I am about to apply for some internship programs and I was wondering what should I put in my resume in regards to work experience. I am a junior level student majoring in Computer Science but I don't have any experience in the field.
I worked for 5 years as a security officer and also I worked for two businesses( non-cs related) fixing and maintaining their computers.
Should I put these on my resume or this experience are irrelevant?
Your work experience is always relevant, even if you're changing fields. Aside from field-related skills, holding down a job shows at the very least that you're employable. Professionalism, accountability and work ethic are universal. While this isn't relevant to you, you also want to avoid having gaps in your work history because you're leaving out "irrelevant" jobs.
Some people split their work experience into two sections such as relevant and other. If you have a very long work history across different fields this can be a good option if done well and with care. If you have less than 10 years' experience a simple chronological history would probably be preferable though. Note that you'll always want your LinkedIn profile to have your full, chronological history.
Normally however, highlighting your relevant experience is done in the cover letter, which you tailor to the position you're applying for.
If you're a student or graduate and have work experience like this it's especially important to list that as it will give you a significant edge over other applicants without a proven track record in navigating the workplace.
First I would contend that your experience fixing and and maintaining computers is non - CS related. The experience is valuable and shows you have the ability to apply your theoretical knowledge in a professional work place.
The 5 years in which you worked as a security officer is also valuable as this work likely requires strong integrity, responsibility, and attention to detail. These traits are very attractive to a potential employer.
Yes, you should most definitely put these experience on your resume.
There are two sets of skills you will need to do a job well. One set is the specific skills for that job. The other set is general job-holding skills such as:
5 years as a security officer says nothing about your computer science technical skills. It says a lot about your general job-holding skills. The computer-fixing work says a bit about both.
Keep them on your resume until your computing job history also demonstrates your job-holding skills, and your resume is getting too long.
Should I put these on my resume or this experience are irrelevant?
Since you don't have directly relevant experience, you definitely should include these jobs on your resume.
They will serve to show that you are a hard-worker, that you understand how to work for someone, that you can show up on time, etc. Some applicants for internships can't even show that much.
You should contact the folks you worked at on these jobs and ask if they would be references for you. "user1335175 is a great worker!" can be a powerful message as a reference.
I would suggest you include the jobs where you fixed and maintained computers, with 2-3 bullet points for each. Include your work details, your learnings, soft skills, etc in separate bullet points so that your resume does not look sparse.
However, I would advise you against including the experience as a security officer(as it is completely unrelated).
And as you gain experience, you might also want to drop the fixing computers experience too. (as it is also somewhat irrelevant).
