Work Experience?

[monkeyface]

if I have no relevant work experience to my intended program, do i fill out the employment section in my apps? i ask b/c at least one of them says to fill out the section if you are choosing not to submit an optional CV (which i'm not, again no relevant info to boast of), but then the word "pertinent" is thrown in there. so will it look silly of me to put my clerical experience in there, or is it standard to include any/all jobs, especially since i have time off between schooling that my admin work would account for?

[KieBelle]

I'm not sure what the "correct" answer to your question is, but I can share how I'm handling a very similar situation. I've been out of school for over 4 years and none of the jobs I've had in that time period are "relevant" to my intended field of study. But rather than leave 4 years of my life unaccounted for, I'm including each job on my CV, on the online app, and am mentioning it briefly in my SOP. Those work experiences have given me skills that will be vital to my success in grad school and in my future career, regardless of whether they're specifically related. I'm proud of my experiences and I completely reject the idea that they're somehow irrelevant and not worth mentioning.

[gurumaster8899]

put it all in there....also try to include a neat CV....try to think of something relevant you did, however small it may be and include it..

[joro]

I include my employment information if they ask for a resume/CV or if there's a section to put it. I don't really mention it in my SOP because I don't think it's related to my specific area of study.