Non-Professional Facts To Include On Your Resume

When applying for jobs, it is essential that your resume stands out from the others. You may be tempted to fill your resume with only professional facts, but there are non-professional facts that are just important to include. These will ensure that your employer gets a full picture of who you are as a person and as a potential employee.

Interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills are super important to include on your resume. They showcase how you interact with others in a team setting, which is crucial for working with a company. These include things like verbal and non-verbal communication, listening, and mediating conflict, among many others. They help ensure that you are able to be effective, even when issues arise. Working as a team requires people to interact well, so having interpersonal skills allows you to solve issues while still remaining professional.

Contact information

It may be obvious, but it is crucial to give your employer your email address and phone number so they have multiple ways to contact you. Make sure the email you give is professional and not the screenname email you made when you were 13. Giving out your home address is completely optional, so if you are concerned, it is okay to stick with your email and phone number. However, some employers may view those who give their home address as more open, so weigh the pros and cons.

Volunteer experience

Volunteer experience is crucial as it shows that you are involved and interested in helping people. It also shows that you are more focused on doing a kind deed than you are getting compensation for your work. This section may also highlight skills you have done on a volunteer basis that you do not have room to showcase elsewhere on your resume. Having volunteer experience shows that you care about the community and do more than just focus on work and personal things.

Image: RODNAE Productions via https://www.pexels.com/photo/landscape-man-love-people-6646852/

Hobbies

Including hobbies on your resume shows that you do more outside of work than just eat and sleep. It shows that you are involved in things and are interested in learning and growing outside of the workplace. You may even want to include any accomplishments you have achieved as a part of your hobbies, such as a first-place spot in an art competition or a poem being published in a literary journal.

Awards and achievements

If you have earned an award as a part of a job or schooling, you can include these in the appropriate section. However, you may have earned an award as a separate entity outside of a professional setting. This is a great thing to include on a resume as you get to highlight a skill that you have that is not necessarily in another section. Also, this shows that you are involved in things outside of the workplace, which looks good on a resume.

Skills

Including various skills you have, outside of what is highlighted in your experience section, can help employers see everything you can do. Technological skills are especially important to include, and do not just assume that your employer knows you have these skills based on previous employment experiences. List individual skills and software knowledge you have.

Military experience

It can be difficult to translate military experience to relevant workplace skills, but it can be done. If you are a veteran, you have done things not many others have the opportunity to. You have been to places and met people who have taught you new things about the world. Including this on your resume gives potential employers insight into all you have done and what you have accomplished. If you can, relate this experience to match what the employer is looking for in the job you are applying for.

Social media handles and website links

Nowadays, social media is a way for employers to get to know potential hires a bit better. Sites like Quora and LinkedIn can be tailored to be business-focused. Even Twitter and Instagram, if they are relevant to the job, can be included. Just be sure you have these sites updated and cleaned up if necessary to ensure that things look good. You may also have a website, blog, YouTube, or Twitch channel that can be relevant. Having these things are examples of potential work that you have produced and can help document things you have done.

Languages

If you speak languages other than English (or whatever your native language is), included them on your resume. These can help you communicate with clients your potential employer communicates with and having additional languages you speak can help you stand out. There are companies that prefer that job candidates speak multiple languages to help them succeed further in the position, especially when dealing with coworkers and clients who are international.

It may be tempting to include only professional-related facts on your resume, but including things beyond this is just as important. These facts can show that you are a well-rounded person and can lead to interesting interview answers.