Eight years ago my company was going through a downturn. Instead of laying people off, they moved office personnel to the manufacturing floor. I went from computer programming as a Systems Engineer to running a steel saw. Three months later I was able to take a job that opened up in the IT department. How do I handle that two months ,as a saw operator, on my resume?
July 2002 - Present : Programmer Analyst : Company A
April 2002 - July 2002 : Saw Operator : Company A
Sept. 1997 - April 2002 : Systems Engineer : Company A
Thank you,
Paul
Own It
Own it. Certainly don't lie or cover it up.
What is wrong with saying that the company went through tough times, but thought you were valuable enough to keep so they moved you into a temporary position to protect you from layoffs?
And what is wrong with saying that when you're working for a company that shows loyalty like that to staff, that you were willing to be a team player and help out where you could be useful for a few months?
Finally, if it was 8 years ago, it is unlikely to be top of the interviewers list of concerns at the interview.
I would refer to it in one
I would refer to it in one sentence in either of the two IT job blocks, as a job responsibility, rather than having a job section for it. That way, you are recording it and being upfront about it without making a big deal of it.
If you were particularly successful at it, perhaps you could make a positive about it... I mean they must have thought you were detail oriented if they put you on a saw!
I think this is all about
I think this is all about context. I'd simply list the last title/role you held at that company, and use a brief sentence of narrative around the time you spent there if it's relevant to the position you're applying for.
You had a job responsibility that involved saw operation; adding it in as its own row (especially eight years back) adds space and makes you more likely to go over the one page resume limit. Additionally, having spent three months operating a saw is not relevant to your current role unless you're attempting to get back into that job, in which case emphasize the work.
Otherwise, it could make a great response to an interview question like "give me an example of a time when you were asked to do work you weren't too familiar with, but required a lot of attention to detail." I can tell you, I'd never forget a story where a programmer analyst told me about the three months he was asked to operate a saw!