Yay or Nay? Adding other roles to your resumé.

Chairman of the Board of the housing committee, Committee member of the sports team, Representative for the political youth party etc etc.

Many people have roles they fill outside of their primary work, should that information be visible on your resumé?

A good question, and a topic I have myself often discussed with potential employers, recruitment specialists and people reaching out and asking how I have chosen to go about it, and why.

First of all, ask yourself; What do I think?

- If you think no, then you are probably correct. Though it might be very relevant to add under an alternative section like hobbies, volunteering etc etc. If you do not feel like you are spending a lot of time, or have a real position of responsibility, probably, nobody else will either.

- On the other hand, if you are using a relatively large amount of time and effort, are involved in something that is helping you develop skills and competencies that could also be useful in your professional life either now or in the future. Maybe you should consider adding it on the same level as you might add jobs.

An example from my own experience;

Based in Oslo, Norway, I know that many people at some point or another get involved with "styret i borettslaget" (The committee of the housing association). A typical way of ownership of homes in Norway is to buy a part of a housing association, and very often, the youngest members are talked into taking upon themselves the administrational positions as the people who have been owners for years, know how ungrateful of a position it is.

However, depending on the association, and the members of the specific committee, I would argue that a role is highly relevant considering showing competencies that are also relevant in normal work life.

Quick stats about my housing association.

• I have been the Chairman for 9 years. 
• We are 231 units (most of which have more than one legal owner) built in the late 1930s.
• Many of these units get rented out.
• We sell between 15 and 40 units per year.
• 2 of our properties are zoned as business premises
• We have one staff member and outsource all other needs from various contractors.
• Our Annual income for 2023 was 8.3 million NOK. (Publicly accessible information).
• 9 of the last 10 years we have delivered a positive result.

In short, this is a business. Thanks to long-term planning and a great collaboration with our business manager (OBOS), we are doing better than some of the companies I have worked for in the past.

Considering the number of stakeholders we have, the demands on communications and planning, the health of the business, but also that we have a great environment for people to live in and the fact that our over 80-year-old buildings are on the receiving end of ongoing care and maintenance.. 

Could some of that experience be relevant for being able to function in business-relevant settings? 

My point?

- Some people might have stuff on their resumé that doesn't seem so relevant, but in truth, there might be some qualifications there that could be useful.

- So yes, add your competencies to your resumé (if you have contributed more than just attending a meeting)

- If you are reading somebody's resumé, try to think, how is this relevant?

Let us all start trying to focus on finding the hidden positives.