Mixing
How many years of job history should I include on my resume?
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
I've been in the IT industry since 1999 including several jobs in between. I was a Director with an organization for 7 years, and another 7 years at my current job as a Director as well.
This gives me 14 years as a Director in two different companies. Should I include other jobs (4-5 years) of experience on my resume or should I take those years off?
I'm thinking about taking them off because it made my resume 4 pages long.
professionalism resume job-search job-offer work-experience
edited Aug 25 at 2:49
Sandra K
5,82562043
asked Aug 25 at 1:04
M.T Davis
1855
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
I've been in the IT industry since 1999 including several jobs in between. I was a Director with an organization for 7 years, and another 7 years at my current job as a Director as well.
This gives me 14 years as a Director in two different companies. Should I include other jobs (4-5 years) of experience on my resume or should I take those years off?
I'm thinking about taking them off because it made my resume 4 pages long.
professionalism resume job-search job-offer work-experience
edited Aug 25 at 2:49
Sandra K
5,82562043
asked Aug 25 at 1:04
M.T Davis
1855
2
why would you take them off?
– Kilisi
Aug 25 at 1:23
4
Director company X from start to end is one line.
– paparazzo
Aug 25 at 7:08
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
I've been in the IT industry since 1999 including several jobs in between. I was a Director with an organization for 7 years, and another 7 years at my current job as a Director as well.
This gives me 14 years as a Director in two different companies. Should I include other jobs (4-5 years) of experience on my resume or should I take those years off?
I'm thinking about taking them off because it made my resume 4 pages long.
professionalism resume job-search job-offer work-experience
edited Aug 25 at 2:49
Sandra K
5,82562043
asked Aug 25 at 1:04
M.T Davis
1855
I've been in the IT industry since 1999 including several jobs in between. I was a Director with an organization for 7 years, and another 7 years at my current job as a Director as well.
This gives me 14 years as a Director in two different companies. Should I include other jobs (4-5 years) of experience on my resume or should I take those years off?
I'm thinking about taking them off because it made my resume 4 pages long.
professionalism resume job-search job-offer work-experience
edited Aug 25 at 2:49
Sandra K
5,82562043
asked Aug 25 at 1:04
M.T Davis
1855
edited Aug 25 at 2:49
Sandra K
5,82562043
edited Aug 25 at 2:49
Sandra K
5,82562043
edited Aug 25 at 2:49
Sandra K
5,82562043
5,82562043
asked Aug 25 at 1:04
M.T Davis
1855
asked Aug 25 at 1:04
M.T Davis
1855
asked Aug 25 at 1:04
M.T Davis
1855
1855
2
why would you take them off?
– Kilisi
Aug 25 at 1:23
4
Director company X from start to end is one line.
– paparazzo
Aug 25 at 7:08
add a comment |Â
2
why would you take them off?
– Kilisi
Aug 25 at 1:23
4
Director company X from start to end is one line.
– paparazzo
Aug 25 at 7:08
2
2
why would you take them off?
– Kilisi
Aug 25 at 1:23
why would you take them off?
– Kilisi
Aug 25 at 1:23
4
4
Director company X from start to end is one line.
– paparazzo
Aug 25 at 7:08
Director company X from start to end is one line.
– paparazzo
Aug 25 at 7:08
add a comment |Â
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
up vote
7
down vote
My CV contains jobs of the last ten years, plus a single sentence "I also did X, Y, Z, A, B and C". Just three or four words about each job. Some of X, Y, Z, A, B and C are quite interesting, so sometimes I have been asked about them in the interview just out of curiosity, and if you can talk about these things, then it can give you a very slight edge, but it's not really important.
Nobody employees you for things you did ten years ago. And a four page CV hurts you. Some places get many CVs, if I have the choice between reading three CVs or your four page CV in the same time, I'll read three CVs.
BTW. I only write down years. One former boss of mine has a six month gap between selling his company and getting a new job. Spent sailing through the mediterranean with his family. Imagine the recruiter saying "there is a very suspicious employment gap here".
answered Aug 25 at 12:36
gnasher729
72.6k31135228
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
It depends.
Your resume should include the most relevant experience for the job you are applying to. If those 4-5 years jobs are relevant to some job that you are planning to apply to, then include. If not, then exclude.
You can always bring them up in the interview even if they are not relevant.
answered Aug 25 at 2:53
Sandra K
5,82562043
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
You have an XY Problem here. Removing jobs from the resume to reduce its length is about the same as amputating an arm to lose weight.
You should instead reconsider how much detail about each job you include. Recruiters would certainly expect the name of the company and the start and end dates1. Depending on your local customs, your official designation may also be necessary.
You usually do not need to enlist every detail of your role and your achievements. For your jobs that are most relevant to the role you are applying for, describe your role in about a couple of sentences (or bullet points) and about 5 most important achievements, preferably quantifiable achievements.
For the jobs held several years ago and/or jobs not completely relevant to the role, you can trim it down even further and include only a one line description of the role and 1 or 2 most important achievements.
I wouldn't recommend dropping off old jobs entirely, especially if they span a fairly long duration, such as 4 to 5 years. That would show up as an unusually long career gap. While there's nothing inherently wrong with it, unfortunately a lot of recruiters look at career gaps with suspicion. ("Was this person unemployed for 5 years after his education, or has he left out an "undesirable" job he doesn't want us to know about?", etc.)
You could, of course, explain it in the interview, but that's not a useful strategy if they don't invite you to the interview. It is an unfortunate reality that shortlisting for interview usually focuses on excluding candidates and then inviting whoever is left standing, as against choosing candidates that match the criteria.
1 The month and year are adequate, and you can usually skip the month for long duration jobs and/or jobs you held long ago.
answered Aug 25 at 3:38
Masked Man
43.7k26114163
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
I would consider the number of pages you think are optimal for your resume. Anything over two pages is probably longer than optimal. To achieve your chosen limit you need to carefully consider the relative importance of all the information you want to include and how much space that warrants. Your latest position probably warrants a whole paragraph, while your first may only warrant a line. You can also make a summary of skills and knowledge perhaps with years of experience and say less about individual positions. All in the interest of presenting the most pertinent information most clearly and in the most prominent position.
answered Aug 26 at 9:33
hkBst
1623
add a comment |Â
StackExchange.ready(function ()
$("#show-editor-button input, #show-editor-button button").click(function ()
var showEditor = function()
$("#show-editor-button").hide();
$("#post-form").removeClass("dno");
StackExchange.editor.finallyInit();
;
var useFancy = $(this).data('confirm-use-fancy');
if(useFancy == 'True')
var popupTitle = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-title');
var popupBody = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-body');
var popupAccept = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-accept-button');
$(this).loadPopup(
url: '/post/self-answer-popup',
loaded: function(popup)
var pTitle = $(popup).find('h2');
var pBody = $(popup).find('.popup-body');
var pSubmit = $(popup).find('.popup-submit');
pTitle.text(popupTitle);
pBody.html(popupBody);
pSubmit.val(popupAccept).click(showEditor);
)
else
var confirmText = $(this).data('confirm-text');
if (confirmText ? confirm(confirmText) : true)
showEditor();
);
);
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
7
down vote
My CV contains jobs of the last ten years, plus a single sentence "I also did X, Y, Z, A, B and C". Just three or four words about each job. Some of X, Y, Z, A, B and C are quite interesting, so sometimes I have been asked about them in the interview just out of curiosity, and if you can talk about these things, then it can give you a very slight edge, but it's not really important.
Nobody employees you for things you did ten years ago. And a four page CV hurts you. Some places get many CVs, if I have the choice between reading three CVs or your four page CV in the same time, I'll read three CVs.
BTW. I only write down years. One former boss of mine has a six month gap between selling his company and getting a new job. Spent sailing through the mediterranean with his family. Imagine the recruiter saying "there is a very suspicious employment gap here".
answered Aug 25 at 12:36
gnasher729
72.6k31135228
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
My CV contains jobs of the last ten years, plus a single sentence "I also did X, Y, Z, A, B and C". Just three or four words about each job. Some of X, Y, Z, A, B and C are quite interesting, so sometimes I have been asked about them in the interview just out of curiosity, and if you can talk about these things, then it can give you a very slight edge, but it's not really important.
Nobody employees you for things you did ten years ago. And a four page CV hurts you. Some places get many CVs, if I have the choice between reading three CVs or your four page CV in the same time, I'll read three CVs.
BTW. I only write down years. One former boss of mine has a six month gap between selling his company and getting a new job. Spent sailing through the mediterranean with his family. Imagine the recruiter saying "there is a very suspicious employment gap here".
answered Aug 25 at 12:36
gnasher729
72.6k31135228
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
up vote
7
down vote
My CV contains jobs of the last ten years, plus a single sentence "I also did X, Y, Z, A, B and C". Just three or four words about each job. Some of X, Y, Z, A, B and C are quite interesting, so sometimes I have been asked about them in the interview just out of curiosity, and if you can talk about these things, then it can give you a very slight edge, but it's not really important.
Nobody employees you for things you did ten years ago. And a four page CV hurts you. Some places get many CVs, if I have the choice between reading three CVs or your four page CV in the same time, I'll read three CVs.
BTW. I only write down years. One former boss of mine has a six month gap between selling his company and getting a new job. Spent sailing through the mediterranean with his family. Imagine the recruiter saying "there is a very suspicious employment gap here".
answered Aug 25 at 12:36
gnasher729
72.6k31135228
My CV contains jobs of the last ten years, plus a single sentence "I also did X, Y, Z, A, B and C". Just three or four words about each job. Some of X, Y, Z, A, B and C are quite interesting, so sometimes I have been asked about them in the interview just out of curiosity, and if you can talk about these things, then it can give you a very slight edge, but it's not really important.
Nobody employees you for things you did ten years ago. And a four page CV hurts you. Some places get many CVs, if I have the choice between reading three CVs or your four page CV in the same time, I'll read three CVs.
BTW. I only write down years. One former boss of mine has a six month gap between selling his company and getting a new job. Spent sailing through the mediterranean with his family. Imagine the recruiter saying "there is a very suspicious employment gap here".
answered Aug 25 at 12:36
gnasher729
72.6k31135228
edited Aug 25 at 13:46
answered Aug 25 at 12:36
gnasher729
72.6k31135228
answered Aug 25 at 12:36
gnasher729
72.6k31135228
answered Aug 25 at 12:36
gnasher729
72.6k31135228
72.6k31135228
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
It depends.
Your resume should include the most relevant experience for the job you are applying to. If those 4-5 years jobs are relevant to some job that you are planning to apply to, then include. If not, then exclude.
You can always bring them up in the interview even if they are not relevant.
answered Aug 25 at 2:53
Sandra K
5,82562043
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
It depends.
Your resume should include the most relevant experience for the job you are applying to. If those 4-5 years jobs are relevant to some job that you are planning to apply to, then include. If not, then exclude.
You can always bring them up in the interview even if they are not relevant.
answered Aug 25 at 2:53
Sandra K
5,82562043
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
It depends.
Your resume should include the most relevant experience for the job you are applying to. If those 4-5 years jobs are relevant to some job that you are planning to apply to, then include. If not, then exclude.
You can always bring them up in the interview even if they are not relevant.
answered Aug 25 at 2:53
Sandra K
5,82562043
It depends.
Your resume should include the most relevant experience for the job you are applying to. If those 4-5 years jobs are relevant to some job that you are planning to apply to, then include. If not, then exclude.
You can always bring them up in the interview even if they are not relevant.
answered Aug 25 at 2:53
Sandra K
5,82562043
answered Aug 25 at 2:53
Sandra K
5,82562043
answered Aug 25 at 2:53
Sandra K
5,82562043
answered Aug 25 at 2:53
Sandra K
5,82562043
5,82562043
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
You have an XY Problem here. Removing jobs from the resume to reduce its length is about the same as amputating an arm to lose weight.
You should instead reconsider how much detail about each job you include. Recruiters would certainly expect the name of the company and the start and end dates1. Depending on your local customs, your official designation may also be necessary.
You usually do not need to enlist every detail of your role and your achievements. For your jobs that are most relevant to the role you are applying for, describe your role in about a couple of sentences (or bullet points) and about 5 most important achievements, preferably quantifiable achievements.
For the jobs held several years ago and/or jobs not completely relevant to the role, you can trim it down even further and include only a one line description of the role and 1 or 2 most important achievements.
I wouldn't recommend dropping off old jobs entirely, especially if they span a fairly long duration, such as 4 to 5 years. That would show up as an unusually long career gap. While there's nothing inherently wrong with it, unfortunately a lot of recruiters look at career gaps with suspicion. ("Was this person unemployed for 5 years after his education, or has he left out an "undesirable" job he doesn't want us to know about?", etc.)
You could, of course, explain it in the interview, but that's not a useful strategy if they don't invite you to the interview. It is an unfortunate reality that shortlisting for interview usually focuses on excluding candidates and then inviting whoever is left standing, as against choosing candidates that match the criteria.
1 The month and year are adequate, and you can usually skip the month for long duration jobs and/or jobs you held long ago.
answered Aug 25 at 3:38
Masked Man
43.7k26114163
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
You have an XY Problem here. Removing jobs from the resume to reduce its length is about the same as amputating an arm to lose weight.
You should instead reconsider how much detail about each job you include. Recruiters would certainly expect the name of the company and the start and end dates1. Depending on your local customs, your official designation may also be necessary.
You usually do not need to enlist every detail of your role and your achievements. For your jobs that are most relevant to the role you are applying for, describe your role in about a couple of sentences (or bullet points) and about 5 most important achievements, preferably quantifiable achievements.
For the jobs held several years ago and/or jobs not completely relevant to the role, you can trim it down even further and include only a one line description of the role and 1 or 2 most important achievements.
I wouldn't recommend dropping off old jobs entirely, especially if they span a fairly long duration, such as 4 to 5 years. That would show up as an unusually long career gap. While there's nothing inherently wrong with it, unfortunately a lot of recruiters look at career gaps with suspicion. ("Was this person unemployed for 5 years after his education, or has he left out an "undesirable" job he doesn't want us to know about?", etc.)
You could, of course, explain it in the interview, but that's not a useful strategy if they don't invite you to the interview. It is an unfortunate reality that shortlisting for interview usually focuses on excluding candidates and then inviting whoever is left standing, as against choosing candidates that match the criteria.
1 The month and year are adequate, and you can usually skip the month for long duration jobs and/or jobs you held long ago.
answered Aug 25 at 3:38
Masked Man
43.7k26114163
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
You have an XY Problem here. Removing jobs from the resume to reduce its length is about the same as amputating an arm to lose weight.
You should instead reconsider how much detail about each job you include. Recruiters would certainly expect the name of the company and the start and end dates1. Depending on your local customs, your official designation may also be necessary.
You usually do not need to enlist every detail of your role and your achievements. For your jobs that are most relevant to the role you are applying for, describe your role in about a couple of sentences (or bullet points) and about 5 most important achievements, preferably quantifiable achievements.
For the jobs held several years ago and/or jobs not completely relevant to the role, you can trim it down even further and include only a one line description of the role and 1 or 2 most important achievements.
I wouldn't recommend dropping off old jobs entirely, especially if they span a fairly long duration, such as 4 to 5 years. That would show up as an unusually long career gap. While there's nothing inherently wrong with it, unfortunately a lot of recruiters look at career gaps with suspicion. ("Was this person unemployed for 5 years after his education, or has he left out an "undesirable" job he doesn't want us to know about?", etc.)
You could, of course, explain it in the interview, but that's not a useful strategy if they don't invite you to the interview. It is an unfortunate reality that shortlisting for interview usually focuses on excluding candidates and then inviting whoever is left standing, as against choosing candidates that match the criteria.
1 The month and year are adequate, and you can usually skip the month for long duration jobs and/or jobs you held long ago.
answered Aug 25 at 3:38
Masked Man
43.7k26114163
You have an XY Problem here. Removing jobs from the resume to reduce its length is about the same as amputating an arm to lose weight.
You should instead reconsider how much detail about each job you include. Recruiters would certainly expect the name of the company and the start and end dates1. Depending on your local customs, your official designation may also be necessary.
You usually do not need to enlist every detail of your role and your achievements. For your jobs that are most relevant to the role you are applying for, describe your role in about a couple of sentences (or bullet points) and about 5 most important achievements, preferably quantifiable achievements.
For the jobs held several years ago and/or jobs not completely relevant to the role, you can trim it down even further and include only a one line description of the role and 1 or 2 most important achievements.
I wouldn't recommend dropping off old jobs entirely, especially if they span a fairly long duration, such as 4 to 5 years. That would show up as an unusually long career gap. While there's nothing inherently wrong with it, unfortunately a lot of recruiters look at career gaps with suspicion. ("Was this person unemployed for 5 years after his education, or has he left out an "undesirable" job he doesn't want us to know about?", etc.)
You could, of course, explain it in the interview, but that's not a useful strategy if they don't invite you to the interview. It is an unfortunate reality that shortlisting for interview usually focuses on excluding candidates and then inviting whoever is left standing, as against choosing candidates that match the criteria.
1 The month and year are adequate, and you can usually skip the month for long duration jobs and/or jobs you held long ago.
answered Aug 25 at 3:38
Masked Man
43.7k26114163
edited Aug 25 at 3:43
answered Aug 25 at 3:38
Masked Man
43.7k26114163
answered Aug 25 at 3:38
Masked Man
43.7k26114163
answered Aug 25 at 3:38
Masked Man
43.7k26114163
43.7k26114163
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
I would consider the number of pages you think are optimal for your resume. Anything over two pages is probably longer than optimal. To achieve your chosen limit you need to carefully consider the relative importance of all the information you want to include and how much space that warrants. Your latest position probably warrants a whole paragraph, while your first may only warrant a line. You can also make a summary of skills and knowledge perhaps with years of experience and say less about individual positions. All in the interest of presenting the most pertinent information most clearly and in the most prominent position.
answered Aug 26 at 9:33
hkBst
1623
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
I would consider the number of pages you think are optimal for your resume. Anything over two pages is probably longer than optimal. To achieve your chosen limit you need to carefully consider the relative importance of all the information you want to include and how much space that warrants. Your latest position probably warrants a whole paragraph, while your first may only warrant a line. You can also make a summary of skills and knowledge perhaps with years of experience and say less about individual positions. All in the interest of presenting the most pertinent information most clearly and in the most prominent position.
answered Aug 26 at 9:33
hkBst
1623
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
I would consider the number of pages you think are optimal for your resume. Anything over two pages is probably longer than optimal. To achieve your chosen limit you need to carefully consider the relative importance of all the information you want to include and how much space that warrants. Your latest position probably warrants a whole paragraph, while your first may only warrant a line. You can also make a summary of skills and knowledge perhaps with years of experience and say less about individual positions. All in the interest of presenting the most pertinent information most clearly and in the most prominent position.
answered Aug 26 at 9:33
hkBst
1623
I would consider the number of pages you think are optimal for your resume. Anything over two pages is probably longer than optimal. To achieve your chosen limit you need to carefully consider the relative importance of all the information you want to include and how much space that warrants. Your latest position probably warrants a whole paragraph, while your first may only warrant a line. You can also make a summary of skills and knowledge perhaps with years of experience and say less about individual positions. All in the interest of presenting the most pertinent information most clearly and in the most prominent position.
answered Aug 26 at 9:33
hkBst
1623
answered Aug 26 at 9:33
hkBst
1623
answered Aug 26 at 9:33
hkBst
1623
answered Aug 26 at 9:33
hkBst
1623
1623
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworkplace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f118195%2fhow-many-years-of-job-history-should-i-include-on-my-resume%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
2
why would you take them off?
– Kilisi
Aug 25 at 1:23
4
Director company X from start to end is one line.
– paparazzo
Aug 25 at 7:08