Posted by:
1997resignee
(
)
Date: May 27, 2014 10:40AM
I put the relevant experience from that 2 year "conscription" in my resume many years ago because I could at least refer to the role I performed as the mission's financial secretary and the leadership role of managing people as a DL and ZL. I think it was something like this (two bullet points):
"•Managed the Operating Budget, Coordinated all Contract and Procurement Activities, Prepared Double-Entry Book Keeping with a General Ledger, Prepared Weekly/Monthly Financial Reports, Forecast and Developed the 1990 Operating Budget.
•Organized, Supervised, Trained, and Managed the Activities for 3 – 6 Districts with Approximately 4 – 10 Individuals per District."
The state in which I currently reside (and in which I have worked in various executive roles for over a 15 years) requires a more detailed employment application; in that application I provided additional details about my role as financial secretary. I was careful to avoid any reference to religion, proselyting, and focused on actual useful experience, skills, and business knowledge either developed or deployed that had relevance to the "real" world.
Why?
Primarily to avoid an employment gap and to leverage the relevant experience in that period in order to get my foot in the door post-mission and post college.
I worked long and hard in my delusional TBM mission days/daze and much of that work demonstrated reslience, leadership, and relevant work place skills. I also worked full-time as an undergraduate (mid/late 1980's interrupted by a mission) and through law school (early 1990's)and wanted to show a full work history void of any gaps. As mentioned above, gaps are worse than a two year block introducted generically as "my two-year experience in Portugal was of my own volition and at my own cost; I served in the following capacities, often concurrently..." followed by an honest description of useful skills (double-entry accounting, budgeting, financial management, personnel management, etc).
For the same reason, I also briefly reflected my work at a prominent grocery chain in my state while studying as an undergraduate and later as a law student - to avoid gaps, but to also demonstrate time management, stability, reliability, management of staff, and could then explain how that work resulted in scholarship funds from that employer for law school.
I would conjecture that most could provide a short bullet demonstrating some sort of relevant trait or experience gleaned in that time (or as many reflect back upon - that two years of hell that you'll never get back...."