Harmful CV/Resume? Work Experience Unrelated to Intended Field

[pomo]

I was wondering if anyone has a similar problem:

I have always worked in a particular field that is completely unrelated to my academic interests. When taken out of context, I have a very impressive resume, but I wonder if AdComm people will see my CV and wonder why I have so much experience in field A if I want to study field B. I can't omit my resume from my applications, because I think it is important to show how motivated I've been since graduating from college, but it's hard leaving all the "relevant work experience" sections blank on my applications.

I haven't touched on this topic in my SOPs, mostly because of word count restrictions, but I am worried that despite decent GRE + GPA, my resume will count against me...

Thoughts?

[rainy_day]

I have a section on my cv called "additional work experience." It's the final section, b/c it's not immediately relevant, but it also a. shows I am a well rounded person and b. explains what would otherwise be an employment gap.

Think of it as an advantage, not a weakness!

Edited December 12, 2011 by rainy_day

[violet.]

I agree with rainy_day. Having diverse experiences is not bad and can actually make you stand out in a good way!

[che psyra psyra]

I think the way you address it depends on how big of a question you feel it raises. For most cases, I think that rainy_day's advice is the best way to go, as it's a clean and simple way to acknowledge that the work is not central to your current interests while still letting you include it as part of your whole package.

If you feel that it's going to be something of a red flag, however, then I think it's very much to your advantage to preemptively answer whatever questions the adcomm might have. Is there a way to briefly mention Field A in your SOP - as either reinforcing your interest in Field B, or adding perspective to it? Why DO you want to study Field B, in light of your experience in Field A? This could just be a sentence or two, some segue like "My time as a _____ made me realize that _____, which inspired me to.../deepened my commitment to..."

If nothing else, though the field might be unrelated to your current interests your work still shows that you're at least a hard worker and possibly also organized, reliable, a leader, a good communicator... there are a lot of important qualities that are independent of any one discipline. Is it possible to say something like "After graduating, I worked in _____ where I became very skilled in _____. This will serve me well as I pursue my true passion in _____ because _____"?

I hope that's helpful - best of luck!