Resume Editing - How far back should your resume go?
Some of my graduates have decades of experience at many jobs so their resumes can be lengthy. Generally as a rule I know that most human resources would prefer to see a concise resume on one page.
For example in the case of someone who has a solid work history dating back to the seventies who changed jobs every five or six years what do you date back to? The last twenty years? The last five positions held?
Or in the case of a younger person who has changed positions frequently.
may,
There are many opinions about how far back a resume should go. We have a few guidelines. One is that the resume should be no more than two pages. Another is that experience relevant to the job sought should be included within a reasonable time back. Also old experience can be listed together in a summary fashion. Hope this helps. Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
Ronda I follow the same rule; 10- years or last 3 jobs. The rest can be explained in an interview. But if the relevant job is past the 10 years I will try to make it work for a resume or include details in the cover letter.
Kimberly ,
We prefer chronological resumes. If students have "too many" jobs the earlier ones can be consolidated at the end. We also feel that resumes should be no more than 2 pages. There are many opinions and they are all right. The goal is for the individual to clearly show who they are, their training, experience, and match to the job. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
This is the advice we give, too. Many students who have changed careers can have lenthy resumes and want to detail all their accomplishments. A "skills" section can be very useful for such resumes.
Kerry,
This is a dilemma that can be partly addressed by requiring externships for every program. Most schools only plan extrnships and experiential work when required. But consider how easy to solve the experience problem by requiring work experiences within the program.
Dr. Susan Schulz
Most of my students do not have any background in the profession they learn about here. Would you then list education first -- since it is the main critera they need to meet to work in this field?
Ronda,
That's an interesting approach. It shows what the person has been doing and how often they switch jobs. No one likes a job hopper. The challenge is when students don't have much experience at all. This is what the career school student typically faces. That is a reason that externships are so important. We know schools that have externship programs even when they are not required. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
I've always been told that the rule of thumb is "Past 10 years or 3 jobs" as the resume is just the "bait" and the interview is where you "reel em in."
Josephine,
This is great advice. The two page minimum resume does present challenges as well as opportunities. We think the reality is that employers really want to see just the past 7 - 10 years and mostly experience related to the job opening. This points to the need for special coaching to Alumni and grads. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
We advise students not to go back more than 10 years. If the student is adamant we advise the student to develop a section on their resume called skills sets. We tell the student to take key accomplishments from jobs that are over 10 years old and add those under sub headings. For example a skill set can be "Marketing". Here the student would identify a key accomplishment with result in this section without having to list the entire employment information.
Jessica,
Interesting point with the folks who have long work histories and haven't moved around a lot. Suggest you have them write responsibilities and accomplishments for positions for the past 5 - 7 years with one line reasons for leaving if they were on the job a short time. Then create a section called something like - Selected Past Employment. Then have them list job dates, titles, companies for the 10 years or so after that. It will look different for each person. You'll have to work individually until you get a pattern. See how that works. Best wishes, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
