Deciding How Many Jobs To List On Your Resume
When it comes to listing your work history on your resume, it is important to find the right balance. You want to make sure it is comprehensive enough to give employers a full picture of your experience, but you don’t want to include too much information that could distract from the most relevant details.
Consider Your Career Objective
First, consider your career objective. In general, job seekers should list only those past jobs that are closely related to the position they are applying for. If you have an extensive career history, consider whether the job is still relevant to your current objectives and goals. It may be wise to leave out jobs that do not show a natural path towards the role you are hoping to land.
Keep it Relevant and Concise
Once you have considered your career objective, you then need to decide how detailed to get in listing your past work experiences. For those jobs that you do include, make sure you only select and highlight the most relevant experience and skills that are applicable to the job you’re applying for. It is also important to keep each entry concise and not to go into too much detail.
List Only the Most Recent Work History
In the event that you have a lengthy career history, it is usually best to leave out work experience more than 10 years in the past. Doing this can help you ensure that your resume does not become too long-winded and that the employers can quickly get a snapshot of your most recent experiences. It also helps to promote more recent skills and qualifications while allowing a certain degree of discretion.
Show Relevant Dates
Finally, make sure you clearly state when each job was held and how long you worked there. Manual labor jobs can be listed with more granularity, but for non-manual labor jobs, stick with lists of each position you held and the years you worked there. Having clearly delineated timeframes can give recruiters an idea of the career journey you have taken and potentially any gaps in employment.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the goal is to craft a resume that tells your career story in the most succinct and impactful way possible. Fine tuning the contents of your resume to highlight the most relevant experience and skills can give you a better chance of getting noticed by employers and potentially landing the job.