How should I list a temp job at a prestigious publishing company?

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

I'm working at Oxford University Press. It's a prestigious company that has been in business for over 400 years. It's not hurting me by working there.

I was hired as a temp until March. Should I list it on my resume even though the job will only last for four months? I wouldn't list other temp/retail jobs Ive had. OUP is prestigious. Adding it will only help me as far as I see.

How should I put it on my resume? If I put November 2010--March 2011 Then I suppose I can explain I had a temp position and then explain what I did.

I'd appreciate any advice. Thx!

[weekapaugjz]

yes. absolutely. you worked there, put it on your resume.

[Bob Impact]

I don't know the particulars of that industry but I can give an example that's probably comparable with programmers, who often work either freelance or in job shops for short runs.

If they are freelancing for a long stretch I personally find it acceptable for them to list say "Jan 2009 - Present: Freelance" and then highlighting specific companies as they see fit and as NDAs allow (breaching an NDA on your resume or in your interview would be a dealbreaker for me). If they are with a job shop I would expect that they list the term of their engagement with the job shop as a whole and highlight any exceptional companies in the details. To be honest, I would probably find it strange enough if I saw a 4 month position with a prestigious company in either an unemployed stretch or while someone was working elsewhere that without immediate explanation on the resume itself I may pitch it before the person walked in. If I saw something like "November 2010--March 2011: Accepted contingent labor position at..." I would not.

I guess my advice would be two-fold. 1) Don't assume that you will have the chance to explain the position in person, do it on the resume itself.

2) Avoid building too much of the resume around that position. Make sure that name is there, but don't make a big deal about it or you run the risk of coming off as someone with nothing going on but a short stretch in a "prestige" company. Remember that people in that company may or may not look at OUP as that prestigious, particularly if they are a competitor or if the position isn't specifically comparable. For example, if I had a programmer made a really big deal about a similar run at Apple (who is very well regarded in my industry for design work) it would actually have a negative effect because the things I would need from them are so different, and it would indicate to me that this person was going to try and make an "iPod style" interface for something that needs to be purely functional.

Long story short, to me it's about YOU not who you've worked for. Make sure you always keep your resume telling me about YOU, the employers just give me a flavor of what experiences you have had.

[StanUpshaw]

You had a cup of coffee in the majors. Overselling it would only make you look bad.

Like Bob said, it begs the question Why isn't she there anymore?

[Jujubees2]

Maybe in the job title on your resume you include the word "Temporary"?