Blue Sky Resumes has a thought-provoking post out about unpaid experience when preparing your resume. Louise is a professional resume writer, and you should take what she says as holy writ:
Too often, people feel that unpaid experience doesn't belong on a resume but this is completely wrong and also self-defeating. Why does it matter whether or not you were paid to do something? Do you learn more when you're being paid? Is the experience any less valuable when you work for free?
No, unpaid experience belongs on your resume as long as it relates to what you want to do next. There are different ways to do this. You can list these experiences as 'freelance event planner' or even 'volunteer event planner.' Then show the dates just as you would with a normal position, describe the work (you can say that it was unpaid if this makes you feel more comfortable) and highlight a couple of key accomplishments.
I would wholeheartedly agree. Relevant experience, even if it's unpaid, is definitely important to list on your resume. Louise and her questioner were focused more on volunteer work, but there's a second part of the story you should focus on, especially in today's economy.
What unpaid work are you doing that will lead you to a better job? In olden days, or at least in the myths of the olden days, young go-getters joined squash clubs and smoking clubs and crashed charity events to rub elbows with the wealthy and successful in order to curry their favor. Caddying at country clubs, working as a parking valet for private parties and serving as a waiter in nice restaurants is the stuff of legends, but it actually works. It's how I got my start years ago.
That doesn't mean that you should head on down to the Waterway and pick up a towel in the hopes of finding a Cadillac owner who wants to invest in your software firm, but it does mean that your "job" should consist of more than what you do from 8-5. The value of an employee can be measured in who they know, and if you take the time to attend, organize, and serve in groups, charities, and organizations that advance your knowledge of the industry, you'll probably meet other people in your industry, negating the need for a resume.
Hiring is still done on the basis of connections. The more you do, and the more targeted your giving of time, the better your job search.
