Resume Tips for Sex Workers: How to Rebrand Your Experience for a New Career
Are you thinking of leaving sex work to pursue a more traditional income?
With the inflation happening, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were looking for an extra job to pay the bills. Sex workers, especially strippers, tend to feel the effects of this world’s financial turmoils first. People are looking to save money more than spend, and because of that, we as dancers can feel the lack of customers’ spending. It’s a tell-tale sign that something financial is about to go down. Returning to a traditional job can feel nerve-racking, especially when you have gaps between jobs and don’t know how to explain them. Although working as a stripper is a unique experience, there are still many transferable skills that may apply to your resume.
Here are some skills that a stripper could potentially highlight on their resume:
1. Communication skills: You often have to engage with customers and read their body language to understand their needs and preferences. This can translate well to a customer service role, where the ability to communicate with customers and build positive relationships is critical.
2. Sales skills: Strippers are essentially salespeople and are often tasked with convincing customers to purchase lap dances or other services. This skill could be transferred to a customer service role where employees have to sell products or services to customers.
3. Customer service skills: Strippers must maintain a friendly and positive attitude, even in challenging situations. A customer service role requires a similar disposition to ensure customers are satisfied.
4. Time management skills: We often have to manage our time between stage performances, customers, and cash handling. This skill can come in handy when prioritizing customer needs and managing multiple tasks in a retail environment.
5. Multitasking: Stripping often involves managing multiple tasks at once, including dealing with customers, performing on stage, and managing cash and credit card transactions. This skill may be useful in a customer service role where employees are often juggling multiple customer inquiries or requests.
6. Attention to detail: Strippers need to possess an excellent eye for detail when it comes to their appearance and grooming. Therefore, dancers must pay attention to detail in a retail job setting as well, such as restocking shelves and maintaining their work area.
7. Organization and multitasking skills: As a stripper, you must stay organized with your schedule and handle multiple tables simultaneously. This skill can be transferred to an administrative assistant role, where organizing files, managing calendars, and scheduling appointments are a regular part of the job.
8. Confidentiality: As a stripper, clients value confidentiality and privacy. This skill can translate to an administrative assistant role, where maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive information is often required.
When replacing the term “stripper” on a job resume, you can use more appropriate alternative titles, such as:
1. Sales Associate
2. Customer Service Representative
3. Retail Specialist
4. Consultant
5. Host/Hostess
6. Administrative Assistant
7. Event Planner
8. Brand Representative
9. Waitress/Waiter
10. Retail Sales Assistant
11. Customer Engagement Specialist
12. CEO, self-employed
Remember to choose a title that accurately represents your role and responsibilities in the industry you are applying to.
It’s important to keep in mind that some employers may not be comfortable with certain experiences being detailed on a resume. It may be best to focus on transferable skills while downplaying certain aspects of previous work experiences that may not be directly relevant to the position being applied for. Most sites can’t handle seeing “stripper” on your resume and will most likely get you banned from posting for jobs like I did. Yes, I was banned from LinkedIn because I highlighted that I do pole dancing. This was around the time when FOSTA/SESTA were being enforced, and many sites were tricked and bullied into believing that having sex workers on their page brought in traffickers which would get the site shut down and fined. Many sex workers from all over were kicked off many platforms during that time.
Overall, a stripper has developed many skills that can relate to customer – and retail-oriented positions. It’s important for you to identify how your prior experiences could benefit a new employer while remaining professional and relevant to the position being applied for. I’ve used these tips on many occasions and have gotten call-backs. If you have a successful resume, what’s your advice?
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