On your CV, you may have accumulated several part-time jobs. How are they to be made an asset for recruiters?
“The fact of having had two part-time jobs certainly demonstrates the ability to manage a schedule,” says Michaël Jalbert, an employment consultant at Groupe Plein Emploi. “In addition, if you decided to take a part-time job to acquire experience in your field, it shows perseverance.”
Job seekers do not have to be embarrassed about accumulating part-time jobs. After all, 37.5% of Quebec workers have an “atypical” job. Of this number, 12.8% of workers have a temporary part-time job, and 30.7% permanent, according to 2013 statistics.
Michaël Jalbert nonetheless does not see the need to indicate the “part-time” status to describe jobs on your CV. Likewise, you do not record “full-time” when this is the case.
“I advise choosing the most relevant experiences for the job that you want to get, at the rate of one job per year, if there are several.”
This advice is meant both for a mother who has a part-time job and a student who is working while studying or for a worker who has been downsized and has a reduced work schedule. During the interview this reality can be put into context.
“So we want to emphasize the strengths that our work experiences have allowed us to develop. Having held more than one job allows us to expand our professional horizons, to learn how to do several things, so we’re versatile,” points out Michaël Jalbert.
Reassure, if necessary
When you want to make the transition from a part-time job to a full-time job, it’s worth stating this intention clearly to the recruiter or employer that has been targeted.
“If a mother decides to work full-time after having worked part-time for a few years, it is important that she explains the background that now makes full-time work possible,” says Michaël Jalbert. “Have the children grown up and become more independent? Has her spouse reduced his working hours? The goal is to reassure the employer and show him that you are up to the challenge.”