How Far Back Should a Resume Go How Many Jobs or Years

How Far Back Should a Resume Go How Many Jobs or Years The experience section of your resumeThats the backbone of your entire job application.And its crucial to have it right:Listing too many positions will make the recruiter confused. At the same time, too little work history can crash your chances of winning a job interview.How to find the right balance?If you ask yourself a question: how far back should I go on my resume?Ask no more!In this article youll learn:How far back should a resume go depending on the situation.What hiring managers say about the experience section length.How to list old jobs on a resume and explain experience gaps.How to make your work history relevant.Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. Its fast and easy to use. Plus, youll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.Sample resume made with our builderSee more templates and create your resume here.One of our users, Nikos, had this to say:[I used] a nice templa te I found on Zety. My resume is now one page long, not three. With the same stuff.Create your resume nowIf youre interested in how to format your resume experience section, read: Work Experience on a Resume: Job Description Bullet Points That Kill1How Far Back Should a Resume Go?In general, your resume should go back 1015 years in terms of history of work experience.ButThats a rule of thumb.The truth is it all depends on your work history: how much relevant experience you have, whether you havegaps in employment or scored freelance gigs.So, lets break it down:Senior PositionsHow Far to Go Back on a ResumeWhen it comes to senior positions, employers often look for candidates with lots of professional experience. But it doesnt mean they are interested in those back-in-the-day jobs.When writing the experience section on your senior resume:Go as far back as 15 years and list relevant work experience.Follow the job postingthe expected years of expertise are usually mentioned there.Note: Focus on relevance first. Listing your entire career history on a resume for a senior position may lead the recruiter to the conclusion that youre overqualified. More on that later.Mid-Level PositionsHow Many Jobs on a ResumeIf youre targeting a mid-level vacancy, a 10-year career history is your optimum. So:Focus on the positions relevant to the job offer and describe them in more detail.Mention the remaining jobs, including short-term and freelance work. But dont elaborate on these.Theresa Santoro, Director of Operations and Human Resources at Actualize Consulting, supports the up-to-10-year experience section format:I tend to hone in on the most recent 5 years of work experience. However, I will review and consider up to the last 10 years of professional experience. Anything more than 10 years back, I will scan for keywords relevant to the job description I am trying to source for.Theresa SantoroDirector of Operations and Human Resources at Actualize ConsultingEntry-Level Positi onsWork Experience on a ResumeHow many jobs should you list on a resume when you have little experience?The answer is simple.If youre writing a resume for an entry-level position:List all paid and voluntary work youve done.Name skills and accomplishments that match a job description.Remember about internships, part-time jobs, authorial projects, and freelancing.Check more tips on writing a resume for entry-level jobs in our article: How to Write an Entry-Level Resume: Sample and Complete Guide [+20 Examples]Candidates with No Professional Work ExperienceHow far should a resume go when you dont have any experience?Job seekers with no work experience whatsoever should add all paid and unpaid work experience including:internshipsvolunteering experienceroles in student organizationspracticums.Pro Tip: Put your resume job descriptions below your education section if youve just graduated or if you have very little professional experience.Read on to check how to write a first-time resume: First Resume with No Work Experience: Samples and Expert TipsAcademic PositionsAcademic positions require years of proven research and teaching skills. Universities want to learn the candidates academic historywhich usually covers more than 10 years.In the academic job search for instructors, adjunct or associate professors, or tenured professors, the Curriculum Vitae (Latin for life story) should be as far back as 15-20 years, especially if that experience includes teaching, instruction, training, and other educational-related information about their experience.Dawn D. BoyerPh.D., the CEO of D. Boyer ConsultingIf you want to learn more on how to write a CV for academic positions, check our guide: How to Write an Academic CV: Template and Expert Tips2Listing Old Jobs on a ResumeLimiting a resume to 10-15 years back can sometimes feel like a big waste.Especially if what you did back in the days perfectly matches the position youre targeting now.There are a few ways you can list old b ut relevant jobs on your resume.Brianna Rooney (aka TheMillionaireRecruiter.com), the founder and CEO of Techees.com with 12 years of experience recruiting software engineers, suggests adding them under a separate resume section:If you have amazing projects or accomplishments that date further back, then you can have a spot for that but keep it brief. You can add notable projects or notable accomplishments. Id suggest adding only a couple of sentences under each one. I dont feel adding dates to them is necessary. If its too long ago, they wont look at it. That goes back to the what have you done lately.Brianna Rooneyfounder and CEO of Techees.comThis extra resume section may be also called: Additional Experience or Earlier Experience.For more extended experience periods that you find relevantuse the format presented below:How Many Old Jobs Should You List on a ResumeExamplesOld JobYears of Experience within the Same CompanyStaff Accountant, 2000-2010Hyatt and White, ProAccounting Se rvices, NewMed Co.Old JobSimilar Experience, Different CompaniesProAccounting ServicesStaff accountant, 2008-2010Accountant, 2006-2008Accounting assistant, 2004-2006Pro Tip: No matter how far back you go on a resumedo it in reverse-chronological order. List recent experience first, then follow up with older jobs. Follow this resume format, even if you omit some career gigs.3Putting Career Gigs on a ResumeMore than one third of workers in the US are in the gig economy.If youre one of those 57 million people, do you have to worry that your work history consists only of those career gigs?Not if you make the best of it!Show off your skills instead of writing a boring list of titles, company names, and dates.Focus on 2 or 3 jobs most relevant to the job ad youre targeting and describe them in more detail.A combination resume format (also called a hybrid resume) will help you do that. It combines the features of the reverse-chronological resume and the skills-based resume.Its a win-win re sume format for:Career changers: as it allows them to elaborate on the skills relevant to the job ad.Seasoned professionals with plenty of work experience: as it makes it easy for them to promote only the best career achievements.And, those with gaps in employment: as it gives them a chance to prove the skills regardless of the work history.Learn how to create a hybrid resume thanks to our dedicated guide: Combination Resume Template 5+ Examples [Complete Guide]If youre writing a resume for a position outside your current field, see our article:Resume for Career Changers: All You Need to KnowWhen making a resume in our builder, drag drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your resume here.Create my resume nowWhen youre done, Zetys resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.4Making Your Resume Experience Section RelevantMost hiring managers agree that experience relevance is more important than its length.Relevant means valuable.A resume is the vessel used to get an interview, not the job. You need to have something that sums up your experience as best it can without it being too lengthy or too vague. A lot of people want to hang on the past, when companies really want to know, what have you done lately and what can you do for me now.Brianna Rooneyfounder and CEO of Techees.comSo, how to guide the recruiter towards relevant career moments?Make sure your resume and job description match.Recognize the employers needs and address them directly.Name quantifiable achievements that prove you fit the requirements.The question is not how many jobs to put on a resume buthow to find the appropriate ones.What exactly does it mean?If you want to be a sales associatefocus on the sales-related jobs on your resume.And though you worked as a bartender back in the days or ran fitness classes at the local studio, leave these out. Instead, list all your retail, sales representative, and call center jobs.Plus, describe each position so that it resonates with the job description.Heres how to do it:Read the job offer carefully.Highlight the skills theyre looking for and recognize the companys pending needs.List all duties you performed in your previous positions.Finally, select the ones that fit the vacancy youre after.Its that simple.Pro Tip: Trying to tailor your resume to the job ad, but you have never done the same job in the past? Think of the positions that are most related to the position youre applying for and show your transferable skills.Check how to write a targeted resume in our dedicated guide: 6 Tips on How to Tailor Your Resume to a Job Description [+Examples]Key TakeawayHow many years back should a resume go:A standard resume can go as far back as 10 years and no further than 15 years.How far back should a resume go depends on the job position youre applying for.Consider adding a separate section to list old but relevant career gigs.Focus on relevance rather than on your resume experience section length.Does the article answer your question: how far back should a resume go? Or maybe you have other doubts? Let me know in the comments section.