience to my CV, considering they are paying much less than my earlier salary and it’s a part-time job.

Creating an Effective CV

Your CV should be a truthful depiction of your qualifications, achievements, and jobs. Even part-time experience can be shown. Eventually, every employer will see your capability in the interview, regardless of any achievements you may write. Having clear knowledge of the subject matters which form part of the CV will be a plus point.

For example, I had completed a full-time course on UNIX, but I never emphasized that aspect since I don't have much practical experience working on UNIX, although technically, I have a fully recognized certification in UNIX. One must be very selective and accurate in creating a CV. A simple and concise document covering your qualifications, experience, and achievements should be the guiding principle of making a CV.

Thank you for your reply. To get a little more clarification, I want to know if applying for purchase-related jobs, my current job role in operations will support my CV. How can I tackle the interviewer? Also, I am not getting any calls or interviews from recruiters. In the job portals, I have not filled in my current employer, and it's empty. There is around a 2-year gap. In my present role, there is zero value addition to add to the CV, which is the reason I want to leave this job.

Kindly advise.

Regards

Linking Purchase and Operations

Probably develop the link between purchase and operations. Operations tell the purchase department about what items, quality, and time they want. So, this link is what you can use to show that an operations person can very well be in purchase. All they have to learn is the purchase procedure—quotations, selection of vendors, etc. That is easily understandable. Being in operations will help you in purchase decisions—like what to buy, what quality, etc.

Showing Part-Time Job Experience

Is there any harm in showing your part-time job? I don't think so. It takes time to get a suitable job, so keep applying and calling up recruiters.

Dear Mr. Nathrao, Thank you for replying to me again. Since I currently do not have a job and there are only 2-3 freshers working in my present company, I try to keep myself busy by providing soft skills training and sharing knowledge with these technical freshers. The job role does not involve any purchasing responsibilities, so I am uncertain about including my current company on my CV. I am also concerned that if I do not show my current employer, my CV will reflect a 2-year gap without employment, which may deter recruiters.

Thank you.

Like Nathrao mentioned, it doesn't create any issues if you show the present part-time experience on your resume. Rather, it would create fresh problems if you don't—one of which you have already realized. Any specific reasons for your focus on purchase jobs? What's the breakdown of your total 16 years of experience in different areas? I suggest focusing on the area where you can back up with solid experience as well as in which you have confidence you can handle the interviews. You haven't mentioned your qualifications.

All the best.

Regards,
TS

Thank you for your reply. The reason for looking for a purchase job is that I am interested in working in that domain now. I have been working as an Executive Assistant for 16 years, during which I also had the opportunity to work in the Purchase department. Therefore, the total 16 years include around 7 years of purchase experience as well.

I have completed my M.A. in HR and a Post Graduate Diploma in Materials Management.

My concern is that my current job is not connected to either a secretarial role or purchase, and as mentioned above, it does not add any value. Additionally, the salary I am receiving is much lower compared to my previous job. Although the company heads assured me that they would soon bring in many business opportunities, nothing has materialized yet. I took the present part-time job primarily to focus on my family, which was necessary at that point. Now, I have fewer personal commitments. Could you please guide me on how to justify my present experience and salary to recruiters and how to mention my present salary on job portals?

Regards,

Thank you for your reply. The reason for looking for a purchase job is that I am interested in working in that domain now. I have been working as an Executive Assistant for 16 years, during which I had the opportunity to work in the Purchase department. Therefore, the total 16 years include around 7 years of purchase experience as well.

I have completed an M.A. in HR and a Post Graduate Diploma in Materials Management.

My concern is that my current job is not related to either a secretarial role or purchasing, and as mentioned above, does not add any value. Additionally, the salary I am receiving is much lower compared to my previous job. Although the company heads assured me that they would soon bring in a lot of business opportunities, nothing has materialized yet. The primary reason I took the current part-time job was to focus on my family, which was necessary at that time. I am now relatively free from personal commitments. Can you please advise on how I can justify my current experience and salary to recruiters and how to mention my present salary on job portals?

Regards,

Career Transition Advice for Executive Assistants

"I am interested in working in that domain now" is NEVER a wise way of opting for careers. Even though interest plays an important role in career selection, you also need to combine it with your capabilities, past experience, and the long-term effects.

The role of an Executive Assistant is not a bad one in any organization—better stick to it. As you are aware, Executive Assistants have exposure to a wide range of functions, including Purchase, Finance, etc., as part of their jobs. However, getting into the hardcore functional roles of any line would make your career graph 'look like' you didn't stick to any one role/function... I am speaking from the recruiter's perspective.

You surely have a very valid reason/justification to show your part-time experience ["I can concentrate on my family side, which was needed at that point of time"]—leverage it. You can also mention that this exposure to the overall operations of an organization has given you the ability to view organizational situations/issues in a 360-degree way. At your level, this becomes a major plus (it may not be viewed the same way for a junior-level employee). Exposure to the operational/implementation side of decision-making for an Executive Assistant is always a plus.

Regarding your remark "Also, the salary I am getting is very less when compared to my previous job," I am not sure how you can compare both—a part-time job salary will always be lesser than a full-time job. So, I suggest not focusing excessively on this aspect—in your interviews, suggest giving both the CTCs with a clear demarcation of full-time & part-time. Please be ready to be mentally flexible on this aspect to begin with. Otherwise, the chances of spoiling the interviews will be high—the over-focus on one factor/aspect is usually at the cost of focus on other aspects of a situation.

All the Best.

Regards,
TS