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Background:

I was fortunate enough to obtain an internship in software development when I was 16, and I've been working in a software development related role ever since (through summer jobs/internships as well as full-time salaried work). I am currently 22.

It is very common where I am from for young men and women at the age of 18 or higher to enter into voluntary religious service for 1.5-2 years. I chose to do so when I was 18, came home, and landed a nice job at a local software company which I left after a year and a half of employment.

When I returned home I didn't initially discuss my religious service in my resume. However, this lead to questions about the two year gap. I was able to participate in a little programming while involved in this, so I've taken to including it, and attempted to make it as relevant as possible:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints / Full Time Volunteer
January 2015 - January 2017,
- Created script to translate Delorme Street Atlas+ files into KML for use in google maps
- Volunteered weekly in community service such as soup kitchens and food pantries
- Participated in daily and weekly planning sessions
- Cold contacted, presented curriculum
- Mentored junior colleagues

Question:

How I can I handle this professionally in my resume? Should I include it at all? If no, how can I best talk about the 2 year gap/avoid a binned resume?

TLDR; As it stands my resume consists of a few software development jobs, followed by a 2 year gap for religious service, and then another software related job. What is the most professional way to handle this in my resume?

That quoted part seems okay to put in a resume; you could perhaps leave out the LDS part and just mention "full time volunteer" if you're worried that religious service looks unprofessional on your resume, but I wouldn't worry about it; especially not if this is common in the area you live in.

I was able to participate in a little programming while involved in this, so I've taken to including it, and attempted to make it as relevant as possible

As a bit of an aside, I think that being a good employee in any position (including software development) is more than just about "technical skills". The so-called "soft skills" of being a pleasant person to work with, patience, ability to disagree constructively, being able to take responsibility, and so forth matter. A lot. Highlighting those kind of aspects in your two year service would be just as useful – if not more useful – than highlighting various technical things you've done in that time.

All other things being equal, I would personally sooner hire someone with some experience outside of software development – such as LDS missionary service – than someone who hasn't, even though I am an atheist who is not especially fond of organized religion (as an institution) in general.

Don't be afraid of it, and use it to your advantage.

Definitely include it in your resume

It's great, it shows you're not just motivated by money and have interests outside of work. It will in no way look bad on your resume. Many people at that age have big gaps for traveling etc and most employers accept it.

One way to cover the time in your resume is to list your freelance work as being an ongoing position that spread over this time as well. That way your future employers can see that while you did voluntary service you were still coding.

i.e.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints / Full Time Volunteer
January 2015 - January 2017

• Volunteered weekly in community service such as soup kitchens and food pantries

Freelance Software Developer January 2015 - Present

• Created script to translate Delorme Street Atlas+ files into KML for use in google maps

If you want to turn this into an asset rather than a potential issue, then target your religious network and group for opportunities, in which case this experience is both valuable and totally valid.

Lots of LDS I know have done this. It's one of the biggest secular benefits of having a religious support group. You have done your bit as a missionary and should have made some pretty connected contacts while doing so. In fact it would immediately start you of on a good social footing if you landed such a position.

I'm not LDS, nor would I hire an ex-missionary, but I know several who have gone this avenue successfully.

Seeing as you did some programming in the middle of this service, I think it's still reasonable to put it in your resume. However, you might want to trim the entries under that to include the programming bit and then just summarize what you do there. You can then simply elaborate further should they ask about it during an interview.

So it would just probably appear like this:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints / Full Time Volunteer
January 2015 - January 2017,
- Created script to translate Delorme Street Atlas+ files into KML for use in google maps
- Volunteered weekly in community service such as soup kitchens and food pantries

There is no special way to discuss this, any relevant experience should be listed. You should be prepared to discuss it as you would any other relevant work experience, I would suggest you focus on what you did and how it is relevant to the job you are applying for.

If you simply need to account for the gap in what may be a sparse resume, and do not feel there is enough relevant experience, you may simply include it to account for time without going into details.

Over time as you have more work experience, this CV line will likely be relegated to employers who would put weight in the volunteering or religious aspect (perhaps other religious institutions looking for your skills). Typically folsk with plenty of work experience would put this in the Personal Activities/Achievements/Community Service section if they choose to have one.

It sounds like your resume is still new and you would like to hold on to the most amount of content possible, this is understandable.

1. If the experience is relevant to your job position, focus the resume entry on those, volunteering in a soup kitchen, mentoring, etc. is not necessarily relevant and should be minimized to one bullet or mentioned in another section on personal activities or community service.




2. If the experience is not directly relevant to your job position, mention it but provide minimal detail (what you have may be enough)




3. If it causes more grief than help remove it all together




4. As you have more work experience this line will naturally seem unnecessary as you would have much more experience to cite, and maybe would remain a mention in your personal activities section.