Earlier there was a thread about someone with an M.A. in Criminal Justice. My situation is similar.
I have been blessed (or cursed) with generous family members who made it possible for me to offer myself in full-time voluntary human services work for the equivalent of at least a year. Because I am intellectually gifted (IQ 3SDs>mean/INTJ), it has always been easy for me to come into situations & improve them. I tested out of my last three years of college, winding up with a B.A. in liberal arts and lots of psychology credits; I can literally read a textbook in 4 hours and remember/apply the information forever. In 2008, I decided to make a career out of my love for human services, so I completed an online M.A. program.
Due to the terrible condition of my finances (the equivalent of a mortgage in revolving debt payments alone-- another story), I cannot afford to take an unpaid internship or volunteer regularly; my current work in education and music occupies both days and evenings, though irregularly.
Potential employers look at my resume and see a woman who has been substitute teaching and playing music for 4 years. I have tried to merge my voluntary service with the employment section of my resume, but it is still obvious I am what they would consider an inexperienced career changer. In the nine months since I first began submitting well-tailored applications, I have not been offered a single interview.
How can I make myself look more appealing on paper?
