Resume advice

[3DisneyBuggs]

How many years back should your job history go? 5, 10, 15 years?

 

[bcla]

How many years back should your job history go? 5, 10, 15 years?

It really depends on the particular field. My resumes always include my complete work history except for odd jobs I took that aren't relevant to my line of work. I've seen some resumes that try to hide experience if it makes someone seem older, but for the part it will seem suspicious if something like the years one graduated from schools is left out.

I've had to agree to background checks of former places of employment, and those typically go as far back as 7 years.

 

[BrianL]

Yes, I think it depends on the relevant job history. If you've been working in the same field for a while, include that. If you've switched jobs a lot though you may only want to use the last few. Don't leave gaps though and do include anything that looks good like a job where you had particularly interesting achievements.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I changed careers and industries, so if I was writing a resume now , I would include my last employment from my previous industry, the gap where I was unemployed and that I retrained, listing the internships and courses and then the chronological of employment from my new industry.

Be honest about gaps in employment, the unexplained is a red flag. If like me you changed industries and retrained and upskilled, state this. If you did a gap year and went travelling and volunteered with charities, state this. If you were unemployed, state this.

Also, dont just have one generic resume. If I was going back to my previous industry, I would list relevant education, awards and any industry specific certifications.
If I was putting together a resume for my current industry, then I wouldn't include any of the above.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I have everything but high school jobs. The first jobs are just a single line, just a very high level. W more recent jobs in more detail. So no gaps in history but no serious detail on anything less than 10 years.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I think 5 years is standard, but if you were in one job for a while beyond that I would add it. I also will go further than 5 years if I feel like the job is relevant to the new position I'm applying for. For example, I once listed some volunteering that I did in high school, even though it was 8 years before the year that I was looking for a job, but it was in the same career and I was pretty young and didn't have much on my resume. My last job working for a nonprofit I put an old job on my resume so I could brag about all the grant money I won for that employer.

 

[sonnyjane]

My current resume goes back to 2010 which is 4 jobs. The header for that section is “Recent Work Experience” implying that I’ve worked more but these are most recent relevant positions.

 

[Deb & Bill]

How many years back should your job history go? 5, 10, 15 years?

As many as you can get on one page. Any more than one page and it won't get read. Target your skills that will transfer to the new job and focus less on the different employers you had.

 

[shelemm]

Some experience further back can be more important, so it depends. Don't leave off anything that is important just because of the dates.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Older experience might not matter, especially if the technology has changed in the interim.

Usually, resume experts recommend only going back ten, maybe 15 years. Longer than that might make you seem to old, despite age discrimination being illegal.

 

[_19disnA]

It depends on the type of job and what level of position this is. Applying for an entry level position is different from a management/executive level position where you want to show prior jobs of increasing responsibility and that you have the background necessary for this position. If you have only done entry level jobs in a field and are now applying to be the VP at a company, they will notice the disconnect. More then 10 yrs is probably too much to matter for any job. If you changed job frequently in the past (for whatever reason), it is probably better to not go back as far. Avoid gaps as it makes the potential employer want to know more about what those are. I also wouldn't list part-time jobs in college or things not relevant to what you are looking for. No employer really cares if you cut grass or had other part-time jobs in high school.

I agree with keeping the resume brief. Employers find long/rambly resumes that state the obvious or try to embellish basic job skills annoying and will probably end up in the trash. A resume is mostly used to get you an interview.

 

[kaytieeldr]

No employer really cares if you cut grass or had other part-time jobs in high school

On the other hand, if you operated your own lawn service, including hiring and managing others, at 15 - you probably do want to fit that in somewhere.

 

[bcla]

I agree with keeping the resume brief. Employers find long/rambly resumes that state the obvious or try to embellish basic job skills annoying and will probably end up in the trash. A resume is mostly used to get you an interview.

Depends on the industry. One time I was applying for a job. The recruiter at this company specifically instructed me to turn my 2 page resume to 4 because the manager apparently liked seeing a lot of stuff on a resume for someone with 10+ years experience.

Also - a lot of resumes these days are scoured for search terms. This might be counterproductive because over the years I've gotten calls from recruiters where it was obvious they didn't know about the job requirements other than they found minor things in my resume that matched up with key search words. But sometimes it takes a lot to create a match where someone might actually bother to look at a resume. When there are hundreds of resumes they might want to winnow out the ones that match better.

 

[Spencer Wright]

I’m 29 and go back ten. I’m guessing if you are slightly older 15 makes sense. But as others have stated, it varies depending on field and experience.

 

[tvguy]

I need to write a resume, but I'm clueless about how to do it properly. Are there any useful tools? I know that some people address professionals, but is it that complicated that I can't do it by myself?

Hard to say. Lots of online advice pages. My daughter has been frustrated because she got her resume up to snuff, but none of the places she has applied has a way to upload and send in a resume. They have "their" application, fill in the blanks, that is all they will accept. A friend in HR says that is the way some companies these days protect themselves against discrimination lawsuits.

 

[disykat]

Since I had an employment gap as a SAHM, my resume now has a section near the top for Recent Work Experience and one at the bottom for Other Relevant Experience. The last category has no detail, just lists the experience that I want them to know about. I got a job once in my 40's because of a job I had in my early 20's.

 

[_19disnA]

I need to write a resume, but I'm clueless about how to do it properly. Are there any useful tools? I know that some people address professionals, but is it that complicated that I can't do it by myself?

There is no need to hire someone to write your resume. They have no special expertise and generally want to charge you a lot of money for something you can easily do yourself. Look around online for examples of typical resumes for the type of job you are applying for. There is no one magical format to use. Some companies now have their own online application to fill out when applying. Just depends on the type of job and what those companies happen to prefer.

A resume is mostly intended to get you a job interview. You don't get the job because of how you wrote your resume.

 

[GreatLakes]

Concentrate on specific accomplishments more than job history. My resume has all of my post-college jobs on it but I have a much larger section of specific accomplishments, both project and goal related, which is the more important part of my resume.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I have wondered this myself. It might depend on your age. If you are old like me, I just don't see what you were doing back in the 90's is relevant (unless it is directly related to what you are seeking). I would think that 10 years is far enough back in most cases. However, I am interested in seeing what others think. I am halfway interested in looking for something new myself.

 

[footballmouse]

My college professor worked with me to update my resume 2 years ago. I have my 2 current jobs listed and 1 previous job. You want to keep your resume contained to 1 page so you don't need all that information on it. I'm sure you'll have to fill out an application somewhere along the line, you can list them there going back 10 years.