top of page
Writer's pictureValeria Delgado

How Far Back Should a Resume Go?

Hiring managers care more about your most recent career history in on your resume. Why? Because it provides clarity on your current strengths as well as all your accomplishments. By highlighting your most relevant experiences in your job application materials, it can explain why you are a better fit for the position and place you ahead of the game.


Here we’ll provide you with tips on how far your career history should go on your resume and what information is more relevant.


How Far Back?


Ideally, you should limit showcasing your personal achievements and experience to 10, at most 15 years back. It’s common for individuals that have career history beyond those 15 years to have had a lower position. That type of career history is not relevant with the job you’re applying to today unless it truly increases your credibility. It’s crucial that you carefully read the job requirements to be able to decide what experience to mention in your tailored resume instead of making any assumptions. When you hire a resume writer, they conduct an interview with you to collect your career history and better help you in including only your relevant experiences for that specific position.

What Should Be Taken Into Account?

  • Read the job description thoroughly

  • Contemplate the level of the job position

  • Settle only upon your relevant skills and experiences

Hiring managers usually include how many years of experience they expect an applicant to have. Use what the job description says to determine what information to include and how far back to go. Also take into consideration the level of the position you’re applying for. If it’s entry-level, employers shouldn’t expect you to have much experience so less than 5 years is suitable. However, if it’s an executive-level role, having even more than 15 years of experience will boost your credibility and professionalism. Whatever the years of experience you or your resume writer are including in your resume, make sure that the details of your career history are relevant. According to Business 2 Community, only 35% of applicants are actually qualified for the jobs they apply to. So try to not include information that does not have anything to do with the job you wish to land.

Having said this, some careers such as in the technology industry, require you to keep your resume short. On the other hand, some careers do require you to state your complete career history even if your resume is several pages.

If after doing your research you’re not too sure how much or what to include, get help from a resume writer.

21 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page